A CARNFORTH man is calling for a public inquiry into bus services after the latest round of price hikes by Stagecoach.

John Scaife is calling for 'a serious look' at who sets the public transport policy locally -- Stagecoach or Lancashire County Council.

Mr Scaife is regular user of the threatened Carnforth -- Morecambe bus route which, he claims, has been under threat since the death of Morecambe and Heysham Corporation Transport.

He said: "Lancashire County Council has since then had a Transport Policy of running this service route, which is one of the only two major routes into Morecambe, with a very substandard hourly service and a prohibitive fares policy.

"The current fares are highway robbery for such a very poor service, which will seriously affect tourism in and around the Morecambe Bay area."

Other high profile problems which Mr Scaife has drawn attention to include the lack of a clock at Lancaster's new bus station, a new computer there that hasn't worked since it opened and the recent problems with an eight per cent fare rise and difficulty with new computer programmes.

Mr Scaife even claims that some drivers have had to ask passengers for directions on certain routes.

He fears that the lack of an effective bus network could undermine recent attempts to improve public transport, including the £1.15 million investment in Carnforth railway station and a £660,500 grant for an 'integrated rural public transport network.'

Meanwhile, passengers living on Westgate in Morecambe have become the latest to suffer after Stagecoach scrapped bus routes in the area on Sundays.

Pensioners are particularly concerned as the nearest usable bus stop on a Sunday is more than a mile walk away.