TravelWatch Southwest - Webinar 5 - Friday 12th February

My notes from the meeting - AS EVER I have done my best to present as it was said, but members / speakers are very welcome indeed to chip in and update / correct.

[No major presentations - straight in with Bryony throwing a log on the fire]

My notes

Intro - Bryony Chetwode (BC)
Lots of talk of "Good Practice" but is that just beauracracy?
Options and policy - "build back better"?
For a better connected life?
Do we need better engagement?

Nick Farthing (NF)
Excelent enagement at a high level / strategy
Local at stations more diffused

Mike Reddaway (MR^▸ )
Biggest problmem is working together
Upper level decision makers need to bang heads together

David Redgewell (DR)
Government pays at present - make sure local authorities consult
BUT have we been consulted at present?
Need to look at whole journey
Opportunity better with current commonality of public purse

Philip Dredge (PD)
GWR^▸ are asking e.g. school trains
BUT that's the best you'll get:
"no oblidged" between First trains and First buses to actually connect (e.g. Bodmin)

John Hassall (JH)
Taunton - sad at certain buses no longer running via station
2 changes to get from rural bus onto train (little local journey) and issue - esp for disabled
Lack of real consultation

Mike Lambden (ML)
Existing bus users do not like bus via station - time taken
Need to react at right time (? to consultation - my note taking poor)

BC
How do we get the younger involved in inputs?
Do they have the time? How to 'sell' involvement?
Timing of buses

Kit from Tavistock (KT)
Survey local and use
Minority inputs to surveys esp. online at present
How do we get good (anonymous, balanced?) input on sustainable travel

Graham Ellis (GE)
Connections rather than individual service are key (train - train, bus - bus and intermodal)
Perhaps the best opportunity to build back co-ordinated with central funding for all
BUT existing (historic) passengers might be over-considered when looking at new connetions and opportunities
Consultations are very patchy. Excellence example - BaNES and most bus co.s there; ours missing
Bad consultation example (source not revealed) FOI^▸ discovered inputs to consulation thanked but not read!

Geoff Yeoman (GY)
Poor direction signs (waymarking) e.g. to Hamworthy Station
Secure and covered cycling needed at Station
Signage at stations too

BC
Build back BETTER?
Keen to benefit from active engagement
Know who to work with / have a route to engage
But lack of requirement at District councils and lack of technical expertise

PD
Hard to work out chain for consulaltion / inputs to the right person / top

JH
Encourage use of trasport from new estates via developer funded free bus

Colin Divall (CD^▸ )
Chain of Engagement when passenger (groups) look to input
Has to be !someone! at each level
Loss of professional expertise in local authority is severe

DR
Moving to ... new uses. Not enough officers
With Bus strategy, New rail setup (reforming our railway) insufficient capacity to consult?

David Phillips (DP)
How to get through best locally?
? to DP - how can groups of informed people best help officers ?
Have to be ready with Strategy
Much officer time spent on other matters
e.g. Commenting on planning, where in practice inputs have little effect
For a survey, so much is in the way questions are framed
Limit of what you can do online - missing focus groups
Need for consutation at right time - e.g. once options can be described and people know what they are answering

Cate Mack (CM)
Don't consult too early - then you get a better dialogue
Very hard for people to really see ahead enough to give quality answers

Chris Irwin (CI)
LEPs^» - how to get your inputs in.
Some seem designed to be hard to reach

NF
Hants, Southampton, Portsmouth LTP4 consulting well
We get on well with EM3 LEP
"review and renew"
Future of High Street - good - reasons to travel, etc

BC
For next time "Just a minute" style for each group - what's important to YOU to take things forward?

From the chat to everyone

GST114288 to Everyone (3:39 pm)
peter long has just arrived at falmouth university penryn campus by firstbus---empty roads!

Mike Lambden to Everyone (3:40 pm)
Anthony Smith of Transport Focus made the point at an online meeting a couple of couple of weeks ago that most bus passengers don't want buses diverted or retimed to fit with rail times and stations.

