Bus frustrations are no surprise (From Basingstoke Gazette)
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Bus frustrations are no surprise
11:40am Saturday 20th October 2012 in Letters
Sir.–It’s not surprising that there is immense frustration concerning Basingstoke's buses. I went to one of the recent bus consultations, and although everyone was very sympathetic, the likelihood of real improvements seems very slim.
The basic public transport set-up is absurd. We have a bus company (Stagecoach) with a virtual local monopoly. In my opinion, Stagecoach is complacent, with out-of-date equipment, an unfriendly website, awful timekeeping and an addiction to barmy route names (Jazz? The Link?). It can do what it wants with its services, and it does.
Its primary legal responsibility is to serve the interests of its shareholders. Basingstoke and Deane, our local authority, has no powers to intervene whatsoever.
The county council is too remote to respond properly, and is just about powerless any way.
It's all a recipe for a second-rate public service, with the whims of company bosses dictating what we do or don't get.
It's time for a total shake-up of public transport with ‘localism’ being turned into reality rather than just a slogan.
–Stuart Shurlock, Warton Road, Basingstoke.
