When will the deplorable state of buses be fixed?

TODAY I rode a bus home to Shiel Hill and sat in the front seat.

I noted that the bus was labelled the ‘‘Airport Link, Queenstown’’.

It rattled and had torn upholstery on the seat opposite, a sunblind repaired with duct tape, a plastic bag tied at the front for rubbish, and a general air of disrepair exacerbated by the dirty condition.

Goodness knows what other defects there were in the rows behind me.

Are the bus companies being squeezed by the Otago Regional Council at tenderforroute time or do they not care about the condition of the fleet? I have seen similarly disgusting buses used for transporting cruiseship tourists from port to town.

With the advent of our new bus hub, it is time the ORC set a better standard for our buses to encourage people to ride on public transport.

Come on bus companies, remove the old labels, fix the problems and upgrade your fleet so we are proud of our local transport. Janine Race

Dunedin

Priests hope for better

IT is with deep sadness, shame and embarrassment that I put pen to paper regarding the child sexual atrocities that have been committed within the Catholic Church around the world.

Pope Francis has recently written a frank and open letter to Catholics and all peoples of the world to condemn these atrocities. What he has said will not remain just rhetoric, but real, solid action will be taken to remove people from office who are guilty of such behaviour and justice be truly shown.

I fully realise that, as a priest for over 44 years, I still have feet of clay, but like thousands of other decent, honestserving priests, this degrading behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated in any shape or form.

Like other priests, we seek that structures already in place for the healing of victims, families and beyond will be given even greater attention and transparency in the future. The Rev Wayne Healey

Oamaru