THE Daily Echo recently reported on a public meeting about the cuts to the No. 5 bus service in Sholing.

I was one of about 100 angry residents who showed up to get their voices heard, and it made me reflect once again just how important public transport is for our city.

Because a bus is more than a vehicle. It’s about whether you can make a shift to work on the other side of the city. It’s about whether pensioners can get to the GP surgery. It’s about whether you can sit in a pub and watch football with your mates on Saturdays.

Since the bus companies are privatised and the council is running out of money to subsidise routes, it’s not easy to get things fixed. But I listened as the people of Sholing came up with practical suggestions to solve the problem.

Some of the buses from high frequency routes could be diverted down Butts Road, for example.

In the long term, we need to take a serious look at the way our buses operate. In London the buses are better regulated and profits made on some routes can subsidise the cost of socially important routes.

Buses shouldn’t just be run for a profit, but in the public interest of the people.

ROWENNA DAVIS, Prospective Labour MP for Southampton Itchen.