Behind times

WE ARE in the 21st century, yet finding a bus from Caerleon to Newport seems a game of chance based on faith in the timetable. I am guessing that the situation is similar for other routes and simply don’t understand why a simple journey by bus is so stressful. Despite technology advances, I still have to rely on Newport Transport timetables rather than an up-to-date delivery of actual bus times. Having spent a weekend in London, it was so confidence-boosting to have up-to-date, real-time information on when the next bus will arrive on my phone. The app was provided by a third party, not Transport for London, so the cost of providing this was minimal to the transport provider. I find it difficult to understand why it’s not possible to provide up-to-date real-time information on bus movements such as this in Newport. We have to move to the next generation of information or the ongoing service depletion will simply continue in its downward spiral. I firmly believe that a service such as this will drive people to use the buses, perhaps a new generation of bus users using the technology to catch a bus service that will arrive at the expected time (late or not!) instead of relying on a timetable subject to traffic fluctuations and staff shortages. The investment is minimal compared to the additional revenue generated by having a reliable delivery of transport. Come on Newport Transport, join us in he 21st century!