I HAVE read the letters from those persons suffering frustration and inconvenience as a result of First Bus re-routing and terminating some services to the Harwood/Bradshaw area.

I would now like to put the case for the ongoing frustration and exasperation suffered by the passengers of the 471 First Bus route.

This bus is the only one which serves Falkland, Morar, Rannock, Lovat, Carron, Torridon, Tarbet, Inverbeg and the upper end of Bury Road. For many months now this service has been nothing short of diabolical.

Approximately 18 months ago this route became what First Bus euphemistically call a "high frequency service" -- a bus every 10 minutes, or better. That is the slogan pasted to the bus windows!

A couple of months ago, between Monday morning and Saturday morning I added up the time spent waiting for this bus -- result, just short of five hours!

Last week the scenario was -- Moor Lane just before 5.50pm, still waiting 6.35pm; next day bus stop 3.10pm, still waiting 3.45pm; day before, bus stop just before 9am, bus came 9.20am (that morning I was going for a train); same evening, bus stop at 6.40pm, bus came 7.05pm.

Any comment to the driver or the company falls of deaf ears.

The people of this area are sick and sore about the quality of their service. They are not paying lesser fares for the inferior service, they pay just the same as the routes awarded "Gold Service", and feel it is about time they received a reliable and clean service.

The buses are often very dirty as well as late. I observed the same squashed salad sandwich on two consecutive days! Of course it should not have been left there by its owner, but nevertheless it should have been removed from the floor of the bus.

I would like a public explanation from the company about this service and for its weird and wonderful timing. The long waits are not isolated instances, they happen day in day out, week in week out.

I look forward to the new slogans being put in place on the bus, which will say "Expect us when you see us", and suggest that a few chapters from Grimm's Fairy Tales replace the current timetables -- it would be more appropriate.

There is a huge gap in the service in the evening when travelling from Bury to Bolton -- Bus 18.21pm, next bus 19.30pm. One hour and nine minutes later!

I rest my case -- but only with a struggle on Bus 471.

E Holmes

Bolton