Post Office taking us for a ride with bus time claims, say campaigners

POST Office claims that it is a two-minute journey by bus from a closure-threatened branch to the main office in St Albans city centre has been slammed by campaigners.

In its assessment for closing the branch in Prospect Road, the Post Office claims that it is only a two-minute bus journey from the stop nearest to the branch to the main post office in St Peter's Street, one of the alternatives if Prospect Road is shut.

Former MP Kerry Pollard, who has been campaigning to reverse the closure decision, said that whoever collated the information was completely wrong.

He said: "Just looking at the bus timetable would have been enough to show that the scheduled journey time is 15 minutes and those who use the bus regularly know it can often take longer."

He accused the Post Office of having made a major error in assuming that the bus route was two way - to St Peter's Street and from St Peter's Street.

In fact the journey was one way only, taking in a circular route from St Peter's Street down London Road, on to Cottonmill Lane and then through the Cottonmill Estate before going up Holywell Hill and back to St Peter's Street..

Janet Smith, who has been helping Kerry with the campaign, pointed out that even just going up Holywell Hill would take much longer than two minutes without having to go through the estate.

Kerry added: "This totally destroys the credibility of the Post Office in their argument to shut Prospect Road Post Office. Who can believe anything they say. I hope now that they have the decency to withdraw the closure threat."

Prospect Road is one of a total of six post offices threatened with closure in the district as part of the Post Office rationalisation programme. The others are Waverley Road and Bernard's Heath, also in St Albans, Park Street, Station Road in Smallford and Station Road North in Harpenden.