Un-fare charge

A transport boss is launching an investigation into a letter asking post offices to pay £120 a year to distribute bus timetables.

The letter, from Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive (GMPTE), has angered sub post masters across the borough.

Now Oldham councillor Richard Knowles is demanding an inquiry after receiving calls from businesses across the area.

Councillor Knowles, chairman of the development and operations committee of Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority, said the letter has also been sent to libraries and tourist information centres and suggests, as an alternative, the timetables could be collected from bus station Travelshops.

Despite the executive apologising and admitting the letter was sent to post offices by mistake, Councillor Knowles said: “From calls I have received, it is obvious other businesses distributing these timetables — including libraries and tourist information centres —received the letter too.

“It just should not happen. No business, whatever they are, should have to pay for distributing literature which helps promote the executive’s operations.”

Greenfield sub-postmistress Mandy Gorey said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the letter. The bus timetables are particularly valuable to pensioners.

“I thought it a cheek by GMPTE to ask us to pay £120 for a service we provide free of charge to their customers.

“And, even though they now say it is a mistake, I still believe they should not charge any supplier for helping them to promote their business.”

Suhki Singh, who has run Dobcross Post Office for more than nine years, said: “The request was outrageous. It’s 100 per cent wrong from them to ask for money from anyone who is providing this service. ”

Diggle sub-postmaster Paul Berg added: “I only have a small shop yet we always make room for the timetables. It’s laughable to ask us to pay for them.”

The GMPTE’s letter said the executive was evaluating provision of the delivery of public transport information services and was aimed at containing costs and achieving environmental aims of reducing paper.

Laying out a revised service to the GMPTE information outlets, the letter said: “To stay on our delivery and receive one delivery each month of information and promotional leaflets will cost £120 each year and if you would like the service we will send you an invoice.

“All information and promotional leaflets can be obtained or topped up from our Travelshops in main bus stations.”

Royce Franklin, chairman of Saddleworth Parish Council’s traffic-transport sub committee, supported the demand for an inquiry.

“It is particularly unfortunate they were sent at a time when so many functions formerly carried out by the Post Office have been taken away,” he said.

“In two Saddleworth villages, Diggle and Dobcross, the post office is the only shop and care needs to be taken to maximise the service they are able to give to the community.”

GMPTE’s interim service delivery director Michael Renshaw said: “Over recent years we have expanded the number of outlets on our distribution list to around 3,000 sites. The aim of providing timetable information to these outlets is for them to pass it on to people who cannot get this information any other way.

“We have to make sure that we are using our resources most effectively and that we are getting information to passengers by the most appropriate means. All timetables are available from www.gmpte. com and GMPTE-owned outlets.

“We have written to a number of commercial outlets and they have confirmed that they no longer need to be on our distribution list.

“Letters were also mistakenly sent to a number of post offices and we are now contacting them individually to arrange for this service to continue. I apologise for any confusion these letters may have caused.”