Helpdesk: Bus passenger builds up head of steam over a missed connection

Q On 3 October I boarded First Bus Service 60 at Earlston at 08.40 to travel to Berwick Railway Station to connect with the 10.11 East Coast train. This bus service was scheduled to arrive at Berwick Station at 09.56 and is advertised as a Raillink Service. The bus left Earlston ten minutes late, having dropped children at Earlston High School.

On 3 October I boarded First Bus Service 60 at Earlston at 08.40 to travel to Berwick Railway Station to connect with the 10.11 East Coast train. This bus service was scheduled to arrive at Berwick Station at 09.56 and is advertised as a Raillink Service. The bus left Earlston ten minutes late, having dropped children at Earlston High School.

The bus did not arrive at Berwick Station until 10.13 and I missed my train. My rail ticket was an Advance Ticket and only valid for the 10.11 train. I had to spend a further £72.15 on a single ticket to my destination. I complained to First Bus, who reported that the driver had been unable to make up the ten minutes lost at Earlston and that it was not company policy to reimburse customers for any costs incurred to the late running of the service for reasons outwith their control.

I wrote again to First Bus disputing this and asked why the driver lost a further seven minutes on this journey of only 76 minutes. I have not received a reply.

MR, Kelso

First Scotland East Operations director John Gorman replies:

“Mr R e-mailed us on October 4 regarding the late arrival of Service 60 at Berwick Station. We responded later that month, but, having double-checked our records, we can find no further correspondence from him.

“However, I have looked into his issue of complaint personally: On October 3 our 08.40 service was running around ten minutes late. This was due to a larger amount of customers, particularly schoolchildren, boarding between Galashiels and Earlston than normal. Given the bus was extremely busy, mainly with schoolchildren, our driver, with safety front of mind, quite rightly decided not to try and make up for lost time on the remainder of the journey. I’m sorry that the late arrival of our bus at Berwick caused Mr Ross to miss his scheduled train.

“Having checked our punctuality and reliability statistics I can confirm that this service is one of our best performing routes. However, I accept that on this occasion, that will be of little consolation to Mr Ross. Therefore, we will arrange for a travel voucher to be sent to his address as well as an updated letter explaining the circumstances.”

• If you have a consumer issue that you would like tackling, contact Claire Smith on 0131 620 8511 or e-mail [email protected].