Fare’s not fair

As A Scot, living in London, 
I experienced the delights of Edinburgh’s Princes Street on Saturday. My wife and I queued for 30 minutes; there was no shortage of buses but almost no movement. Eventually a No 3 bus turned up. We clambered aboard only to be told our variety of coins didn’t exactly match the required fares. We were promptly ushered off in search of more change.

“There are plenty of shops,” said the driver, as my elderly wife and I hobbled off. “I’ll probably still be here when you get back!” He was right about that.

He probably broke a few rules by opening the doors when I showed him a handful of coins. Fifteen minutes later, we crawled past the Balmoral Hotel on to the bridge and relative escape.

If this is the way Scotland’s capital city welcomes its thousands of visitors, not all of whom could be expected to know the “exact fare” rule, I’m now content to leave its future in the hands of its immigrants and 16 year-olds and wish them the best of British.

IAIN REID

Glebe Road

Cheam, Surrey