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There goes Woodborough, again, and again and again
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| Elizabeth Mizen waits for the bus |
DEVIZES bus passenger Elizabeth Mizen found a bus journey to Pewsey that used to take 35 minutes now takes more than three times longer under the county council's new bus arrangements.
New timetables came in on September 1 when the popular and innovative Wigglybus officially ceased to exist and was replaced by the new Connect2Wiltshire.
Mrs Mizen, from Nursteed Road, Devizes, has been a champion and regular user of the Wigglybus, which she used to visit her 91-year-old mother in Pewsey.
She said: "It has provided an excellent service for the community. It was a godsend to people like me who don't drive and would otherwise have to rely on other people to get about.
"What has happened is that the county council has removed the direct services between Devizes and Pewsey and I have to change between two round-robin services at Beechingstoke."
Mrs Mizen said her first experience of the new system was a chaotic shambles. To catch the bus she had to leave home half an hour earlier than before. The journey that had normally taken her 35 minutes from door to door on the first day of the new system took one and a quarter hours longer than normal.
She said: "The journey was horrendous. I normally look forward to these trips to see my mother, who lives independently, but just needs a little help with things.
"The day was spoilt as all I could think of was my journey home and whether or not I was going to miss my connections.
"Whilst on my journey I visited the village of Woodborough four times, twice in each direction. I have nothing against Woodborough, but I would rather be spending time with my dear mother."
Mrs Mizen is furious that a new service, which advertises itself as continuing the flexibility of the much-lauded Wigglybus, does no such thing.
Mrs Mizen said: "They have made my transport issues a nightmare. It is a backward step rather than an improved service for passengers. I despair."
A spokesman for Wiltshire County Council said the Wigglybus was an experimental service funded by the Government for a limited period only, which has now come to an end.
She added: "In order to keep the best features of the Wigglybus and extend it to other areas, we have invested in a fleet of easy-access buses and committed over £300,000 a year to support the Connect2Wiltshire services in rural areas.
"In planning the new services, we have tried to cater for as many journeys as possible. We still run a bus from Devizes to Pewsey, but cannot provide direct routes all day because of the cost."
12:17pm Thursday 27th September 2007
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CommentPosted by: Grant, Marlborough on 1:24pm Thu 27 Sep 07
Connect2Wiltshire have messed up big time.
On the first day of school this term my daugther was told the bus no longer goes to Bishops Canning from Devizes in the mornings.
Of course they bothered to tell the parent of Devizes children about this before term started they just left kids stranded at the bus stop.
Bring back the Wiggly Bus and sack the morons in charge of Connect2Wiltshire!
Connect2Wiltshire have messed up big time.
On the first day of school this term my daugther was told the bus no longer goes to Bishops Canning from Devizes in the mornings.
Of course they bothered to tell the parent of Devizes children about this before term started they just left kids stranded at the bus stop.
Bring back the Wiggly Bus and sack the morons in charge of Connect2Wiltshire!
Posted by: Don, Devizes on 2:38pm Thu 27 Sep 07
Grant, I've not met a County Councillor who actually uses a bus. Therein lies the root of the problem
Grant, I've not met a County Councillor who actually uses a bus. Therein lies the root of the problem
Posted by: jarge, bordeaux (British exile) on 4:12pm Thu 27 Sep 07
[quote][bold]Don[/bold] wrote:
Grant, I've not met a County Councillor who actually uses a bus. Therein lies the root of the problem[/quote] What? Our esteemed county councillors ride on a bus like the common people? Next you'll be expecting them to consider the tax-payers interests !
Don wrote:
Grant, I've not met a County Councillor who actually uses a bus. Therein lies the root of the problem
What? Our esteemed county councillors ride on a bus like the common people? Next you'll be expecting them to consider the tax-payers interests !
Posted by: Grant, Marlborough on 10:57pm Thu 27 Sep 07
When my daughter was at Avebury school (before it closed forever) I drove to and from school following the Bodmans bus in each direction.
Bodmans refused to pick my girl up because (get this) [bold]"It would interupt the buses timetable"[/bold] ......
No wonder so many people took their children out of Avebury causing the numbers to fall so low the school had to shut.
When my daughter was at Avebury school (before it closed forever) I drove to and from school following the Bodmans bus in each direction.
Bodmans refused to pick my girl up because (get this)
"It would interupt the buses timetable" ......
No wonder so many people took their children out of Avebury causing the numbers to fall so low the school had to shut.
Posted by: walter, wilshur on 6:48am Fri 28 Sep 07
You dun't understand, Grant. Private bus companies got the same problem as British Rail used to have. My mate Bert (you might know him, drinks down to "Jolly Farmer" most nights), 'ee worked fer BR, and he used to say, "T'aint a bad job, but twud be a brilliant one if it weren't that people insist on riding on the bloody trains!"
You dun't understand, Grant. Private bus companies got the same problem as British Rail used to have. My mate Bert (you might know him, drinks down to "Jolly Farmer" most nights), 'ee worked fer BR, and he used to say, "T'aint a bad job, but twud be a brilliant one if it weren't that people insist on riding on the bloody trains!"
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