An email to the bus company...

I have just written the following email to Stagecoach Bus complaining about their services (hey, there's a surprise huh?) and I thought that you might like a read.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to complain about the state of the bus service in my area.

I reside in Tadley, just outside Basingstoke and due to disability I am unable to drive, so when I need to get into town or the hospital (which is quite regular) I am reliant on the bus service (I would order a taxi, but it is too expensive for someone on benefits, although the way the prices keep increasing it will soon be about the same price) to get me there, but the problem is I cannot rely on the buses to be there on time.

If I have a hospital appointment, I need to make sure I'm at the bus stop an hour or more earlier (for a 15-20 minute journey) then my appointment to guarantee that I can get a bus there on time, and on more than one occasion it has been a case that I have waited over an hour for the bus to arrive and had to reschedule appointments.  I have asked at the bus station in the information desk about this and they say it was a day with not enough staff, but this must be the case a lot as it this almost an every day occurrence.

Then there is the case of multiple buses seemingly "vanishing".  This morning while waiting for the bus (over 40 minutes yet again) 3 Jazz 2 buses went up.....but only after the 3rd one did an actual bus arrive at our bus stop.  What is happening to all these buses?  If they are breaking down surely you should get better mechanics?

I don't expect the bus to be there at the exact time specified (we don't actually have a time specified for the bust stop, but 3-4 previous, which I take into account), with things like several passengers getting on a bus, or heavy traffic, but waiting 40 minutes or longer for a bus that is supposed to arrive every 20 minutes is an unacceptable way for this service to be run.

I was wondering if you could give an explanation for how bad the service is in my area.

I look forward to your reply.

Regards

Mr. S.B.May

I would love to hear what they have got to say for themselves, but I doubt they will reply...I mean they don't want to listen to me, I am a mere customer.  I'll keep you posted with any replies I get.