I am in the position of being one of the unfortunate workers who has no other means to get to work than by public transport. To have to rely on such a sporadic service is more than a little annoying.

Like many others each day I need to travel from Osbaldwick to the city to start work for 8.30am.

This involves catching or should I say trying to catch the number 5 bus which should leave between 7.55am and 7.58am. This service has rarely been on time over the last two weeks - putting many others and myself in a position of being more than 20 minutes late for work.

The service has also failed to turn-up on two occasions, which is totally unacceptable.

Does the public get any compensation for late arrivals of buses? I think not.

If the buses were delayed due to traffic congestion it would be more acceptable, but not when it is the first pick up, what is the excuse?

The local authorities along with First York are trying to promote buses and tell us all how wonderful they are; how much better for the environment they are.

What they are not telling us is how unreliable they are, how inconvenient they are and how expensive they are.

If this service is typical why would anyone bother using them? If I had the choice I would go in a car every time. They are quicker and definitely more reliable. The park and ride scheme operates a frequent service every ten minutes, but for how many people?

The demand for the park and ride never seems to be high.

Perhaps it would be best used at peak time.

Other service frequencies need to be increased where people have no other choice than to use the buses - such as the number five and four from Osbaldwick.

If the government and local authorities really want the public to use the buses, they need to ensure a frequent low cost and most importantly reliable service that is accessible for everyone.

Until this is met I am afraid the public transport system around York will remain a sham.

And the adverts that we hear daily are nothing more than a farce.

I Wright,

Bedale Avenue,

Osbaldwick,

York.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.