I’M not a regular bus user, but on Thursday I thought I’d give Warrington’s public transport a go.

I’d arranged to meet friends in the town centre for a coffee, a walk that usually takes 50 minutes from Grappenhall.

Checking the timetable, there was a Cat bus at 11am.

So I set off at 10.45am, leaving plenty of time if the bus was early.

11am came and went, no bus.

The next Cat was at 11.15am, but guess what? Another no show.

11.30am and the bus arrived, dropping me off at the town centre at approximately 11.45am – 10 minutes longer than walking.

How on earth do people cope with a service like this if you’re relying on it to take you to work or college or an appointment?

If the bus manages 10mpg and on my trip there was never more than four passengers, how on earth is that being kind to the environment?

So Mr Wakerley, I won’t be taking advantage of your service again anytime soon. A service is only that if you can count on it.

Tram anyone? Yes please.

JOHN READ Grappenhall

EDITOR’S note:

A spokesperson for Warrington’s Own Buses said: “We have looked into Mr Brinksman’s complaint and the 4a services did operate apart from the 13.45 on June 21, which unfortunately got stuck in Friday afternoon traffic. Our team worked hard to overcome the delays and tweeted out a service update to advise customers.

“Regarding Mr Read’s complaint, we have reviewed the log and can see that all the Cheshire Cat buses did operate.

We have had no other complaints from customers regarding this trip.

“If both customers would like to contact our customer services team, we are happy to discuss the enquiries directly with them.”