IF people were inclined to hope that a new interchange might result in an improved level of service from bus operators, that sense of optimism has inevitably been dashed by First Manchester, who yet again provide us with a constant stream of service cancellations for which explanations are seldom given.

First Manchester is clearly not capable of operating the timetabled services with any degree of reliability, and there appears to be no concern within local government about this situation. Operators of commercial bus services appear to be a law unto themselves with no avenue for redress, and the absence of any effective regulation means that the travelling public can have little hope for improvement.

Those who incline to the view that privatised services always operate more efficiently than publicly-run services need to have a look at the state of our local bus services.

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