I WAS deeply shocked to hear of Stagecoach's plans to end the number 70 bus service.

As a young adult living in Chiseldon, this service represents my only viable means of transport.

Given the cost of higher education and vocational training, people of my age simply do not have the funds to maintain a car of our own, and are almost totally dependant on public transport.

As a result of Stagecoach's decision, many young people I have spoken to in Chiseldon, the Ogbournes and Marlborough stand to lose either their jobs or their social life, and are outraged at having their only line of communication severed.

I have heard the Stagecoach claim that the service they currently provide is inadequately patronised, hence their desire to terminate it.

Myopically they have overlooked the fact that, by and large, it is the inconsistency of their service which has reduced its patronage.

As the main public transport franchise in the Swindon area, Stagecoach surely has a responsibility for providing adequate public transport in the area, as opposed to merely running the most profitable routes. If it is unable to do so adequately, surely it would be better to rescind its franchise and bestow it upon a more able company.

T HOWE

Chiseldon