My Smart Card gave up

Unfortunately, my (not very) Smart Card gave up, with 12 days remaining.

An SYPTE lady sent an email with the promise to sort it out “as soon as possible”.

I phoned back on three separate days to ask about the card but ended up on voicemail each time – I suspect chronic understaffing is to blame.

Meanwhile, I would like to offer my thanks and respect to the bus drivers (across four companies) and Supertram conductors for their patience over those 12 days.

I’d kept the paper receipt for the £53, but it inevitably became creased and the ink faded.

30 years ago, Mrs Thatcher allegedly said: “The man, aged 26, who still uses the bus, is a failure in life”.

Without delving for hours into Hansard (Parliamentary records) for the exact wording, it is clear that this mentality is behind the systematic downgrading of public transport.

The next Labour government should prioritise local transport ahead of the HS2 project because everyone in cities needs to get from A to B, but only a small number of people can afford regular inter-city transport.

Simon Rawlins