I HAVE written letters to The Bolton News several times before regarding the poor service provided by First Bus.

I can only speak from my experience of the 507, which I'm sure fellow travellers will agree is most unreliable. Cancellations and late running are the norm.

If I have an appointment in town I would have to set out for one, maybe two services earlier than I need to to make sure I'm there on time.

I want to use public transport but I can't rely on it and have to use my car instead. Not good enough by a long way.

On October 31, I emailed Transport for Greater Manchester with my concerns. I also enquired if First Bus kept a record of their service cancellations and if they did not could TfGM ask them to do so and make the list available to the general public. I received no acknowledgement to my email.

I also emailed First Bus with the same request, also asking for a list of the age of the buses they operate. Some of the buses on the 507 route are 'W' reg. First sent an Auto reply saying they would contact me within two weeks. At the time of writing, it is now over three weeks since, and no reply.

First Bus did have a meeting with the public in Bolton on November 9, but this was held at very short notice and not well advertised.

I belong to Bolton Bus Users Forum. We are completely non-political and meet about once a month in the town centre. If anyone would like to come along, please contact me at :- ehyland1@hotmail.co.uk

Eric Hyland

Harwood