To many buses - Page 3

PILKYBUSDRIVER · 31-07-2004, 15:30

Has your car never broken down?Does it have to be driven 6/7 days a week for about 10 hours a day over humps n bumps and god knows what else?Even new vehicles breakdown,it's a fact of life we have to put up with.The Accrington Transport buses are newer than the Pilkybuses and are well maintained unlike the Pilkybuses,I should know I am driving for them.

lettie · 31-07-2004, 15:45

My dad still drives for Lancs Utd and has been a driver for over 30 years, be started with the old Corporation. He always used to work the late shifts, but on some local routes it's not safe. Drivers face the possibility of attack, robbery and pure moronic vandalism. Is it any wonder that people don't want to use the public transport if they have access to a car. I heard a snippet of info from a neighbour today. He has been talking with our local councillor, who reckons that there may be a train station in the future, at the bottom of Marlborough Rd area, near the old iron bridge. The council think that if there was a station up this end of town, more people would use trains. We all know that wouldn't be the case. Perhaps if the trains, tracks and signalling equipment was properly funded and maintained, if the trains ran on time, were comfortable, quieter and less expensive they would be used more. We've organised a meeting round here soon with our councillor and the police in order to thrash out a couple of trouble areas. I might ask him exactly how much HBC are going to waste on this potential project.

PILKYBUSDRIVER · 31-07-2004, 23:00

Public Transport is a great thing.Everybody including me would agree that it should be cheaper but due to fuel prices and insurance costs due to the "no win no fee" attitude these days it is barely a non profit business.I'll be working from 12.05 - 23.40 tomorrow on the huncoat route,these evening and sunday services are subsidised by the council.So ie. the council will be paying us a few hundred £sss to run that service on Sunday and i'll probably only take about £30-40 in fares.It's such a waste of taxpayers money.I ain't even gonna go into Blackburn councils deceiving ways and underhand tactics regarding Blackburn Transport, it aint pretty.

Acrylic-bob · 01-08-2004, 06:43

I don't get this, we used to have a Corporation transport service that served all areas of the borough. Then along came privatisation and Accy decided that it was too expensive to continue to run it. Now they spend our money subsidising the private companies, who, no offence intended mate, run a largely substandard service on knackered buses? And we have, on the one hand, Peter Britcliffe bleating that there are too many buses and on the other, the Government shrieking that we must have more. And this is progress? This is meant to be an example of 'Industry and Prudence' is it? I know what it looks like to me!

accyplus · 01-08-2004, 09:36

Thanks Bob,that was my original point,before privatetisation Accrington Transport
coped very well,and provided a reliable service,it was Thatchers obsession to get
rid of the unions that as been the ruin of the bus station.