WECA Bus Contracts

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Report from a meeting in Keynsham today ... all "as I understand it from the reports"

Weca has NOT renewed contracts on supported bus routes. They have voted in favour of converting the majority of supported bus services in the area to a DRT system.  Affected services include 5/47 22 96 172 174 178 179 506 513 514 516 672.  They are now going to do the final planning for the DRT system to start, from nothing in two months time. They have finance for 2 years.

Concerns:
How will it be financed after the 2 years?
How will it be set up so quickly?
Will DRT work for these service - is it practical?

It has been suggested by cynics that the mllions that WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) have received under Bus Back Better cannot be spent on supporting existing servives, so they're scrapping existing sevices and introducting new service which they can then support from that money.

There ARE good cases for replacing / revamping some services, but on this scale it looks like madness to me!

[Bmblbzzz]

DRT: Directly regulated transport?

[grahame]

DRT: Directly regulated transport?

Demand Responsive Transport - sorry - should have clarified.   Not a fixed route at a fixed time - you phone (or text or use an app) to arrange for the bus to go your way and pick you up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand-responsive_transport

[grahame]

From Citistar on Facebook

This afternoon, WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) under the leadership of Dan Norris and the leaders of B&NES (Kevin Guy), South Glos (Toby Savage) and Bristol (Marvin Rees) have voted to pass a package of cuts to support for local bus services.

This package of services continuing includes most current funded bus services in the urban areas of Bath and Bristol, but barely anything outside of the two cities. Every supported bus service in Norton Radstock and the Chew Valley should be expected to be withdrawn at the end of March.

This affects the following services in B&NES:
82 (Libra) Paulton - Radstock Tyning
172 (First, evenings only) Bath - Norton Radstock
178 (Citistar/Abus) Paulton - Keynsham - Brislington
179 (CT) Midsomer Norton - Timsbury - Bath
185 (CT) Paulton - Radstock - Trowbridge
640 (CT) Bishop Sutton - Keynsham
668 (CT) Peasedown - Bristol
672 (Eurotaxis) Blagdon - Bristol
683 (CT) Keynsham - Blagdon - Wells
752 (B&NES) Chew Valley - Bath
754 (B&NES) Chew Valley - Clutton - Radstock
768 (CT) MSN - Timsbury - Priston - Bath
These services represent the only remaining bus services to: Bishop Sutton, Blagdon, Camerton, Chew Stoke, Chew Magna, Compton Dando, Compton Martin, Dundry, East Harptree, Englishcombe, Nailwell, Priddy, Priston, Publow, Tunley, Ubley, West Harptree, Woollard
These services also represent the vast majority of journeys to High Littleton, Timsbury, Farmborough, Marksbury and Burnett.

Dan Norris and Kevin Guy have APPROVED these withdrawals whilst RETAINING funding for bus services in Bath where no stop is more than 200 metres from another bus route. Norton Radstock and the Chew Valley are being completely abadoned by politicians of all colours. Not a single Bath city area service running via the city centre will be affected, or even reduced for efficiency.

The only proposed replacement for any of these services is some nonsense scheme of minibuses operated by a company who run those Ambulance liveried minibuses which take people to hospital appointments. WECA's staff seem to think they can magic up this new demand responsive system in two months and that it will cope with the demand of bus services which carry thousands of passenger journeys every day.

After introducing a fare capping system which makes it economically impossible for any company other than First Bus to provide bus services without financial support, Dan Norris now turns around and withdraws that financial support. This isn't forced cuts, it is wanton vandalism. With WECA's staff having told bus companies over the past two years that they had "no intention" of replacing bus services with demand responsive transport and that it was intended to "complement" the bus network, the opposite has been done at the first opportunity.

Bus service providers have been deliberately and repeatedly lied to by WECA's staff to force through their deluded vision of a single transport provider (First) and a demand responsive transport system which has never proven to be financially sustainable anywhere else in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom). The new DRT system has two years to become financially viable before cash for that runs out too.

Dan Norris, Kevin Guy et al have deliberately put locally based, tax paying employers out of the bus market with these actions.

[ChrisB]

Wow! That's some passenger numbers being dispossessed - and will probably need the largest DRT operation in the country to cover everyone.

One correction - it won't mean

run those Ambulance liveried minibuses which take people to hospital appointments

DRT buses are much more modern & comfortable - see various blogs on the Bus & Train User website for photos. But my concern definitely stands...

[grahame]

Bristol Live not exactly impressed

The West of England initially sent out a press release after the meeting saying 27 cuts would be axed — before later clarifying that 27 would be saved, and 42 would be axed. A list was then sent out of potential services facing withdrawal, which was "not double-checked for accuracy" and only included 36 services.

According to this list, which may not be entirely accurate, subsidised services facing withdrawal from April include:

