It's misinformation Sunday!

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Wiltshire Council have posted a notice "Christmas period bus services in the Melksham and Devizes areas" .. "Please note that during Chistmas and the New Year period, bus services in the Melksham and Devizes areas will run as follows:

Small problem ... they have it wrong.

"New Years Day - Sorry, no bus services will operate on New Year's Day" according to Wiltshire Council (in red from hem to make it stand out??)

But according to my information, buses will operate (calling at Melksham Railway Station Stop) as follows:
07:50 from Westbury (07:15) and Trowbridge to Chippenham (08:10)
08:35 from Chippenham (08:15) to Trowbridge and Westbury (09:10)
08:55 from Westbury (08:20) and Trowbridge to Chippenham (09:15)
09:42 from Chippenham (09:22) to Trowbridge and Westbury (10:16)
11:38 from Chippenham (11:18) to Trowbridge and Westbury (12:16)
11:40 from Westbury (11:02) and Trowbridge to Chippenham (12:00)
13:45 from Westbury (13:10) and Trowbridge to Chippenham (14:05)
14:38 from Chippenham (14:18) to Trowbridge and Westbury (15:16)
15:35 from Westbury (15:00) and Trowbridge to Chippenham (15:55)
16:45 from Chippenham (16:25) to Trowbridge and Westbury (17:21)
17:35 from Westbury (17:00) and Trowbridge to Chippenham (17:55)
17:46 from Chippenham (17:26) to Trowbridge and Westbury (18:21)
19:25 from Chippenham (19:05) to Trowbridge and Westbury (19:59)
19:48 from Trowbridge (19:33) to Chippenham (20:08)
20:45 from Chippenham (20:25) to Trowbridge and Westbury (21:20)

We hear so much about the need to co-ordinate and integrate transport ... but here is our local authority trying to be helpful with the information they provide, yet failing to tell people about a significant bus service that's running on New Year's Day.  With information gaps like this, it will be little wonder if the services is less used, and financially less viable, than it needs to be.

P.S. Today - 23rd December and next Sunday - 30th December - there are also buses from Melksham (Railway Station) to and from Chippenham and Trowbridge - it is NOT just the "Normal Sunday Service" of buses claimed by our council!   See http://www.mrug.org.uk for a timetable of the buses which run every day except 25th and 26th over the New Year period from Chippenham calling at Melksham to Trowbridge and Chippenham.

P.P.S. Did you know - there's a coach to London in the morning on 26th December, and one to Frome in the evening?

[rogerw]

I understand where you are coming from on this. However the Wiltshire Council publicity is aimed at the (wo)man in the street whose concept of a bus service is one they catch from the stop near their house by sticking out their hand for it to stop and pay their fare to the driver (or in my case show my bus pass).  The services which you have highlighted are in essence train services which happen to be run by buses.  You can only catch them to/from the railway stations concerned, having bought your ticket before boarding, and certainly not from your local bus stop.  The publicity is about local, registered, bus services, although it might perhaps refer to the fact that rail services (or replacement buses) are still running on that day.

[grahame]

I understand where you are coming from on this. However the Wiltshire Council publicity is aimed at the (wo)man in the street whose concept of a bus service is one they catch from the stop near their house by sticking out their hand for it to stop and pay their fare to the driver (or in my case show my bus pass).  The services which you have highlighted are in essence train services which happen to be run by buses.  You can only catch them to/from the railway stations concerned, having bought your ticket before boarding, and certainly not from your local bus stop.  The publicity is about local, registered, bus services, although it might perhaps refer to the fact that rail services (or replacement buses) are still running on that day.

To some extent, Roger, I was playing Devil's Advocate in my post. I can quite understand how the signage came about, and the different way it works too ... but then I'm an advocate of public transport and feel that public transport maps, summary posters, web sites, etc should include all public transport.   Whether you but your ticket as you get on (local buses), or at the stop before you get on (Metrobus), whether your service runs on road, rail, water or an overhead cable.

In Wiltshire, our council has a transport department that's split into three - highways, public transport and sustainable transport.  Public transport includes buses .... trains (of course) come under "sustainable" and you end up with the absurdities such as "no buses" when there are.

By the way - I have done a couple of local social media posts to tell people about the buses to Chippenham and Trowbridge on Sundays and on New Year's day ... and a couple of responses have asked me where to catch them from.  People do want to be able to use public transport .... even if not overseen by the public transport section of the council ...