ELDERLY residents in Richmond have reacted with concern over the standards of bus operators in the borough, claiming that they often feel vulnerable and unsafe.

Fresh statistics for London, which show that there were 20,000 complaints in the capital about unsafe driving by employees of the main bus companies, have prompted Richmond's Meadows Hall users to hold a public discussion.

Criticisms were made over drivers not pulling up to stops and others moving off suddenly before older passengers had a time to get to a seat.

The meeting was attended by the Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Richmond Park, Susan Kramer, who will be taking up the issue with bus operators, including Arriva London South, which, it is said, received 539 complaints in 2004, one of the highest in the survey.

She said: "All the companies receive funds from Transport for London to train their drivers to think about passengers when they drive so it should not be an issue.

"The members had good things to say about the many considerate drivers. But a minority are letting people down and making them feel vulnerable or unsafe.

"It is a real shame as people have genuinely seen improvements in the frequency of the service, but this is taking the edge off their satisfaction with the service they are getting.

"We must make sure that passengers do not get a rough ride and that incidents of thoughtless behaviour on the part of drivers are reduced in 2005."

Transport for London (TfL) have said that London buses make 1.7 billion trips a year and actively requests passengers to make complaints where necessary.

These figures of 20,000 complaints averages out at one complaint per 350,000 journeys.

A TfL spokesman said: "All customer complaints are taken very seriously.

"Because of this London Buses is currently putting all 22,000 drivers through a BTEC qualification.

"More than half of all bus drivers have completed the course, which includes customer service. Over and above this, London Buses actively sends out secret shoppers out to monitor the performance of drivers across the capital."