It's high time council addresses shortcomings with Leighton Buzzard bus timetables

A Leighton Buzzard resident claims Central Bedfordshire Council's (CBC's) new bus timetables are driving him up the wall.

Neil Cairns, who catches buses from the Brooklands estate, is urging CBC to amend its notice boards, claiming that there are several errors that could lead to confusion when commuting.

He also argued that the bus timetable on Hockliffe Road, near Brooklands Middle School, is too high - at over 7ft, he claims it is difficult for the smaller, partially sighted, or disabled people to read.

Neil claimed: "It's good to hear that the buses will be running down the High Street from 10th March.

"However, if you look at a number of the bus stops about the town, there is a bit of a mess if the 32-33-34-35 services are any guide. I'm told the bus stops in Meadway have a timetable displayed for the wrong side of the road (shows one for the 34 when its the 35 that calls, and visa-versa).

"The one on Hockliffe Road by Brooklands has its new timetable over 7ft up so none of the small elderly ladies can read the small print. This one has no mention of the no32 service that calls between the no35 services. Only the no35 is listed, nothing for the no32.

"The bus stop in Lake Street also has lots of data missing, the no32 is every two hours according to the timetable displayed there (though it is in fact every hour, the 11.05 we catch does not exist according to this timetable).

However, Neil told the LBO: "It seems that whoever was supposed to sort out the timetables for each bus stop has made a real mess of it all."

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokesman said: “We understand some bus stops across Leighton Linslade have bus timetables at heights that may be too high for people to easily read and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

"We have been working incrementally since August 2021 to update roadside panels and will address the stops that have inaccessible or incorrect display times to ensure information is correct and accessible to all.”