A public eye on the buses

A CONTROVERSIAL move to recruit volunteer bus spies to check on Oldham’s services has had a mixed reaction.

TravelWatch North-West, the public transport watchdog, is looking for members of the public to keep an eye on the performance of local buses.

The organisation wants regular bus users with a good knowledge of services and routes within their local area who are prepared to travel and observe, then report their findings.

They would also review local media for reports on public transport issues and get to know local bus operators as well as public transport officers.

The volunteers will be expected to build a network of other informants and report back on a monthly basis.

TravelWatch secretary John Moorhouse said: “We will see who we get before we decide exactly what to do with the information — whether to produce one big report or a series of bulletins.”

He added that they wanted to cover the whole of the region — and had consulted with the Confederation of Passenger Transport but not with individual councils and Integrated Transport Authorities.

Councillor Keith Whitmore, chairman of Greater Manchester ITA, said: “We already do this kind of thing and it would be a waste of public money just to start from scratch.

“It would have been more sensible to talk to us first.”

But the move was welcomed by the Greater Manchester Bus Operators’ Association.

Secretary Gradyn Thompson said: “As long as they are sensible, we would be glad to co-operate.”