Letter: Public Transport - I'll stick to the car next time...

I thought it would save me the time finding a parking space and paying the parking charges in the town. The fare was only £1.20 which is good value for money and the journey did not take long, apart from having to wait in a long queue up Cheltenham Parade due to those traffic lights at the bottom of the bus station.

But, how wrong could I have been. After finishing my shopping I went back to the bus station to catch the next bus home which was due to leave at 4.55pm for the Bilton area.

I arrived at the station at 4.45pm in plenty of time, but the scheduled bus failed to arrive. I noticed from the information board that the next bus was due to arrive at 5.10pm, so I thought I would wait for this one. But, of course, this bus did not turn up also.

The information board said the next bus would be 5.25pm. By this time, I had been waiting for 45 minutes in a cold draughty station, the queue of passengers had grown out of proportion, and people were looking disgruntled and impatient.

Taking into account it is probably one of the busiest times of the day, with people going home after work, I just cannot comprehend what had happened. Needless to say no one came to explain or apologise for the wait. Believe it or not, at exactly 5.25pm two buses arrived at the station at the same time.

All I can say is what a dreadful experience it had all been. I will think twice about using public transport again, and stick to my car.

Sandra Halstead

Kings Road, Harrogate