Apologies for this eventually being published after the event. A problem with some bus services is the act of balancing out the bits that work commercially with the less renumerative social and political demands. Sometimes a balance can be struck, sometimes it doesn't work. As an example, i'll point to our Friday shopper's bus diagram.… Continue reading The Balancing Act
Corona Chronicle
We live in peculiar times. Many people have been documenting the social aspects of this period, so i'll attempt to look at this from predominantly a business point of view. Closing Times The school which is the focus of our activities at the start and end of each day closed as part of the national… Continue reading Corona Chronicle
Part of a story
This Monday, the BBC aired a Panorama documentary on Britain's Bus Crisis (their words, not mine). It is available to watch on iPlayer here. Richard Bilton followed a number of journeys across the North from Redcar to Blackpool and (spoiler alert) came to the disappointing conclusion that the system isn't working. Lets look at some… Continue reading Part of a story
WECA’s Final Solution: A Response
As promised in Ask a Stupid Question, here is our full response to the WECA Bus Strategy Consultation. The consultation (open until Sunday 15/03/20) is still available at TravelWest. Just in case it disappears, the consultation document can also be found here: West-of-England-Bus-Strategy FYI: Consultation headings in bold, direct quotations in italics, responses in plain… Continue reading WECA’s Final Solution: A Response
Ask a stupid question
The West of England Combined Authority is currently consulting on a Bus Strategy which is intended to form a grand solution to all of Bristol... sorry, Avon... sorry, the West of England's passenger travel issues over the next two decades. I have major concerns over this document and the accompanying questionnaire. WECA staff have already admitted… Continue reading Ask a stupid question
Short Journeys
The following are all stubs of posting ideas that i've had over recent weeks. Rather than put three separate posts with short articles, here they are collected together - two on planning and a short story on filth. Where in the Worle? Although this might be stepping somewhat on the toes of former Brighton &… Continue reading Short Journeys
Consequences
As bus operators, we can be faced with questions regarding the consequences of our actions. When services are changed, something i am always acutely aware of is the unforeseen loss of links or connections which may appear trivial, but can have a significant impact. As somebody responsible for the consequences of the actions of my… Continue reading Consequences
Fermeture définitive
Apologies for those of you expecting a tirade about some aspect of the bus industry. This post reports upon a different transport obsession of mine, but bear with me as i attempt to make a point. Although it may be considered divisive in these times, a longstanding refrain of transport campaigners is to repeat their… Continue reading Fermeture définitive
Minibus Armageddon
No, don't click away. I know what you're thinking. Another rant about community transport, but you'd be wrong. These minibuses are a symptom of a demographic change which few are talking about. Both of our school services (one bus, one closed door contract) serve Chew Valley school and they also have something else in common… Continue reading Minibus Armageddon
We’ve never used a bus, but we know best!
I wrote a post a couple of years ago bemoaning people who seem to think they can plan a bus service without any knowledge of the industry. Things haven't changed. Aside from Twitter being full of people who think that public ownership will solve everything, recent press activity from the Chew Valley Chamber of Commerce… Continue reading We’ve never used a bus, but we know best!
