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Half-empty buses don't give us value for money
THE new "Mainline" buses operated by Transdev Burnley and Pendle certainly look very impressive – but do they provide value for money when they run for much of the day more than half empty?
Wouldn't it have made more sense for them to buy a less expensive alternative and use more buses similar in size to the ones on the Boundary Mill service during off-peak periods?
It does not take a degree in rocket science to work out these giant gas guzzlers cost a lot of money, and anyone who uses the bus regularly knows the main line service is only busy when people are going to and from work and school.
The rest of the time, there are only a handful of passengers on board – and therefore a smaller vehicle with a capacity of, say, two dozen, would be perfectly adequate to cope with the demand on most journeys.
PENDLE councillor Sonia Robinson is right to call for better transport timetable links to improve services – but the problem is not a new one.
Many years ago, in the days when Mr Pendle lived in Trawden, anyone wanting to travel by bus from the village to Keighley had a major problem – there was (and still is) no direct link between the two and the bus from the village arrived at Heifer Lane a few minutes after the Keighley bus had left the connecting stop for Laneshaw Bridge and all points beyond.
Again, rudimentary knowledge of rocket science should have told someone changes were needed if the service was to be better used – but the timetables remained unaltered for years, and people travelled over the border – and continue to do so to this day – in their cars.
MR Pendle was intrigued by an email he received the other day about the recent National Snoring Week and "celebrity snorer" Shaun Williamson.
Never having heard of the said gentleman before, Mr Pendle was intrigued to find out who he was – and discovered he was an ex-EastEnders actor, which perhaps explains why Mr Pendle was unfamiliar with his name, never having watched the programme.
The news he was famous for something other than snoring was something of a relief to Mr Pendle - for if the week's organisers had needed someone known for their snoring, they could have had Mr Pendle (for a suitable fee, of course).
He remembers being in an isolation ward in Burnley General Hospital while recovering from a broken hip four years ago and being told on awakening one morning the nursing staff had had to close the door of his room because of the noise from his snoring. Highly embarrassing!
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Weather for Pendle
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
