J E and J J Wallis, of Churchfields Drive, Bovey Tracey, write:
I refer to the letter from Audrey Jenkins (Letters 18/9/09) writing on behalf of her sister regarding the lack of shelter and seating at Sherborne Road bus station, Newton Abbot, (the station) for the 39 bus service run by Stagecoach.
I sympathise with Audrey Jenkins over her frustrations in trying to obtain information from either county or district council level or the bus service provider and I am writing to confirm there is inadequate provision for the 39 bus travellers compared to the other bus services using the station.
Within the past two years the 39 bus terminal has been moved in the station, with attendant shelter and seating loss, when the modernised Go2 bus service (together with a newly dedicated bus shelter and seats) was introduced.
This modernised service has a bus frequency of three or four buses an hour so there isn't as long to wait for a Go2 bus compared to the solitary one bus an hour service that the No 39 route rates.
There is no doubt the 39 bus travellers are the poor relations of the travelling public in the station with, for instance, the insertion of some of Stagecoach's antiquated single and double decker boneshakers on the route as well as the lack of shelter and seating.
There is also the added problem at the present 39 bus stop in the station of the multi storey car park's ticket machine, passenger lift and stairs immediately adjacent to the bus stop, with users milling around and trying to negotiate their way through the queue of 39 bus travellers.
This may well be something in which the Newton Abbot town centre manager should be interested.
It is also probable that the responsible authority for bus shelters, when identified, will come up with another reason for the lack of provision of shelter and seating: that is the tiled mosaic on the wall by the 39 bus stop.
but this should not deter the authority from arriving at a satisfactory solution in providing basic facilities for the waiting travellers.
Until the county council, district council and Stagecoach stop passing the buck between each other and address the problem to travellers' satisfaction may I suggest that Audrey Jenkins' sister, and any other waiting 39 bus traveller, does the same as my wife and I.
We sit in the No 12 bus shelter across the road until the No 39 turns up but in writing this letter it has occurred to me that in the interest of safety perhaps we should take over the Go2 shelter and seats a distance of two bus lengths up the road from the 39 bus stop.