AS a bus pass holder, was I alone in anticipating a wonderful future of unhindered, free nationwide travel from May 1?
Before that date we border-dwellers exulted in the free travel afforded to us at any time within Lincolnshire and beyond county boundaries to nearby towns.
It became a great convenience to be able to hop on a half-hourly bus for a quick trip to t
he doctor's surgery in nearby Holbeach and return within the hour with our medication.
If we started out early enough, several hours' shopping or browsing in Peterborough or King's Lynn could be enjoyed before returning home for lunch.
So-called 'kneeling' buses made day-trips feasible for the disabled or infirm, releasing them from the confines of the house and neighbourhood for a much welcomed break.
In keeping with the green movement, cars could be safely left at home with their carbon emissions and rocketing fuel prices.
Moreover, there was an opportunity to make new friends and meet old ones while waiting at the bus stops, an excellent place to swap stories.
But we reckoned without the new national rules. No travel before 9.30. Obviously to avoid the city rush-hour. But where's the city, where the rush hour? That means no travel before 9.53 in our neck of the woods.
No more free travel to Peterborough because we live near the beginning of the route.
Travel options are further limited by a change of operators. Stagecoach has replaced Cavalier and kneeling buses with arthritic vehicles as incapable of kneeling as some of their passengers.
Many buses don't run. No more hopping into Holbeach; it could be tea-time before we return.
How long before the operators decide the routes aren't worth it?
Amid the encircling gloom of soaring prices, the promise of a new improved bus service was a beacon of reassurance that life was still worth the candle.
South Holland District Council, please don't extinguish it!
JOAN WOOLARD
The full article contains 340 words and appears in Lincolnshire Free Press newspaper.
