WHY, I wonder, do I get the feeling that the powers-that-be, who are pushing for the guided busway, think we who live in this area are all stupid?

Could it be because almost 12 months after they first revealed their grand design to the public, these people have just distributed a second batch of glossy mis-information booklets, almost identical to the first batch, peddling the the same scheme which was so comprehensively turned down by the public a year ago?

Almost identical, but not quite. There are now three glossies instead of one, each targeting a different area. Divide and rule? The content too is subtly different. The differences indicate that the objections raised last year have been noted. The proof of this can be found, not in any attempt to modify the original scheme, but in the care taken to try to fudge the issues. Lots of pretty little pictures designed to fool the environmental lobby, with references to the purity of public transport - no nasty emissions from your friendly neighbourhood guided bus for example.

The same claims as before about the faster journey time you 'should' experience (10 whole minutes remember), about the noise, pollution, disturbance levels being kept 'as low as possible'. The findings of the same anonymous experts in support of the scheme. The same praise for Leeds and Ipswich. (What happened to Essen? Are the Germans out of favour?)

But if you read these booklets looking for new information, you will be disappointed. Except, that is, for an interesting disclaimer tucked away on page 20, to the effect that while the success of the bus scheme would be a useful asset to the success of the Xanadu project, the two are in no way inter-dependent or even related. Strange. Was there not a rumour that John Prescott was concerned about the adverse effect the Xanadu project would have on the local traffic network?

Why do I get the feeling the whole business has already been signed, sealed and delivered, and that we are all being taken for a ride good and proper.

D. Hood

Leigh

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.