506 Bristol city centre to Southmead Hospital
179 Bath to Midsomer Norton
672 Bristol to Blagdon
185 Paulton to Trowbridge
636 Whitchurch to Keynsham
640 Bishop Sutton to Keynsham
668 Peasedown St John to Bristol city centre
683 Keynsham to Wells
757 Combe Hay to Midsomer Norton
172 Bath to Paulton
178 Midsomer Norton to Brislington Park and Ride
752 Hinton Blewett to Bath city centre
754 Hinton Blewett to Radstock
768 Bath bus station to Radstock and Midsomer Norton
52 Hengrove Park to Bristol city centre
516 Knowle to Hengrove Park
622 Chipping Sodbury to Cribbs Causeway
626 Wotton-under-Edge to Bristol city centre
511 Bedminster to Hengrove
512 Totterdown to Bristol city centre
513/514 Knowle to Brislington
17 Southmead Hospital to Kingswood
82 Radstock to Paulton
84/85 Yate to Wotton-under-Edge
623 Hollywood Lane to Cribbs Causeway
634 Tomarton to Kingswood
663 Somerdale to Chandag Road
664 Keynsham to Saltford
665 Somerdale to Longmeadow Road
684 Wick to Keynsham
22 Twerton to Bath Uni
202 Chipping Sodbury to Winterbourne
963 Patchway to Bradley Stoke and Winterbourne
948 Pucklechurch to Mangotsfield and Sir Bernard Lovell School
967 Westerleigh to Chipping Sodbury School and Brimsham Green School
680 North Yate to Chipping Sodbury and SGS College Filton

[rogerw]

According to Dan Norris on Radio Bristol this morning, some of the cuts are down to the three councils concerned not increasing their bus funding, contrary to previous promises.

[Bmblbzzz]

DRT: Directly regulated transport?

Demand Responsive Transport - sorry - should have clarified.   Not a fixed route at a fixed time - you phone (or text or use an app) to arrange for the bus to go your way and pick you up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand-responsive_transport

So it's flexible, can pick you up more or less when you want and presumably from your door, or nearby? That's good. But for each journey, you won't know the route or how long it will take? So totally unusable for commuting, hospital appointments, catching a train, etc.

[grahame]

According to Dan Norris on Radio Bristol this morning, some of the cuts are down to the three councils concerned not increasing their bus funding, contrary to previous promises.

The wonders of a complex system in which the buck can be passed around and the public doesn't know who the ***'s really responsible for an alteration and ends up feeling short changed and confused.

In the right place and properly organised, DRT can work - especially with modern technology to help.  But I'm utterly not convinced about this setup;  I hope it's just because I'm uninformed on the details and how they'll be addressing the issues that others have started to mention.

[DaveHarries]

Before I reply to the quote below I have heard from more than one source that Stagecoach have picked up at least four routes in the WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) retendering. These are, from what I understand:

- Portway Park & Ride
- Brislington Park & Ride
- Service 47 (Bristol - Yate, via. Emersons Green)
- Service 505 (Long Ashton Park & Ride - Southmead Hospital)

Of their existing routes - services 10, 11, 13, 462, 513, 514, 622, 663, 664 & 665 - I know not. Although it is true that some are being withdrawn there were, from what I could see on the list, replacements in the offing for some of those routes: see below.

According to this list, which may not be entirely accurate, subsidised services facing withdrawal from April include:

506 Bristol city centre to Southmead Hospital
179 Bath to Midsomer Norton
672 Bristol to Blagdon
185 Paulton to Trowbridge
636 Whitchurch to Keynsham
640 Bishop Sutton to Keynsham
668 Peasedown St John to Bristol city centre
683 Keynsham to Wells
757 Combe Hay to Midsomer Norton
172 Bath to Paulton
178 Midsomer Norton to Brislington Park and Ride
752 Hinton Blewett to Bath city centre
754 Hinton Blewett to Radstock
768 Bath bus station to Radstock and Midsomer Norton
52 Hengrove Park to Bristol city centre
516 Knowle to Hengrove Park
622 Chipping Sodbury to Cribbs Causeway
626 Wotton-under-Edge to Bristol city centre
511 Bedminster to Hengrove
512 Totterdown to Bristol city centre
513/514 Knowle to Brislington
17 Southmead Hospital to Kingswood
82 Radstock to Paulton
84/85 Yate to Wotton-under-Edge
623 Hollywood Lane to Cribbs Causeway
634 Tomarton to Kingswood
663 Somerdale to Chandag Road
664 Keynsham to Saltford
665 Somerdale to Longmeadow Road
684 Wick to Keynsham
22 Twerton to Bath Uni
202 Chipping Sodbury to Winterbourne
963 Patchway to Bradley Stoke and Winterbourne
948 Pucklechurch to Mangotsfield and Sir Bernard Lovell School
967 Westerleigh to Chipping Sodbury School and Brimsham Green School
680 North Yate to Chipping Sodbury and SGS College Filton

Although this list is not good there were, from what I could tell, replacements in the pipeline for some of the routes in that list albeit under different route numbers. The list on the WECA minutes included the following routes:

517 (Chew Magna - Wells) (part replacement of 672?)
518 (Midsomer Norton - Radstock) - could be replacement for the 82 if it served Paulton.
519 (K'ham) (Chocolate Quarter - High St - Charlton Rd - Queens Rd - High St - Wellsway - Minsmere Rd - High St - Chocolate Quarter) (replacing 663-665?)
520 (Southmead - Longwell Green) (not sure about this one)
521 (Hengrove Park - Brislington) (probably combining 513, 514 & 516 into one route?)
522 (Brislington Park & Ride - Paulton - Odd Down Park & Ride) (replacing 178?)
523 (Brislington Circular) (probably part replacing 513 & 514?)
524 (Long Ashton Park & Ride - Hengrove Park, via. SBL) (new route)
525 (Emersons Green - Yate) (replacement of Service 86?)
526 (Chew Valley Link) (part replacement of 672?)
527 (Chew Magna - Bristol, Anchor Road) (part replacement of 672?)

I don't know if these are the planned DRT routes or whether they will materialise or who will run them though: the registrations will appear soon enough though and tell us who has won what and the final date for registratons to be with the TC^‡(resolve) to ensure a prompt start date was 20th January but I have not seen any registrations yet.

HTIOI,
Dave