THE Echo has recently published articles giving a very positive spin on bus services in the conurbation.

Poole is quoted as experiencing a 72 per cent increase in bus use since 2004 and Bournemouth 62 per cent. The councils are planning to spend £1.25 million on new shelters.

Morebus boast about working in close partnership with the councils to provide a high quality service in the region.

It would be very interesting to know where that growth has occurred because to many in the conurbation and wider, there is a feeling that when it comes to bus services there is a two class system.

Live on the east west corridor and you see buses stacking up behind one another and significant amounts of money being spent on the infrastructure.

Live on some of the main routes and you can get a bus direct to Bournemouth and Poole town centres and the hospitals every few minutes.

Live anywhere else and you are lucky if you get one bus an hour.

For example try getting a service bus from the university to Poole town centre or either hospital. There is just one an hour.

All Penn Hill and Lilliput have is an hourly service to Poole town centre.

I think it rather ironic that at the same time as Poole boast of spending vast sums of money on bus shelters, they are consulting on withdrawing subsidies which will leave some areas without any buses.

As an example, if these cuts go ahead then there will be no direct Saturday service from the university to Poole town centre or the hospitals. Penn Hill will lose its service entirely.

I would like to suggest that it’s time the councils took a reality check and recognised the problems that many of us face and instead of providing flashy new bus shelters and information signs did something to provide a decent service for the many deprived areas within Poole and Bournemouth.

What we need is measures taken to improve the actual services in these areas because it is only if that is done that passengers will be encouraged to use the bus rather than the car. I live in hope, but don’t have great expectations.

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