THE NOT SO FREE BUS
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
The completion of our portfolio requires us to send a letter to a local MP about an issue we would like to bring to their attention, in the hope that they will do something about it. Although the likelihood of that happening is very low because our current government doesn’t truly seem to have a grip of what’s going on. However I’ve decided to press ahead and touch upon the recent withdrawal of the ‘Free City Bus’, which used to run very conveniently around the city free of charge. I say conveniently because one of its pickup points was extremely close to my accommodation, which made getting to university on time a lot easier. This admittedly can be a problem for some students, but lets not point any fingers.
Although a very small issue it seems like yet another obstacle for students who I think are the main users of this free service. Along with the elderly, although they are generally covered by Leeds City bus passes. The introduction of the 50p charge on the newly named, ‘Leeds City Bus’ will, whether people like it or not mean the difference between some students turning up to their early morning lectures and not. I myself have already seen some students unaware of the charges, do a U-turn and head back to their beds sickened by the new charges. At the end of the day 50p can get you 3 Freddo’s. This isn’t me speaking from experience by the way just something I felt people should be aware of. Although if you’re a fan of Yorkies then your going to have to find and extra 10p from somewhere because they’re 60p.
On a serious note however for a council as large as Leeds they did very little to announce the fact that us students especially that these charges were going to be put in place. Agreed the pricing of things in general has risen for one reason or another, thanks again must go to David Cameron for that… but I have yet to find any form of justification from the Leeds City Council as to why this has happened. All I have come across are messages of annoyance about the situation, which should surely be being buffeted back by the PUBLIC RELATIONS section of the Leeds Council. The most I could find in defence of the decision is this…
"Metro has stepped in to organise the trial in response to widespread concerns about the possible axing of the FreeCityBus service, due to funding cuts, and the many public comments by people saying they would be willing to pay to use it.
"Passengers will be charged 50p per journey and while the exact fare will help minimise delays, change will be given."
Taken From:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/leeds/2011/mar/28/leeds-free-city-bus-could-be-replaced-with-50p-service
Although here there are claims that many people have agreed to pay the fair, just so that bus company keeps running. Which is fair play in my opinion especially with the elderly and disabled people who make good use of the bus. For those without bus passes/cards it seems as if they have been bypassed once again. This is why I felt the need to write my letter to the council and try to get some answers as to what is going on, and where us students fit into the equation. Given, I do sound very bias towards students but I am so I feel the need to be sometimes. I intend to deliver my results if there are any during my portfolio presentation, this is if they get back in touch with me but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one so I may have to take up another route of research. Lets hope the free bus returns so that 9 o’clock lecture is that little closer every Monday morning J .
No comments:
Post a Comment