AFTER many weeks of rumours, it has finally emerged that the concessionary bus fare is to increase from 50p to 70p (a 40 per cent rise) - I just wish the old age pension went up by the same percentage!
And what do the people of Bolton get for these increases? More services to be withdrawn, making it more difficult for the elderly to get about.
In the area where I live, Morris Green, we will soon have no bus service at all. The nearest bus stop for this area then will be St Helens Road, which for me, with walking difficulties, is quite a distance, and then, according to reports in The Bolton News, we will soon be losing the 559 service, which at present serves St Helens Road, this will then leave just one First bus, the 582.
I wish I could share Cllr Nick Peel's optimism regarding no further price increases in the foreseeable future, but I am afraid the public transport system in the Greater Manchester area is a complete shambles. How MPs can think that this sort of set-up will attract people out of their cars is beyond me.
R Jenkinson, Heathfield Drive, Bolton
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