A resident this morning has alerted me to the fact that Gloucestershire County Council are proposing to withdraw the evening service for 46, currently financially supported by Gloucestershire County Council.
This is what they wrote on their website: "When we introduced the evening service in 2005 it was well supported. However recent analysis of the route has been disappointing indicating poor passenger support over the last six months. We therefore cannot justify continuing to fund the evening service balanced against passenger usage. The last day of operation of the evening service will be 29th March 2008."Please email your protests to:
busconsultation@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Or telephone:
01452 425985
Here is what I wrote just now:
News that the County are planning to stop all three of the number 46 evening bus services between Nailsworth, Stroud and Cheltenham is a serious blow. Apparently passenger numbers which have been good, have dropped over the last six months. Interestingly this period coincides with the A46 closure and the poor publicity of re-timetabling which may well have added to problems, but it is also an indication that our County needs to do much more to promote public transport.
Our rural bus is an increasingly endangered species. Nationally research reveals the hidden problem of rural bus cuts and the devastating impact the cuts have on people and communities: elderly villagers left isolated, hospital visitors and workers without a public transport option, schoolchildren without school buses and tourists inconvenienced by rerouted buses (i).
This is a wrong decision by our County Council, but our Government is also to blame. They should be seeking to revive and strengthen the fragile and endangered rural bus by giving local authorities more powers over buses, creating a more stable and secure funding regime and establishing a bus passenger watchdog.
Our countryside is increasingly becoming a ghetto for the rich, completely inaccessible for those without cars. Good rural buses need to be an alternative for people with cars as well as a lifeline for those without. Please think again before stopping these buses.
Philip Booth
(i) Case studies, covering every region of England: http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/system/files/Rural_buses_case_studies_0.pdf
Report: http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/system/files/rural_buses.pdf
4 comments:
A despicable decision, made without consultation precisely because they knew what the reaction would be!
My teenage daughter is based in Forest Green, doesn't drive, and relies on the No 46 to get her into and out of Stroud for work. She finishes at 9pm; there will no longer be a bus to take her home at that time. If her employer is unable to offer her alternative hours, she risks losing her job.
I see little evidence of the community cohesion, inclusivity, opportunities for all, environmental awareness, etc, etc that government keep spouting at us!
Agree - a stupid decision that makes no sense - if you want folk on the buses then you can't keep cutting the service.
At work we are busy trying to promote greener ways to travel. At every turn we are told to cut our carbon emissions and change our lifestyle habits.
This decision makes a mockery of anyone who is trying to cut car use. We should be expanding and promoting bus services, not cutting them at every opportunity.
I am appalled that the 46 bus service is proposed to be cut.
I live in Painswick and frequently travel to Stroud or Cheltenham.
Frankly I am very disappointed that the existing service is so limited
and reducing it further is of great concern.
I cannot, for example, use the bus to get an early morning train to
Swindon/Reading/London as the hourly service will result in an approx.
40min wait at Stroud, I do not think it is unreasonable to object to a
5:30am alarm. Timetabling the service to coincide with the train would
help - although a better solution in my mind would be to increase the
service to every half hour, at least in the morning and early evening.
I also find it difficult to use the existing bus services for evening
meetings in Stroud which I frequently attend. The lack of evening
services (specifically between the 7:40pm and 10:10pm services) seems
crazy - that is a two and a half hour gap in services!
Far from the service not being used because people do not want to, I
think many bus services suffer from lack of use because the timetables
are so limited they are not a feasible option. We live in a time where
rightly or wrongly convenience is of importance in many people's lives
and if they consider bus services to be infrequent they will not think
to consult a timetable and use them. If services were more frequent I
believe many people would start to consider using a bus rather than
filling up our roads with cars. I am lucky that I am able to cycle when
I can but buses provide a critical resource for the elderly, the young
and those not able to use other forms of transport. I feel strongly that
by further cutting the 46 service fewer people will use the service
overall - to the detriment of our community and environment.
I would also like to add that by cutting the late service this could
increase drivers on our roads who have been drinking alcohol. I feel a
much more positive change to the service would be to increase the
evening services to every hour and have a later service for the
traditional close of pubs and 11-11:30pm.
I look forward to receiving your response to the points I have raised.
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