Counting down to life as a recluse (From Dorset Echo)
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Counting down to life as a recluse
9:34am Friday 15th February 2013 in Your letters
Having lived in Sutton Poyntz for the last 50 years and seeing double deckers then coming down into the village as far as the Springhead Hotel, the bus has become, as a non driver, a lifeline for me.
I feel the decision to axe the service 4B to Sutton Poyntz has a very detrimental effect on the community.
When I renew my bus pass in March 2013, it will be not fit for purpose and in my particular case practically obsolete.
In an age when we are being encouraged to use public transport services, how can First justify this?
To say ‘we regret the impact that the decision to withdraw this route will have on local people’, First has no idea of the impact.
I am now on a countdown to a more reclusive lifestyle.
BARBARA Harrison Sutton Poyntz Weymouth
Comments(13)
albula40
says...
6:45pm Fri 15 Feb 13
I'mavoter
says...
6:53pm Fri 15 Feb 13
Get a grip
says...
7:19pm Fri 15 Feb 13
JamesYoung
says...
9:14am Sat 16 Feb 13
albula40 wrote:Nonetheless, there is a point here.
Have you the capacity to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
All that is happening is that Sutton Poyntz is becoming more like every rural village in the country.
The government needs to end this bus pass idiocy now. Means test them - if you get pension credit, you get a bus pass, if you don't, you don't.
The reason the buses are empty is probably because the paying passengers were being charged a premium to cover the none paying ones.
Get rid of bus passes and fares will drop.
I'mavoter
says...
9:29pm Sat 16 Feb 13
JamesYoung wrote:Oh for goodness sake wake up and smell the coffee ! Do you seriously believe that if bus passes were abolished the bus companies would bring the fares down ? There is more chance of me performing the opening ceremony of a new Waitrose branch on the moon !
albula40 wrote:Nonetheless, there is a point here.
Have you the capacity to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
All that is happening is that Sutton Poyntz is becoming more like every rural village in the country.
The government needs to end this bus pass idiocy now. Means test them - if you get pension credit, you get a bus pass, if you don't, you don't.
The reason the buses are empty is probably because the paying passengers were being charged a premium to cover the none paying ones.
Get rid of bus passes and fares will drop.
marabout
says...
2:02pm Sun 17 Feb 13
It is an 8 minute walk to the nearest bus stop.
JamesYoung
says...
8:18am Mon 18 Feb 13
I'mavoter wrote:Yes.
JamesYoung wrote:Oh for goodness sake wake up and smell the coffee ! Do you seriously believe that if bus passes were abolished the bus companies would bring the fares down ? There is more chance of me performing the opening ceremony of a new Waitrose branch on the moon !
albula40 wrote:Nonetheless, there is a point here.
Have you the capacity to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
All that is happening is that Sutton Poyntz is becoming more like every rural village in the country.
The government needs to end this bus pass idiocy now. Means test them - if you get pension credit, you get a bus pass, if you don't, you don't.
The reason the buses are empty is probably because the paying passengers were being charged a premium to cover the none paying ones.
Get rid of bus passes and fares will drop.
Bus companies are in the business of running buses.
People don't catch buses unless they are affordable
Therefore buses need to be affordable.
As prices drop, more people catch buses.
The secret is increased occupancy not increased fares.
Unfortunately the bus pass scheme has increased the occupancy for non fee paying passengers, pushing up the fuel bills while decreasing the revenue.
Your argument might well be true if they the only choice, but they aren't. Most people can walk, cycle, take a taxi or drive.
The obscure
says...
8:57pm Wed 20 Feb 13
What would it take fir buses to be the success story of the train?
JamesYoung
says...
6:52am Thu 21 Feb 13
The obscure wrote:Train operators aren't required to carry the over-65s free of charge.
Can someone explain to me the struggle that buses are having - empty n losing money - whilst trains are packed worse than cattle yet fares go up every year.
What would it take fir buses to be the success story of the train?
And, in most areas, they have a monopoly. If you want to get from Dorchester to Southampton, what are you going to do?
Within the confines of a town, there are alternatives.
greenglasses
says...
9:35am Thu 21 Feb 13
No a bus service isn't a right but if it's something you use and are use to then not having it will impact on your life.
weydiva
says...
10:41am Thu 21 Feb 13
sparkleeye
says...
4:18pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Someone's stone mushrooms or red balls are far more important than your freedom, you old or disabled person....you are not important to them.
mark@greenhill says...
6:27pm Fri 15 Feb 13
I grew up in a village that had 2 buses a week. Now, they have non at all.
The people there, do not moan about it to First or any other bus company. They recognise that the service was uneconomical, and was therefore scrapped.
If enough people in Sutton Poyntz had used the service, it would still be running.