I AM glad Dr Andrew Murrison has been asking the views of his constituents in a recent transport survey. If he wants to be taken seriously, he would do well to distance himself from his own party when in government, as the Conservatives did not help a great deal in improving public access to bus and train services.

The deregulation of the bus industry in particular has led to fragmentation and chaos. Despite valiant attempts by county and district councils to co-ordinate services, on many Wiltshire routes you either have to buy two single tickets or risk a wait of possibly several hours on the return journey as only a bus of the same company will accept your return ticket.

Through ticketing is also virtually impossible, as I discovered when trying to get from Trowbridge to Glastonbury. Would this problem have arisen were Badgerline still a monopoly? (And why does an operator calling itself "Faresaver" charge exactly the same as its rivals for the same journey?).

Similarly, rail privatisation under the Tories bodes ill for this region. As the profitable freight, Inter City and London commuter services were creamed off first, leaving the "provincial rump" in a less attractive position, a problem likely to be felt by Wessex Trains, having inherited arguably the less profitable end of the old Wales and West franchise. The situation we are left with is not ideal, but improvements could be made. Both Trowbridge and Warminster rail stations have car parks on either side of the track. Could not the side nearest to the town centres be converted to a bus station for direct bus/rail interchange, stepping straight off the bus onto the platform as in Caerphilly, South Wales. Supporting such schemes would help convince me our local representatives are committed to the future and sustainability of public transport. In the meantime, I remain sceptical.

B A BIDDULPH,

Newtown,

Trowbridge.