Hopefully bus plan will get early-birds into city

AS a former inhabitant of Leicester, I have read with interest the plans for improvements to Leicester’s buses, no doubt long overdue!

If nothing else, I do hope the new system will finally put to an end the ridiculous situation where the first buses on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays do not run until about 10am. We used to see really good day trips advertised by coach companies and the Midland Red on these days, all leaving Humberstone Gate before 9am, but we could not get into Leicester from Thurmaston until at least 10.30am. We could not afford taxis.

I understand this late start had its origins in Victorian times when the city fathers decided early morning trams must not clang their bells and disturb Sunday morning church services.

This situation was left in place for over 100 years, to the disservice of generations of Leicester bus passengers.

Leicester, together with most UK cities, has suffered horrendous deteriorations in its bus services over the past 30 years or more.

Let us hope the current plans put things right at last.

Philip Bott