Latest on number 46 bus cuts

First up is the county response to my letter re the cuts - also had one from the Cabinet member - then below is my response to their letters.

For many years there was no evening service on route 46. With the opening of the Stroud cinema complex we were asked to consider putting some evening journeys on so, in partnership with Stagecoach, we organised the current service, which started in November 2005. We realise that it takes a little while for new travel opportunities to become well used but, sadly, the service is only carrying an average of 3 passengers per journey and it is therefore difficult to justify its continuation especially when the operation costs continue to rise.

The cost of the current contract is £46K and that is fixed price, meaning Stagecoach keeps the revenue. To renew the contract would have cost in the region of £60k. I take your point about the diversionary route but even before last July floods loadings were poor, for example in June 07 the average loading was 5 passengers per trip. You would have though an evening service from Nailsworth - Stroud - Painswick to Cheltenham would be well supported; unfortunately the patronage has been very disappointing.

We have a finite budget available for bus service support and it is important that we focus these resources on journeys, which carry and thus benefit significant numbers of users. At the present time it is difficult to justify providing an evening service.

Public Transport Planner, Integrated Transport Unit, Gloucestershire County Council

Here's my reply:
Thanks for reply. I have a number of queries below, but first I give a huge welcome to your plans to look to see if a Night Bus service can be included on this route. I accept that the withdrawal of the rural transport grants by the Government and the poor handling of the free pass scheme for the elderly have greatly contributed to the problems facing the County. However while I understand resources are limited, the County is also not doing enough to improve the bus services to encourage greater usage.

Stroud 'Bus Station' for example remains an unpleasant place to wait, while routes and timetables could be significantly better advertised. When the Randwick village service was stopped it took several phone calls and over two weeks before timetables were changed: residents were left waiting for buses that never turned up. Another example I have raised before is the failure in my view to capitalise on the closure of the A46 to encourage greater public transport use.

I know you know that the more services are cut, the more it makes it difficult to use the remaining services - I have only used the evening service twice in the last year - both times when I was late from a meeting in Cheltenham. I will have to think now about whether to use the bus at all if there is a possibility I will be delayed. We urgently need the County to engage with community groups, local councillors and more to increase usage of public transport.

I am sure you will have seen the work of the Campaign for Better Transport - see their key aims. One you will note is the need for routes to have evening services.

1. I would welcome your analysis re these cuts. It seems strange on the basis of your passenger figures to be cutting all three evening services. At the very least why not cut one service? But before even that why are you not using the media and other resources to publicise the bus better? Painswick Parish made that point in the SNJ.

2. I would welcome further information on how you have consulted. The publicity re the cuts has been minimal - my brief conversation with two Parish Councils suggests they have not had the info long enough to discuss at a meeting (most only meet once a month) and the first press coverage was last Wednesday in the SNJ. Several other councillors note they have not had any information. Two local residents phoned me yesterday after I sent out some info - both have used the route in the past and had no idea it was being stopped in the evening.

3. The County is making progress in some limited areas regarding transport but overall there is very much more needed if we are to cut our CO2 emissions by 80% as latest research indicates. Transport is the fastest growing source of climate change gases in the UK; road transport alone now accounts for 26% of emissions. I would welcome understanding more about how the County is planning to put public transport at the heart of their transport policies as at present I do not see enough evidence of this. The Campaign for Better Transport has many good examples of good practice - I would love to see more of these applied locally.

I wish you well in your efforts to find ways to continue and expand this service - all the best - Philip