WE read with interest your Gazette Letter of the Week from March 31.

Unfortunately your correspondent is wrong in many respects.

With regard to Faresaver X31 being much more expensive than First we would comment that we charge what we believe to be realistic fare to secure the long term viability of the service.

Where competitors drop their fares to a level which we believe are unsustainable, we will not enter into a price war which will ultimately result in a service becoming ‘commercially unviable’. This can only result in one thing, the withdrawal of the service because it no longer ‘pays’.

Having said this, Faresaver offer a variety of incentives to regular users. For instance the £2 fare into Chippenham could be purchased as an 11 journey ticket at £15, equating to an average fare of £1.36, (cheaper than First).

Faresaver offers reduced rate travel to concessionary bus pass holders before 9.30am as a gesture of goodwill, we do not receive any reimbursement from Wiltshire Council for this.

‘Often the Faresaver does not turn up’. According to the West of England Real Time Information Systems we have achieved in excess of 95 per cent buses adhering to schedule. We pride ourselves on being one of the highest scoring operators in the monitoring area in this respect.

‘I often have to go to Bath early to arrive before 8.15am’. Currently First has one bus arriving before 8.15am, Faresaver have two. From April 25 we will have three buses arriving in Bath before 8.15am.

‘Prams, pushchairs and wheelchairs – how are they going to fit on a bus which is often a much smaller bus’ : We provide vehicle sizes as required by loadings. We try not to run large buses (which use more fuel) with only a couple of passengers on board. However, we have invested almost £1 million in new larger vehicles in the last six months alone. Our buses are basically no different to First buses.

‘I beg First Bus and Wiltshire Council to look again and re-examine the situation and think again for all bus users’ sakes’. Wiltshire Council has no influence on a decision by First Bus to withdraw a commercial service. Faresaver has picked up the pieces on numerous occasions over the years when other operators have either ceased trading or decided that the returns achievable are no longer adequate.

We have served North Wiltshire for over 35 years and have every intention of continuing to do so. We are confident that those passengers who are so in favour of a multi-national bus company will soon learn that the local family run business is actually a perfectly acceptable alternative.

JUSTIN PICKFORD

Next Bus Ltd

Bumpers Farm Industrial Estate

Chippenham