As an OAP I have found my bus pass a great help.

It enabled me to travel half price and then free to the cancer clinic at Brighton and to appointments at Worthing Hospital.

It has also enabled me to continue with my voluntary work.

I use my pass two or three times a week and have experienced rudeness from fare-paying passengers like your correspondent, and from the bus drivers who also seem to resent OAPs travelling free.

I travelled into Worthing last Wednesday on a very crowded bus; there was already one mother with a pushchair on the bus and a second mother tried to board.

The two people sitting in the seats in the pushchair space were asked to move, the elderly man using his Sholley (shopping trolley) for support did so, the youngish woman merely moved her feet and the mother with great difficulty manoeuvred her pushchair into the space around the lady.

I have only seen three people refuse to move from the pushchair space one was a male student, the second a woman in her 20s and the third an old woman who does have difficulty walking.

I frequently offer my seat to people older of frailer than myself, I seldom see younger people doing so.

During last Wednesday's journey we were "entertained" by two people on their mobiles.

The first explained to everyone on the bus as well as to the person on the other end of the phone that he was off to a pub for a drink before picking up his two children, it was about 11am.

He then told us that he could not go to the local ****** pub because he had been banned.

The conversation containing a great deal of swearing continued with the man giving his colourful opinions of the various pubs in Worthing, in many of which he appeared unwelcome.

The young mother at the front of the bus then told us all via her mobile phone that she ******* could not pay the money back because she did not have any ******* money; the conversation continued in a similar vein.

The bus was crowded and there was standing room only, the situation was not helped by a large young man who persisted in standing at the front of the bus chatting to the driver making it almost impossible for passengers to get on and off the bus.

The journey home was also not without its problems.

A young boy waiting at the bus stop wanted to go to the toilet, his mother said that she would not take him but once on the bus she would put a pull up on him, which she proceeded to do taking off his trousers and underpants, at the front of the bus, in full view of all the passengers.

At the back of the bus were a young couple, the girl very pregnant, kissing and cuddling with hands everywhere.

I, too, see the people in the bus queue spread out across the pavement by Beales, I have yet to see old people causing the problem, although I have frequently had to squeeze past groups of young mothers with pushchairs, deep in conversations.

Two weeks ago there were three young mothers, two with pushchairs and all with other young children, it was very difficult to get passed these.

The following day the path was blocked by a couple with a double pushchair who stopped to talk to a friend.

I, too, have noticed that older people meet up on buses in order to go out for the day, instead of moaning about this I am pleased because having listened to them talking, and having talked to some of these people, I realise they now have a purpose and an outing to look forward to, the alternative could well be days sitting in front of the television and days with no-one to talk to.

I believe that the free bus passes have got old people out of their homes and as a result they have become more healthy.

I feel very sorry for the person who wrote the letter and hope they have no children, because I am afraid that parents pass their dislikes on to their children.

The writer is obviously a person with little respect for or tolerance of old people and this will have been passed on to any children he or she may have.

If there are grandparents then they will have little respect shown to them and what is even more sad when the writer becomes old then they will have no respect shown to them by their children or grandchildren.

Patricia Rose
Address supplied

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