Observations about bus services at train stations

I WISH to make a few observations about your article on the bus services to MIRA (Passenger boost for bus route Hinckley Times. October 22).

Firstly, about the stop off points at Hinckley and Nuneaton train stations. The service to these stations, service 66, is every hour throughout the day, not every 30 minutes.

This service runs Mondays to Saturday daytimes in Stoke Golding. Only when service 67, runs via Hollycroft, Monday to Friday peak hours only, are there two journeys per hour.

About the interchange points themselves, it is true that there is some through ticketing.

But there is no information about these services at either station, or any form of directions for passengers to the bus stop.

Also at Hinckley, buses from MIRA are scheduled to arrive just after the hourly trains towards Leicester and Birmingham have left, thereby requiring the passenger to wait over 50 minutes for a train.

And at Nuneaton, a bus stop was put up close to the railway station which would be very handy for passengers coming off the train. It’s on a one way system, so there’s no stop in the opposite direction.

But someone seems to have forgotten to tell the bus drivers about it, because, on the approach to the stop, which is 100 yards or so past a 90 degree left hand bend, most of them go round the bend in the right hand lane, so they can’t stop if someone is waiting there! Not very clever planning.

The nearest bus stop which is actually used is at Nuneaton Bus Station, a further five minute walk away, again not signposted.

Better attention to detail on things like this is called for, I think. Terry Kirby, Chairman for Better Transport Leicestershire