tjhyde.co.uk

So Stagecoach replied.  Not as quickly as I’d hoped for, but quick enough I guess.  However, the reply itself was far from satisfactory.  Here it is in it’s entirety:

Dear Mr Hyde

Thank you for your e-mail concerning the 231 service on the 30th October 2009 and your other comments.  I am sorry that you have had cause to complain about our services once again.

At the moment practically all of the main arteries in and out of the city and some of the minor roads that our services travel along are subject to road-works with traffic control and some with diversions.  This is true for the 231 service, but also the combined knock on effect from these disruptions brought Piccadilly to gridlock on Friday evening.

I apologise for the inconvenience that is being caused to your journeys due to these circumstances.  We have arranged for an extra vehicle to operate to support the 231 service from now up until Christmas and hopefully this will help alleviate serious delays.

Yours sincerely

Forgive me if I sound a little cynical here, but I’ve heard it all before.  Just like last time, they completely fail to address most of the points I raised in my complaint.

So I sent this response whilst I was on the bus home (efficient use of time or what?!)

Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate that the situation with roadworks at the moment is far from ideal, but your reply also spectacularly fails to address a number of points I raised in my initial complaint. Why are out of service buses able to get through this supposed gridlock yet in service buses aren’t? More to the point, with the situation as it is at present, why are out of service buses going through Piccadilly in the first place? Surely it would be a better use of resources to serve the customers waiting at the stop?

I also note that you have failed to address my query regarding your staff at the stop. Why are they not afforded the power to alter a driver’s final destination if it would benefit the customers waiting at the stand? On Tuesday why did your employee not step in to ask the Littlemoss passengers to step aside and let the Ashton passengers on first, given that there were 2 Littlemoss buses nearby?

Finally, I appreciate the gesture of adding another bus, and assume that it will be running the full route to Ashton. What time will this bus be scheduled to run? Also, I note that the bus will only run until Christmas. What steps will be taken after Christmas to ensure that the service remains punctual and adequate?

I look forward to receiving your reply.

Yours Faithfully

What next I wonder?