Cuts to threaten our bus network. (this is Somerset 09/07/2010)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From this is Somerset:

Swingeing cuts to public transport could decimate the West's bus networks in the same way local railways were axed by the Beeching cuts 50 years ago. And it will be rural areas, school buses and those harder-to-reach routes that are hit first if bus operators have to cut routes and hike fares.

That was the stark warning from a newly-formed 'rainbow' coalition of local bus companies, local authorities, union leaders and green transport campaigners.

The West Country's rural bus network has steadily dwindled in recent years and it is feared that service cuts will leave many isolated.

They said a Government review of the Bus Service Operators Grant could mean big fare rises, jobs lost and services cut. Worried transport campaigners compared the impending cuts to the notorious 'Beeching Axe', a review of rail provision in 1962 that closed half of Britain's 6,000 railway stations and 4,000 miles of track.

"Scraping the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG^▸ (Bus Service Operators Grant )) could do for Britain's buses today what Beeching did for the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail network in the 1960s," said Stephen Joseph, the executive director of the Campaign for Better Transport. It could tip buses into a spiral of decline with fares rises, falling patronage and service cuts, all with impacts on some of the poorest in society."

The BSOG rebates bus operators for the duty they paid for fuel used to run official council bus services, including school buses and those in rural areas. And it would be the West's rural areas, where buses are a lifeline for village communities but not necessarily profit-making, which would be the worst hit, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Shaun Spiers, the CPRE^▸ (Campaign to Protect Rural England)'s chief executive, said: "Cutting the bus grant may look like a quick way to slash spending, but the social, environmental and economic costs to the countryside would be huge in the long term. Those unable to drive could be forced to move out of rural areas or face isolation, while those living car-free in towns may be cut off from the countryside,"

The boss of Stagecoach, which runs bus services across the West, said jobs would be lost if the grant was axed.

"Scrapping it would mean a huge, regressive tax hike for bus passengers, would cost jobs and be bad for business," said Brian Souter. "The worst impact would be on the pockets of the poorest in our society whose bus services are a lifeline."

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

in east devon the only reason we have the double deckers and such a reguar service is for the free bus pass the fairs in devon are pathetic... it costs ^6.50 to get from sidmouth to exeter however if i wanted to go to minehead from exeter that is only ^10 so the most expencive leg of my journey by far is from my home on the bus

[matt473]

I hate to put the cat amongst the pigeon but the main problem but no one will admit it is the free travel for pensioners.  Bus operators were left reeling from this as the rebate they get for carrying bus pass holders is ridiculously low so normal passengers have to pay over inflated fares to compensate which in turn forces them off buses. Over the past five years there has been a ridiculous amount of service in certain areas of Wales as once profitable routes are turned unprofitable due to only carrying pensioners so bus companies make a loss on routes and as such cancel them. A more reasonable return or charging pensioners a token fare would help bus operators more than the BSOG^▸ (Bus Service Operators Grant )

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

couldn't agree with you more! and lets face it down here retirements'ville most of those at an age to benefit from the free pass could easily afford to pay for the bus fair, i really do believe that the offer should remain in some form for those on low income or those who cant drive, the other bonus of the scheme is that (and i would like to see figures of how many users of the pass have a car) its getting cars off the roads well hopefully :-) that would at-least gloss over it abit for me

[devon_metro]

10p per day would soon generate some income. The idea wasn't met with approval from my grandparents, however. 

[A V Lowe]

The pensioners pass has a lot to answer for,  but it is not the only simplified system which is open to misuse.   I've noticed thet Firstbus here in Scotland now has a big yellow & black poster calling for pensioners to state their destination when boarding, so that the pensioner pass claim can be properly recorded on the ticket machine.  The local PTE^▸ (Passenger Transport Executive) pays out on PTE passes used as well, and the rumours are of some less scrupulous operators running a virtual bus service from a desk with a ticket machine clocking it with passes of various types.  The Scottish scheme is National with ITSO smart cards and the hardware already purchased to work this sitting in storage until the bus industry and government can sort out the implementation, but it has a nice twist - at least 2 operators took the deal of pensioners having free travel on registered BUS services, to running a 1-day per week service to destinations such as Ayr racecourse (from Dundee), and naturally getting very few 'real' paying passengers. 

What this may do is to focus the bus industry on appropriate delivery - sometimes it can cost more to get the bus to the passenger that the passenger to the bus - using innovative schemes (consolidated taxi trips, bike to bus, better walking routes) to deliver the complete door to door journey.  One rural route near Reading has a 16 minute penalty on one route to serve a village that delivers a handful of fares per day.  That can add up to a bus per year extra (^100,000) that could be saved.  Plus bus has seen a huge boost this year partly as more rail staff and passengers get to know about the potential connections and partly by the simplified ^1 flat rate offer.  Add to this the detail that some on-train staff are adopting the thinking of Easyjet cabin crew who sell rail tickets on the plane to save the pain of queuing, and gain the commission from selling tickets.  Reckon we should see FGW^▸ (First Great Western) (and other) long distance conductors (or buffet staff) boosting on train sales by offering travelcards and plusbus supplements