Bus standards are fallin,
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• Buses have become dirtier, shabbier and less comfortable since October 1986, according to yet another survey on the effects of deregulation.
Around 2,000 volunteers took part in the 18-month study which was conducted by BusWatch, a body set up in 1986 to monitor deregulation. The report also slams the lack of information about services available to passengers.
It estimates that only 87% of buses show their destination, compared with 91% prior to deregulation.
Difficulty in obtaining timetables was reported as a frequent complaint from passen gers. Only 50% of all bus st have shelters and only 20% have seats, says the report.
Also, 30% of buses now rive late and many passenge are unhappy about the loss area or rover tickets and so day-return fares when more than one operator serves a particular route.
Many passengers also coi plained about minibuses, wh have become much more cc mon since deregulation. According to the results of 1 survey, 45% of those questioned found minibuses the most difficult buses to get ii and out of the double-decke were perceived as the easie