I WAS not surprised to see the letter regarding the new number 20 bus.

Having retired at the beginning of the year I decided to do my bit for the environment by often leaving my car at home and cycling into Altrincham. On wet days I decided to use public transport by catching the bus at Ash Lane-Woburn Drive.

Not having used buses for perhaps 47 years, I found the Altrincham bound 19A to be a reliable and quick service.

However when I recently boarded the new 20 bus for the first time, the convoluted route into Altrincham via Timperley astonished me. In Timperley only one person boarded even though we travelled round the back streets of the village. The new route added 20 minutes to the journey into Altrincham. The return journey just compounds one's annoyance.

Having used the 19a for a few weeks it was obvious that many elderly people from the Well Green area relied on the bus to get them into Altrincham quickly and at no cost. I doubt they are car owners. I also noticed plenty of young people using the 19A service.

However, there is no way I will continue to use this poor service into Altrincham, although I appreciate the new route provides easy access to Timperley and that is good.

I realise that public transport needs to maximise the number of passengers it carries so a longer route should capture a bigger share of the market but I wonder how many people like me will go back to using their car.

However I have a solution if the bus company and authorities are prepared to consider it.

The 18 route from the airport runs along Hale Road into Altrincham at 30-minute intervals. After stopping at Hale Barns it could easily turn right into Shay Lane (as the 19A did) and cover Ash Lane, Grove Lane and Delahays Road. It would add no more than five minutes to the journey but provide plenty of elderly people with a direct and fast service into our local town.

I am convinced more people will benefit from this U route than if the bus just continues to run along Hale Road. I recognise there will be no 18 bus between Halecroft Park and the Delahays Park Road traffic lights, but I doubt there is much demand in that short stretch of road.

Huge houses owned by wealthy business people front this section of Hale Road and I imagine most families have two or more cars at their disposal. Such locals are unlikely to use buses I wonder if we might get a positive response from the bus company and councillor Roland Griffin?

R Wheeler, Woburn Drive, Hale Barns