Why are buses and trains not better integrated? East Anglian view

[whole diary]

[grahame]

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/politics/east_suffolk_travellers_association_call_for_better_links_between_train_services_and_rural_bus_timetables_1_3205607

^The main problems facing integrated transport are that tenders for sponsored bus services are only effective for a year at a time; and from April to March, which is out of kilter with train operators whose timetables change in December and sometimes in May. Some harmonisation is needed here.^

The group added: ^People are also more likely to change from cars to public transport if they can rely on the services - especially bus services - being guaranteed for more than 12 months.^

I think there are other issues too ... such as the need for extra buses if it makes the route longer, the feeling that a bus competes with the train and doesn't want to loose traffic by giving people an option for much of what they prefer, train times that differ on Saturdays, lack of through route at station, lack of bus stops on road near station, inability of bus to wait when the train's late because it has it's' other customers to think about.   Train timetables very rarely have dramatic changes in Decembers - I'm not sure how much of a 'problem' the lack of synchronisation needs to be; buses can be moved a few minutes at 6 week's notice.

[brompton rail]

Very often there seems to be lack of any incentive for the bus company to accommodate the train passengers.

Will the bus wait for a late running train, how long, how does the driver know the train is late (& by how long?).
The bus journey may have a short turnaround at its' destination, and therefore run late on the return trip, thus, potentially missing connecting with the train at the railway station etc. Passengers en-route will be inconvenienced by a late running service.... and there may well be more of them than connecting from the train.

The best examples of bus/rail connectivity I can think of are when the bus service frequency is such that a late running train only means a wait (& delay to passengers' journey) of 15 or 20 minutes. Example - Arriva run buses every 20 minutes from Darlington to Richmond and Catterick Garrison, which picks up at a stop outside Darlington Station. The station monitors (CIS^▸ (Customer Information System)) display the next departure ( but probably not in real time). Connections from trains into buses running less frequently are much more risky - e.g Exeter to Bude, Bodmin to Padstow, Redruth to Helston ( does it still run?) and so on.

I suspect a all of this is too much hassle for the bus company, probably with relatively few passengers in compensation.  After all TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s trains don't connect either - with their own or other TOCs!

[Rhydgaled]

I think there are two major problems. The lack of safety ticketing (as on the railway, if the train is late and you miss your connecting train the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) is oblidged to provide a taxi if a later train is not available, but if the train is late and you miss a connecting bus you've had it) is one, and the other is that the bus won't wait for the train. These lead to further sub-problems.

Given that PPM^‡(resolve) for long-distance trains is 10 minutes, and branch trains do occasionally wait for long distance services, that means a bus needs to be timed to depart 15-20 minutes after the train is scheduled to arrive to minimise missed connections. That means a rather long wait for the bus when the train is on time, which in my opinion is not acceptable unless there is a fully enclosed waiting room (or the bus arrives at the station 20 minutes before it is due to depart, so you can use the bus as a waiting room). A bus shelter will not do, they are only any good for connecting services when you can trust the services to run no more than 5 minutes late and time the gap between arrival and departure of the connecting service at 7 minutes.

[Lee]

Interestingly, the free Melksham Rail Link bus, due to begin operating on Mondays-Fridays from Monday 10th February 2014, is timed to depart a couple of minutes after the train arrives at Melksham station, and will wait for the train before leaving.

Timetable attached, and shameless plug complete.

[Network SouthEast]

That's the great thing with free buses, they aren't registered as bus routes with VOSA, so the 1 minute early/5 minute late rule does not apply to them.

Operators of registered bus routes really have little option but to leave on time if a train or other event is late because VOSA can and do make spot checks on punctuality.

[Rhydgaled]

That's the great thing with free buses, they aren't registered as bus routes with VOSA, so the 1 minute early/5 minute late rule does not apply to them.

Operators of registered bus routes really have little option but to leave on time if a train or other event is late because VOSA can and do make spot checks on punctuality.

Although the TrawsCambria X94 and T2 (formally X32) timetables have/had a footnote saying they will wait up to 10 minutes at Dolgellau if the other is late, so presumably you can register with VOSA that you will wait for other services?

[grahame]

I can understand (though not necessarily agree with) why the general rule is that a bus service must run to time and uncouple from trains ... typically the train connection is just one of the elements of why the bus is running, bus stops typically lack real time information to tell people about delays, and public transport isn't always on time so that the uncoupling simplifies reliability measuring for services, even if it worsens it for transferring passengers.

The "Melksham Rail Link" differs in being a service for the primary purpose of connecting with trains, and the evening services (which are the ones that connect from the train) are the final runs of a vehicle in the day, ensuring that there are no consequential delays (the morning bus goes on to the school runs, but of course can drop passengers at the station then get on its way to pick 'em up even if the train is late)