HAVING been deprived of the use of my car recently, I have been using buses to travel to work and for leisure.

My findings may be of interest to those asking us to consider using public transport.

Out of 36 journeys, only three were comfortable, clean and well driven. Many of the negative experiences here are due to a minority of irresponsible passengers, not the operators or drivers.

Most buses were more like bin wagons, with newspapers, cups, cartons and other rubbish everywhere, with a supporting cast of chewing gum and spit.

Most services ran on time, but a few were missing or late. Returning home around 6pm, long gaps appeared in "high frequency" services as they grappled to beat traffic at outer destinations returning up to 25 minutes late in bunches.

I was late for work one morning when the knock-on effect of a missing service delayed the following service, either of which would normally have got me in on time.

The best, most pleasant and comfortable journey, was on one of the older double deckers. One of the group once kept an express service with coach-type seats, driven by a well-groomed lady with personality and expert driving ability, coupled with a good automatic gearbox.

Am I converted to the use of public transport? Not yet. We have a long way to go to make it attractive. The problem is that it is far more costly to provide effective remedies to the existing problems than to leave things as they are.

The frantic push to make operators buy new vehicles is all well and good, providing the build quality makes for a good passenger ride, remembering people have to stand and move around inside. Couple this with better, or in some cases, any driver training, and we have a start.

P McGeehan

Makinson Avenue

Horwich