The wheels on the bus are safe and sound, they say

“BACK to the Bus” says the message on the electronic board on front of the B3 through Bronte country.

Inside, there is another running display: ”Welcome to Bronte bus. We’re clean, safe and ready to go. Please wear a face covering and sit closest to the window unless you are travelling with other members of your household.”

At a guesstimate, about half the passengers complied, but with marked age differences. Most older people wore coverings, most younger people did not. I’m wearing mine, because masks have as much psychological as practical value. They remind you and everyone else that the pandemic is still raging.

Arriva bus is running half-page colour ads in my local paper, showing a smiling, white-haired lady. In capital letters, the text urges: “Get back on board safely with your concessionary pass.”

I’ve never seen anything like this before. It enthuses: “Whether you’re out and playing with the grandkids or meeting up with old friends, it’s time to get back out there and explore all the places you love safely with your bus pass.”

Well, all I can say is they must be short of passengers if they have to go out begging us to take a ride. Maybe income is still low, like the trains. Or perhaps this is all part of the Government’s efforts to persuade us oldies that the pandemic is basically over, and we have nothing to fear.

Two pages on, a small news item reveals that Arriva is cutting bus services in the Wakefield area “because of a lack of available drivers”.

So, get back on the bus, but not in the so-called Merrie City, and especially Kirkhamgate where residents fear they are being left isolated.