I have been forwarded this email address in order to raise some points regarding the current Arriva Wales North Wales Service.  I travel to and from Flint to Bangor every work day. The service is usually 1 train per hour.

1) It is always busy, and often just a 2 coach train. Having an extra coach would make a difference, especially at peak hours when people leave after work. The train is especially full on a Friday evening at around 5pm when people return home, and yet only a 2 coach service is only often available all the way to Cardiff from Holyhead. Additionally, if there is a ferry service from Holyhead, it does get very busy. As Bangor is a University city, many students and staff are affected.

2) There is no 4pm service from Bangor to Chester, which means that if you need to leave early, you have to catch the 3pm service. Having a 4pm service would allow people to leave one hour before, without impinging on work too much, especially if they arrive an hour earlier on the Virgin train, which reaches Bangor at 8am.

3) This next point I think is the most important for myself and other commuters. We have to pay for a weekly (7 day) or monthly season ticket, which means if we catch the train for work, we only need the ticket for 5 working days a week. This means 2 days are never used, and yet we are forced to buy and pay for the 2 days we never use.

Having a ticket that allows us to pay for the 5 days would save us paying for 2 days a week. In a month that works out as 8-10 days of un-used travel, which we are currently forced to pay with the existing ticket scheme.  A weekly ticket costs around 70 pounds. If a 5 day ticket were made available, that would save commuters at least 70 pounds per month (for 8-10 days of un-used travel). Over the year, that works out as a saving of approximately 840 pounds. That equates to roughly 12 weeks worth of travel.

I think it is fair to pay for what you use. I think it is unfair to pay for something I do not use. A better pricing scheme with a 5 day ticket would make it fairer and cheaper for people to catch the train rather than driving.

I hope the points I have raised are looked at as I believe them to be fair. I will be happy to discuss these or other points at any time.