Time to stop the rot

This week, independent Hereford operator Yeomans have announced their intention to withdraw from a large part of the Hereford city service network they took over after First similarly retrenched around six years ago. Amidst all the chatter about Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), Bus Back Better (BBB) and Enhanced Partnerships (EPs), perhaps this is the…

Fails all round

It is reasonable to suggest that most people who use the road network find roadworks and road closures frustrating, especially when they're not done properly. There is currently a water main being replaced in at Bromley Road in Stanton Drew, here is the detail available on One.Network. Note that none of these logged disruptions indicates…

WECA Bus Service tendering: Results and analysis

This is a companion piece to the tale of how this procurement process was carried out. All references made here refer to contracts due to commence from September 2021. As the results have now been published, there are some interesting facts to report: 100% of large operators were successful in securing work through this tendering…

WECA: Where flawed metrics replace informed decisions

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has recently undertaking their first local bus service tendering exercise to procure replacements for expired contracted services in B&NES and South Gloucestershire. 74 lots for bus services ranging from a single return journey once a week to frequent weekday services were offered for quotation, with services to replace…

Decision Time

The West of England Combined Authority is probably the most important body in the area where transport is concerned. The "Metro Mayor" as the leader of it is therefore a very important person in the lives of public transport passengers and providers as their policies will set the tone for the direction that WECA takes.…

We(ca) choose a Dictatorship

I have written extensively in the past regarding my frustrations with all operator ticketing in WECA. All operator ticketing would give operators other than First the opportunity to provide services which are complementary the greater network rather than combative (something which barely exists in WECAvon now anyway). First's local dominance of Mobile Ticketing and the…

Corona Chronicle 2: Marginalised

I concluded my first Corona Chronicle post by wondering when the message regarding public transport usage would change and now it appears that we might have eventually reached that juncture. Major operators are moving from quarter capacity to half capacity on vehicles which will reduce the likelihood of duplicate vehicles being needed and perhaps the…

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…

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…

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…