TransWilts Link - 21st March 2015

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Chippenham Town Hall, mid morning to mid afternoon (to coincide with public transport from all over Wiltshire and for users of Wiltshire services that run beyond the county boundary too).

The six-monthly meeting of Transport User Groups from across Wiltshire - meeting to learn from each other and from authoriies and service operators, to share their successes and failures, and to co-ordinate requests, suggestions and volunteer activities put forward and going forward for the greater benefit of the network as a whole

User groups, interested individuals, specialist groups, rail industry, local government are all invites. If you are interested, we would love to have you along.

Detailed plans for the event will be posted later. It should come as no surprise that the event will be timed to allow people to arrive by train and bus in good time for event, and to get home in a similar way after it concludes.

Free entry / no charge for the day; people attending will need to pay their own cost of travel / parking if they come by car.

Event details from https://www.facebook.com/events/1568296453428796/

Sponsored by the TransWilts CIC^▸ (Community Interest Company ) (that's the TransWilts CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) umbrella organisation) - latest details:

There's a big difference between 20,000 passengers a year and 200,000 passengers a year - and that's the change on the TransWilts from 2013 to our guestimate for 2015. 2014 figures were around 160,000. Put it another way, 50 passengers a day in 2013 ir rising to 500 a day in 2015, and that's not a peak figure - it's a average.
The main thing that's caused the improvement is that the service has been increased, and it's now much more appropriate in frequency, price and timing. Yes, there are those who argue, and with excellent evidence for more and longer trains, but we are over the tipping of it now being useful where before it (frankly) wasn't to all but a very few.
The improved services wouldn't have gained so many passengers if it wasn't for First Great Western, Wiltshire Council, and the community all working hard - and working together - to make sure the line works well, is known about, and any little issues that aris are mopped up. The community end has been 'fronted' by the TransWilts Community Rail Partnerhship wit communit reprsentatives working purely on a voluntary basis.
But there's big difference between 20,000 and 200,000 passengers, and between 2 and 8 trains each way, and the organisation of the TransWilts CRP which was excellent for what we had 2 years ago was stretched through 2014. So we've re-organised in the TransWilts CIC (Community Interest Company) with the TransWilts CRP being a major division, and with admin, secretarial and financial requirements being delegated (or promoted) off the volunteers and ground team to help them target their time. The CIC also allows us to look forward - considering how big the cahnges have been in the last 18 months, how many changes are we going to see in the next 18 months and beyond. And so many journeys are connectional that the TransWilts CIC - just like the TransWilts CRP - is structured to allow community, local authority and public transport operator co-operation on linking and connecting services as a part of the Wiltshire network.
Minutes of the AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) that set up the new structure - http://www.transwilts.org.uk/TWCRP_AGM_2015.pdf ... please note in your diary our TransWilts link event - 21st March - ALL welcome - https://www.facebook.com/events/1568296453428796/

[grahame]

[grahame]

Travel details ...

from AMESBURY and south Wiltshire - travel via Salisbury
from AVONCLIFF - 09:09 train, change at Trowbridge
from BEDWYN and PEWSEY - sorry - poor connections / best via Swindon
from BRADFORD-ON-AVON - 09:21 train change at Trowbridge
from CALNE - 09:26 bus
from CHIPPENHAM - we're launching in your town!
from CORSHAM - 09:34 bus
from DEVIZES - 09:40 bus
from DILTON MARSH - 09:27 train, change at Westbury
from FROME - 08:02 train change at Westbury
from LYNEHAM - 09:28 bus
from MALMESBURY - 09:00 bus
from MARLBOROUGH - 08:19 Bus (X5, change to train at Swindon)
from MELKSHAM - 10:01 train
from ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT - 09:15 bus
from SALISBURY - 09:01 train change at Westbury
from SWINDON - 10:02 train
from TROWBRIDGE - 09:51 train
from WARMINSTER - 09:23 train change at Westbury
from WESTBURY - 09:45 train

Where is the Town Hall in Chippenham??   10 minutes from the train station, 5 minutes from the bus station: