A SPAT has erupted between a councillor and a bus firm which operates the shuttle service from Chester Railway Station.
The dispute began when Cllr David Robinson allegedly called the buses run by Liverpool-based Aintree Coachline Helms “ugly”.
His comments came as a free shuttle service, operated by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) and the Rail Gateway Partnership, was axed in November.
The replacement scheme, which charges passengers £1 to travel each way, was criticised by Cllr Robinson for costing the Tory-led council more, as it has to pay subsidies to the new operator.
Managing director of Aintree Coachline, John Cherry, said he retaliated with a new sign on the rear of one of the three buses which stated ‘I’m not as ugly as Cllr David Robinson’.
Mr Cherry, who has since named the other two buses Anastasia and Griselda after Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters, said: “In November Cllr David Robinson was having a go at us.
“In January he does the same thing again, only this time saying our buses are ‘dirty, ugly things’. I thought to myself, okay, we’ll have a bit of fun with this.
“We had just painted the bus, so I asked them to put the sign up.
“We were having a sweepstake in work to see how long it would take for someone to complain. It actually only took two hours.
“I’m not a soft touch but this was just a bit of fun. It has gone down really well with taxi drivers.”
Cllr Robinson, who is the former Labour chairman of the old city highways and transport committee, said: “It does not bother me at all. I have much bigger things to worry about.
“My concern has always been to have the best quality buses between the station and the city centre. If that is coming, then that’s great.”
Cllr Justin Madders, leader of the CWaC Labour Group, added: “It’s all a bit childish. It’s never wise to put those opinions on the bus in that way. I don’t think it does them any credit at all.”
Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) spokesman Ian Callister said: “Cllr Robinson thinks it’s a huge joke and is laughing along with the rest.
“He’s taken a bit of stick in his local but that goes hand in hand with being a local politician anyway.
“As for the council, let’s just say that we couldn’t possibly comment on such a subjective issue.”