Providing public transport as soon as people move in to new houses

[whole diary]

[Red Squirrel]

I can bore for Britain on the subject - so it I ever make it to a Coffee Shop event I recommend you make your excuses and leave if I start to talk about it!

There are so many things I could easily spend an evening listening to - but rarely enough time.  I rather suspect in this case I might miss the last train ...

Quite so. I too would be fascinated!

[grahame]

As I said earlier, I support initiatives to improve and expand public transport provision, but we must be realistic.

I totally agree, Robin.   There's very long answer to follow.  The TransWilts constitution when I was involved was written to cover "public transport from to and within Wiltshire" and indeed that was rather more than just words.  There is plenty of scope for initiatives - new ones and re-started ones - that are realistic. But there is also plenty of scope too for the unsustainable, the unaffordable and the fanciful.  The "trick" is to find the wood for the trees, and to convert theory on what should be done into the practise of actually doing it.

I am conscious that there remains a very long and deep answer to follow ... and that I have run out of time to write it to the depth I would wish.  So much I could come back with on general bus services and on the specifics that relate to Chippenham, to Melksham, to Trowbridge, to Westbury ... picking up / refreshing comment from http://option247.uk for example.

With some trepidation (as these are my framework notes which lack proper filling in)


A potted review of bus transport in Wiltshire

History

Local rail -> Local Bus and private car
Independent -> Nationalised -> Privatised and unregulated
Network -> Commercial + supported individual routes / part routes
Blue collar traffic lost.  Bus to factory work has gone.
Few ministers / MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) / County Councillors outside London are now regular local public transport users

Current service groups
a) Interurban
b) School
c) Town
d) Rural
e) Evenings
f) Sundays
each with metrics and characteristics to be considered, and overlaps too ...

Loss of frequency -> loss of passengers -> further loss of frequency (and vice versa)
Desire for clockface versus traffic issues
Spike loadings and the 08:30 to 09:30 gap when buses are often silly-quiet

Need to make money for the operator not just bring good for the economy
Commercial routes may be good for the economy

Commercial and Mergers Authority, cartels, competition more important than social service??
Advanced and enhanced partnerships and franchising - but no-one to take the risk
Lack of customer partnership groups for the bus industry / operators

An infrequent service is either specific for a paricular requirement within a flow (e.g. school) or a distress purchase (i.e. lacks conveniencne but is all that's availabe - best of a bad job)

People really don't like a long wait and / or a high fare fare for a journey of just a few minutes

Increasing bus standards costs money and that has to be funded somehow.

Buses run complete routes / cycles and one way flows (morning inbound later in the day outbound) reduce average loading to way below what the average observer might see.

Congestion plays havock with buses keeping to time. Buses failing to keep to time loose faith with the public and all sorts of complexities like drivers running out of hours get added.  If buses on a route are rourtienly held back by congestion, more vehicles are needed or a less frequent service is all that can be achieved. If the congestion is always at the same time of day, that really messes up any attempt at clockface service - wither you build slack in all day or you have daily chaos at congestion time.

The future

Clean air, congestion, climate crisis all could be helped by more people per vehicle

Towns are growing but High Streets are shrinking

5 days a week, 9 to 5 office jobs not quite so much the norm.  Shorter weeks, flexible hours, working some days from home, growth of Sunday as a workday.

Network (inc rail) and social needs changing.

Town Specifics

To be written - in fact to be started yet!


There is huge scope for people to fill in / discuss the above .... and it may well fit well in "Transport Scholars" where we can talk of the theory behind some very difficult choices and issues in a rather less public way.   Not all members who are well into the buses are members of "Transport Scholars" however - please like this post if you would like me to add you there.

"Am I a member of Transport Scholars" you may ask.   Try this link and if you see the "How Stuff Works" board you're already there.   If not ... like this post to be added; I'll check daily for the next week.  Or send me or another admin a personal message ...