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Title: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: grahame on January 31, 2023, 08:23:50 Shared from Councillor Mike Bell (https://www.facebook.com/cllrmikebell/posts/pfbid02eqEQZL2FxRbtbCfUWHH1qFUAb8DFgx68Mdk55YBscKYpvzbMbGqbkG8aSzHugxr8l):
Quote North Somerset Council is launching a new, on-demand bus service in April to help people use public transport in areas of the district without regular routes. This a new concept to our area so bear in mind this is under development and the precise scope of this might change in the early days. But this is a genuine and exciting opportunity to improve access to bus services for many communities currently missing out or paying the price for service cuts. The new services will go where they're needed and run without a set timetable, typically using smaller vehicles. The map shows in green the areas where the service will operate initially in North Somerset. The areas for the new on-demand service will include: * Parts of Weston village, Worle and Worlebury * Locking village * Hutton village * Banwell * Winscombe Initially, there will be 16 buses in North Somerset running from 7am until 7pm, Monday to Saturday. Passengers will be able to book their journeys by phone or through a mobile app. The buses will be available for short trips or to connect to the wider public transport network. Pricing will be in line with fares for local buses and Diamond Travel concessionary passes will be accepted, along with the West of England multi-operator ticketing for seamless onward travel. Passengers can book a journey on the phone or via an app and will receive instructions on how to catch the bus - usually from a nearby stop - and how long the waiting time will be. The system then cleverly optimises the best route for the driver to take for all passengers who have booked. You might need to make a change from one on-demand bus to another or via a scheduled service to make a long journey. More details will be shared over the coming weeks ahead of the services launching in April. Replacement for the large number of traditional supported fixed route services. As new services, they can be supported from the funding provided for the Bus Service Improvement Plan in the area. I wish it well; for people wanting to get from "A" to "B" from time to time, without a specific arrival time, it seems a good idea. For people who travel to appointments, I am less sure that an untimetabled service ("how long the wait time will be") will work. If I want to go to a railway station to use an advanced ticket or catch an infrequent train, can I be sure of my connection? Will people be happy with intermediate changes of vehicle or system, through ticketing or not? Will people be happy being given different roadside pickup places on different days? If I go to a destination, unsure of when I am coming home, how long will I typically have to wait when I call up a bus? I'm sure that the folks who have put the system together have excellent answers to these questions; I look forward to reading re-assurance and hearing of it working in practise. Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: ChrisB on January 31, 2023, 10:02:27 The concern I always have is for the return - do you book it at the same time as the outward (meaning you are already constricted by that return time, when whatever you are going to might run late) or risk the service being fully booked when trying to book it when you are actually ready to return? I've ended up needing a taxi having experienced the latter problem, which is completely unacceptable & puts one off from DRT altogether
Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: old original on January 31, 2023, 14:31:34 Similar to the Corlink service in Cornwall. Lasted about 4 years I think.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2399505.stm Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: grahame on January 31, 2023, 15:00:25 Similar to the Corlink service in Cornwall. Lasted about 4 years I think. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2399505.stm Some HAVE do / do well such as Lincolnshire. And others could / can work and there are plans afoot. I worry - for reasons asked already - about North Somerset. Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: chuffed on March 30, 2023, 20:52:52 The Westlink app is live and the info on Travelwest is there for all to see. I am tempted to travel from sea to shining sea, (well Titfield thunderbolt land,) from my neck of the woods right on the coast to Freshford covering the east and west extremities of the South zone. Will it send the system into meltdown on the first day ? Or will it be rather more roBUS than that ??
Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: Red Squirrel on March 30, 2023, 23:17:24 The Westlink app is live and the info on Travelwest is there for all to see. I am tempted to travel from sea to shining sea, (well Titfield thunderbolt land,) from my neck of the woods right on the coast to Freshford covering the east and west extremities of the South zone. Will it send the system into meltdown on the first day ? Or will it be rather more roBUS than that ?? WESTlink has its own topic here: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27332.msg332352#msg332352 …but maybe it should be on this board? Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: Ralph Ayres on April 04, 2023, 23:15:20 Ignore me! Just seen Red Squirrel's post elsewhere. Is there a way to delete a post?
Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: chuffed on June 07, 2023, 07:11:33 I travelled with DRT to Bristol airport...and was dropped and picked up at the Airport Tavern on the A38. For anyone reasonably fit and in good weather the 15-20 minute walk to the the terminal would be OK. However if you had a suitcase or a family it would be totally impractical. The second time I was taken into the airport and back out again and finally dropped on the painted BUS STOP on the top road adjoining the terminal. Opposite, was a clear warning on the sign about 200 yards from the terminal, saying you would be fined £100 if you stop here ! Whether that was applied to the DRT bus, I have no idea.
Anyway I wrote to Westlink and the airport pointing out the impracticality of these arrangements, and metaphorically knocked some heads together. I am pleased to say I have now had an email to say that Westlink DRT have now been given permission to use Stand 24 in the airport bus station. However the not inconsiderable difficulty of getting UP to the terminal from the airport bus station still needs to be addressed. I saw an elderly couple get off a Falcon coach having come up from Pymouth laden with suitcases. The way up to the terminal is two slopes and three flights of steps...they had to ring for a taxi to take them up for the terminal !!! Surely, with the profits Bristol airport make, someone could be employed with one of the golf type buggies to transfer passengers and their luggage between the airport bus station and terminal...... Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: JayMac on June 07, 2023, 07:21:54 It's far more profitable to charge extortionate parking/waiting fees and fine the unwary than it is to provide decent customer service. Pretty much true of every UK airport.
Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: Mark A on June 07, 2023, 08:33:10 It's far more profitable to charge extortionate parking/waiting fees and fine the unwary than it is to provide decent customer service. Pretty much true of every UK airport. Also Cornwall, I hear. (Cornwall has its own home-grown parking company.) Mark Title: Re: Demand Responsive Bus Services in North Somerset Post by: Bmblbzzz on June 07, 2023, 09:08:14 I have heard Bristol Airport's financial model described as "car parking with an airport attached".
Re: the DRT bus stopping in the bus stop (any bus stop), that's what I would have expected it to do. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |