Even before this well-attended meeting took place at Writhlington Village Hall on Thursday, 14th March, the organisers' telephones were ringing off the hook and their email inboxes filling up. "We have never had anything like it," Cllr Lesley Mansell said. "We have obviously touched a nerve and there is a real need out there for a proper, regular bus service to and from Writhlington."

The momentum is being kept up, too, with the subject dominating Cllr Jackson's regular Saturday morning surgery at Radstock Methodist Church Hall. People there were full of stories of how difficult it was to organise shopping and doctor's appointments around the bus timetable. It also transpired that Writhlington people lose out badly on the weekly trips to Trowbridge and Weston-super-Mare, because the buses are full by the time they get to Writhlington.

At the meeting itself, there were many stories of residents' difficulties and everyone knew of families who had moved out of Writhlington because of this. Some matters will be relatively easy to solve with goodwill all round, such as a timetable to suit working people better and decent bus stops and bus shelters and there was a consensus that it ought to be possible to arrange an hourly timetable. One bus stop

appears to have literally disappeared – the one that used to be at Hanover Court. The CT bus will always stop there on request, but clearly this is difficult for newer residents who would not know about this. One relatively new Writhlington resident wanted to know why it was that a short campaign by residents in Larkhall in Bath had preserved a half-hourly service (the 6/7), but local needs are ignored.

This led to a wider discussion of the sense of isolation people have in Writhlington – older people unable to drive, having to give up social nights at the Working Men's Institute and young people afraid to go down the poorly-lit Frome Road to the Youth Hub.

Some bus stops are located where it is dangerous to cross, adding to the sense of insecurity. This led to the proposal that there should be a Writhlington Residents' Association to campaign for change.

The highlight of the evening was the appearance of the new CT bus – fully DDA compliant, very easy for a wheelchair to negotiate and very comfortable. As twenty or so potential passengers chorused, it is not that we have any criticisms of the CT service – we just want more buses!

The next meeting will be held on 11th April at 7 p.m., when it is hoped the Directors of the other bus companies and the Cabinet Member for Transport, Cllr Roger Symonds, will be present to answer questions.

Thanks are due to Michael James and the Writhlington Village Hall Trust for hosting the meeting. For more details, ring: 01761 436277.