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Author Topic: Buses to the station - reroute existing town buses, or add demand responsive?  (Read 1176 times)
grahame
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« on: March 24, 2021, 14:55:06 »

I have just listened to a speaker on BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio Wiltshire via ((here)) - direct link ((here)) talking about how the community in Melksham has done wonders for the train in recent years, and how he's looking at a pilot "buses on demand" scheme with minibuses to pick people up and get them to the station for their train service.

For a town with a population of 25,000, is a minibus on demand, which sounded like it would be for passengers to and from the station only, the best solution? Would it be better to have the station as a planned part of the area's bus network with vehicles already in place adding in the station as part of their journey? There seems a risk of two separate bus systems to me rather than an integrated network, and competition for passengers between them, which I didn't think was the intent of Buses Back Better.

Demand responsive service for more rural areas and villages by all means ...
« Last Edit: March 24, 2021, 16:02:51 by grahame » Logged

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ChrisB
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« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2021, 16:26:37 »

Agree.

Isn't a bus-on-demand' better known as a 'taxi'?
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broadgage
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« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2021, 03:38:37 »

Yes but subsidising "taxis" may sound like an improper use of public money as they might be used by eaters of fillet steak and drinkers of port, whereas subsidising "buses on demand" sounds better and more likely to be used by poor pensioners.
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A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
grahame
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« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2021, 08:33:56 »

Agree.

Isn't a bus-on-demand' better known as a 'taxi'?

There are elements where it would differ

Yes but subsidising "taxis" may sound like an improper use of public money as they might be used by eaters of fillet steak and drinkers of port, whereas subsidising "buses on demand" sounds better and more likely to be used by poor pensioners.

"Demand responsive buses" seems to have morphed to "buses on demand" and there is a difference.   Both are between:
* taxis (a private transport running direct, where and when you want it)
* bus (a public transport running to a fixed route at specified times)

As I see it, a demand responsive bus leaves "A" at around a specific time and travels by a number of alternative but pre-advertised routes to take in places wish to leave or join that service and it arrives at "B" at or around or just before a specific time.  "B" may be the same as "A" - in other words, the service could travel outwards, circulate and return to where it started.

Buses on demand sounds very much more like shared taxis - turn up or request a service to or from "A" and specify the time you want to be there or leave, and a service will be laid on for you - maybe just you but maybe (hopefully for the financial risk taker) for others too; they will take you where you want to go within an area and pick you up to fit your time need, not the operator's time need.

With careful time planning a "demand responsive bus" and a "bus on demand" can morph towards each other - it's logical to run your demand responsive bus at a time that people might ask for transport on demand.   But in broad terms, a "demand responsive bus" is closest to with a public transport scheduled service, perhaps competing with that, and a "bus on demand" is more competing with a taxi.

"Demand responsive buses" and even trains have been with us for years to some extent - with bus routes towards the tail of service "runs beyond Devizes for passengers already on the bus" as does / did the final D3 / now 273 from Bath to Devizes to the far outskirts of the town - and some of the Melksham Town final runs having similar "rails".  There are also late night trains that stop along the way to set down only, and trains that call only if you stick your paw out.  None of these is really a varied route, though.

As soon as you start varying a route going via "C" if people want to join it there or via "D" too if people want to join it there, you can find problems if the two are in essence alternative routes between "A" and "B" - do you make it "first come, first served" and just go one way (problem - leaving people stranded) or do you allow so much time in your schedule that you can go both ways?  Do you leave a fluid arrival time into "B" such that you might miss an ongoing train or scheduled bus connection?  These are the sort of issues that have been looked at, experimented with, addressed in the rural Vale of Pewsey area between Devizes and Pewsey, and around Pewsey in the direction of Burbage and Savernake too.

There is sense in continuing and enhancing late night buses to get people home from social events (Pub, restaurant, gig at the Assembly Hall, meeting of the Melksham Historical Association) where the can congregate in the town centre at a fixed hour  and final arrivals home doesn't really matter by a few minutes. Perhaps that's mirrored by the inward journey, but there pre-booking is needed and care taken on capacity to get around everywhere or significantly early arrival planned into the town before a timed event - drink in the bar at the assembly hall ahead of time; fine for occasional use, something of an issue for longer term.  Better the inward journey a scheduled run to a timetable, and if the same vehicle and driver is used, that's fine.  Also no need in the scheduled inward - flexible outward approach for an App; there are still blanks in cell phone coverage around (talking to someone the other day who had essential work near Avebury and was cut off there)

Back to where the topic started ... we have town buses in Melksham, which don't call at the station. They could - there as just never much point because there were no trains to connect with.  They should call - boost passenger numbers (and that boost economic and social need addressing), and other changes too like serving new housing and using link roads that weren't open when the service was designed so that work place areas are covered.  You might add / enhance demand responsive elements at or near the end of service, when journeys are almost exclusively away from the station and town.

Over the years, Melksham has also had a problem with a decaying rural coverage away from the trunk crossing of the Bath to Devizes and Chippenham to Frome services. Some services have been lost such as Woodrow; others have a daily bus such as Sandridge and Bromham.  Others are so scarce that they are used only by those without alternatives - Broughton Gifford, Gastard, etc. Interworkings are so complex that any attempt to tune the services improves one thing at the expense of damaging something else.   Should (as I read it) TransWilts be funding or sourcing funding to improve this situation, and be able to agree it with all parties, we could have an excellent solution to something that's been a very real problem over the years. 



 

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