For the first time I find myself writing to a newspaper in response to a letter from William F G Norris (Stop whingeing about the buses, December 7).
I can only assume that Mr Norris has no need to travel regularly on the 86 service between Plymouth and Barnstaple via Okehampton; in fact, I wonder if he has ever used it at all, or he would not have written the letter.
I and my fellow commuters have had to endure the change in service time since September. In order to arrive home at a respectable hour we have all had to re-arrange our working hours, at considerable inconvenience both to ourselves and our employers. This is in order to catch the supposed 1600 from Plymouth or 1650 from Tavistock, which last week was 23 minutes late Wednesday, 42 minutes Thursday, and on Friday 60 minutes late.
Would you, Mr Norris, appreciate standing for this length of time in our present weather conditions where there is no proper shelter? I doubt it, and this is a regular occurrence.
We are well aware that this is due to roadworks etc, but the schedule for the buses is totally unworkable even without hold-ups. It is absolutely impossible for the bus to travel between Plymouth and Tavistock in under 50 minutes; one can only assume the schedulers used Damon Hill, driving a Formula One at 03.00 in the morning.
We all appreciate that it is not the drivers' fault, and yet they have to accept the face-to-face complaints - not the heads of Western National - they are in the front line.
When you have to leave home at 07.30 am and do not get back until 19.00 or later in order to work a normal 'nine to five' day maybe we can be forgiven for 'whingeing' as Mr Norris puts it.
We do try to 'smile' and we know there is a real world out there, we are just not home in time to enjoy it.!
Join us, Mr Norris, see how you like it, we are a really friendly bunch, we have to be!
Mrs Gill Ward
65 Fern Close
Okehampton