ASTLEY commuters are fuming over changes in the number 34 bus service to Manchester.

Carol Matthews says commuters have to wait in pouring rain because bus services have been slashed, and those still running are now running to a different timetable.

This, she claims, means commuters hoping to start work at 9am are having to leave home TWO hours earlier in order to get to work, with an additional TWO hours travelling time each evening due to bad timetables and changes in bus locations caused by the Manchester bombing.

Carol, 43, who works for a firm of Manchester solicitors, said: "The 34 bus service used to be good and was well timed for those os us getting to work, but now it is absolutely diabolical. The service has been cut completely from 9am to 5pm, which is bad enough for anyone wanting to get to Manchester during the day, such as my 16 years old son Daniel who has only just started work but who has been getting to work half an hour late because of the bad service.

"But for rush hour travellers the service, or lack of it, is causing frustration and anger."

She cited her friend and colleague June Kolon who has to catch the bus at 7.10am in order to get to work for 9am, since later buses cannot be relied on. A 5pm finish means not getting back to Astley until 6.45pm, because the bus now runs from Chapel Street, Salford, due to the bombing.

Carol added: "We work in Albert Square and it means we have to run all the way to Chapel Street to try to catch a bus. Normally we cannot get on it because it is full and that means waiting for the next one for upto an hour in wet or cold weather. It is time GM Buses got their act together and thought about people trying to get to work and back.

"My son has come down with flu because of getting soaked to the skin waiting for a bus home and then having to sit for the best part of an hour on the bus before it reaches Astley. We are all disgusted!"

A spokesman for GMPTE said: "We can confirm that the 34 service has been cut. This was purely a commercial decision by 'First Bus' who have taken over GM Buses North who have decided to slim down the operation. In this case it would be true to say that deregulation of buses is definitely to blame in this case!"

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