More Bus Cuts In Bristol

[whole diary]

[Lee]

Two of Bristol^s longest bus routes are set to be cut in two in an attempt to make services more reliable (link below.)
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/bus-cuts-Bristol/article-366202-detail/article.html

Buses from Patchway and Henbury which pass through the city centre to Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Withywood and Whitchurch, have had punctuality and reliability problems.

First says this is because the 16-mile route from one side of the city to the other is too long. The services affected are the 75, 75A, 76 and 77.

They would be replaced by a modified 75 and 76 service north of the city and a new 95 and 96 service for south Bristol.

Parts of Patchway are among the areas that would no longer be served by bus if the plans go ahead.

Public consultation about these proposals runs until Friday, October 24.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Time to put my head over the parapet, maybe: 

I never understood why such 16-mile-long bus routes were ever run through the Centre of Bristol, quite honestly.  I used to catch the occasional bus - there were very few people who stayed on beyond the Centre for the ongoing journey.

My impression was that most people caught a bus to get to the Centre - not because they specifically wanted to travel from Patchway to Withywood, for example?

[Lee]

I think the controversy is more likely to be regarding the areas of Bristol that would see their bus service disappear as a result of the changes, with particular concern raised about the impact on the elderly and infirm.

Bus services were withdrawn in parts of Yate, Downend and Knowle earlier this year.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Sorry, Lee, I didn't make my point properly.

Using the cumulative problems / delays caused on a 16 mile bus route through the centre of Bristol as an excuse for withdrawing any services at either end of such a route is wrong.  Each route should run into Bristol (either to the Centre or to the bus station), with the option of any connection out of the city - not just a direct through route - 'take it or leave it'.

Knowle in particular, to my knowledge, has had some rubbish service cuts imposed - and it's a mature residential area - very hilly, with lots of elderly residents, who have no other means of transport.  No, cutting their bus services is just not right.

[bemmy]

I can understand the argument for having all services terminate centrally.... except that with the service as unreliable as it is, changing buses can add anything from 1 minute to 30 minutes to your journey time, depending how lucky you are.

So the cross-Bristol routes are useful for a lot of people. It's a bit random... if you live in Knowle you can get a bus to Clifton, while if you live in Bedminster you can get one up the Gloucester Road, but not for much longer... and the 48/49s could take you to Easton and beyond, but this route was split some years back. These changes will leave all the buses through Bedminster terminating at the Centre, apart from the 52s which go back up the Wells Road, so you can get a through bus from East Street to Knowle in double the time it takes to walk.

I've recently caught the 75 or 76 a couple of times to Southmead Hospital. I already have to leave home over an hour before my appointment time.... if I have to go back after the changes I will need to allow an hour and a half for the five mile journey, door to door. Or I might cycle.... riding through town and up the Gloucester Road is one of the more dangerous and unpleasant journeys by bike, but I could do it in 25 minutes.

One of the problems with the bus service from the point of the user (as opposed to the operator) is that the whole system assumes everyone is only travelling to or from the Centre. The way that towns have developed since the war there are now places all over the city and beyond that people travel to regularly, and most of them are practically inaccessible by bus except via the centre.

One of the reasons this cheapskate so called Bus Rapid Transit will not have any noticeable impact on congestion is because most of the time the buses will still be getting held up by the traffic. If they can't find the money for a decent public transport network -- ie a means of getting from any part of the city to any other reasonably quickly, such as can be found in every western European city outside the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) -- they should save the money and do nothing. Eventually people will just go out less I suppose, and try and live near their work, or vice versa. But it won't be good for the city's economy in the long run.

[Lee]

Further article link.
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/say-changes-Bristol-bus-services/article-373817-detail/article.html