That’s a headline from The Daily Telegraph of today.

Brian Souter is obviously unaware that Stagecoach in Winchester already run such a bus – the 6A service. I honestly can’t recall the last time I had a fare paying passenger on this service. It would however be unfair to call it a ‘Granny Bus’ because at least as many Grandads use the service. The 6A service is a 20 minute loop around what is almost predominately areas of housing for the elderly. What I hate most about the route is that the timings are set as if it were a mixed passenger type route not one where you have to wait whilst each passenger slowly makes their way to a seat and then with arthritic joints slowly lowers themselves into a sitting position. The other problem is that due to the narrow roads and tight bends a low floor bus would struggle in places so a stepped Dart is allocated to the route. Our stepped Darts have a pole in the middle of the steps and it’s painful to observe passengers struggling to raise their feet high enough for each step whilst trying to lift and manoeuvre a shopping trolley or walking frame around the other side of the pole.