David Redgewell to Everyone (3:42 pm)
we also need money to for the region coach service through coach operator grant.

Catherine Mack to Everyone (3:42 pm)
It would make sense if the operators asked the schools and the parents...rather than people like us!

Colin Divall to Everyone (3:42 pm)
Yes agreed. And this has been the problem for 90+ years. if you want bus-train connections - which can be done - then the buses have to be run as part of the rail system.

David Redgewell to Everyone (3:44 pm)
region coach service need support like The Bristol Bond street Bristol Airport Churchill,Bridgwater ,Taunton, Wellington, cullompton ,Exeter ,Newton abbot and Plymouth. coach station.
route 25 Miverton to Taunton bus service and bus 29 Wells bus station Glastonbury street to Taunton were diverted from Taunton station.
Somerset county council contract s

Mike Lambden to Everyone (3:49 pm)
If you are doing surveys today and want to get younger people involved they need to be able to do them on their phone.

David Redgewell to Everyone (3:50 pm)
James Freeman First group west of England and First Great western railway have been working on better bus access to Bristol Temple meads station redevelopment but the issue have been designs of by Network rail western routes Home England and Bristol city council and weca mayoral transport authority lot of people in the room
more successful intergration at Bath spa bus and station and rail network.

David Redgewell to Everyone (3:51 pm)
to peasdown st John Radstock midsomer Norton Paulton shepton mallet and wells bus station.

GST114288 to Everyone (3:52 pm)
western greyhound were a very responsive company to passenger views and expectations,indeed more than cornwall council!

David Redgewell to Everyone (3:53 pm)
at present iam pushing Torbay council to keep fleet walk open to bus passengers facilities and disabled passengers.
with stagecoach west
Banes have an access consult work with me of the city centre area and public transport with weca mayoral transport authority

David Redgewell to Everyone (3:56 pm)
covid 19 bus operator grant has to be consulted on with passengers group

Daniel to Everyone (3:56 pm)
[file: JLTP-Consultation-P19.png]

Daniel to Everyone (3:56 pm)
There are consultation, such as this West of England draft Joint Local Transport Plan - see attached page 19.
The first six items are very positive, yet it does not seem to feed into the decisions that are made.

Mike Lambden to Everyone (3:57 pm)
Bus Users used to facilitate bus user surgeries and they could provide good feedback although I recall one big meeting where a fight almost broke out between passengers who had opposing views of which roads buses should so along.

Mike Reddaway to Everyone (3:57 pm)
GWR have worked with Exmouth rail users to improve the emergency timetables

David Redgewell to Everyone (3:57 pm)
department for transport is signing off timetable on First great western railway and south western railway and cross country db

Barclay Davies to Everyone (3:58 pm)
Bus Users Still do Your Bus Matters Events pre Covid and have recently started a series of online events as Let's talk buses!

Philip Sankey to Everyone (4:00 pm)
Both local authority and company 'boundaries' complicate network planning eg Devon/Dorset or First/Stagecoach here at Lyme Regis.

Mike Reddaway to Everyone (4:00 pm)
Exeter has done quite well signing to stations.

Mike Reddaway to Everyone (4:01 pm)
Exeter added a station to signing when planning a cycle route

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:02 pm)
just remember that at the government is speading 182 million pounds a week for railway services 27.5 million pound for bus service. 24 million pound aweek for light rail system s The treasury want to see value for money.
The department for transport are pulling all the levers at present.
Graham Ellis is right mps mayor s and county councillor s are very important at present
with public transport provision

Mike Reddaway to Everyone (4:07 pm)
It is difficult to get councils interested if they have no responsibility. But it's important that views are taken from as many as possible, including people who don't use public transport.

Kit (Transition Tavistock) to Everyone (4:08 pm)
District Councils could have an influential role. Although no statutory role on public transport, they are closer to the public, and do have responsibilities for related issues eg car parking, economic development, planning. We've argued in a couple of responses to West Devon consultations on parking that they should have extended the question asked to include something like "and what would help you get to this place without needing to bring a car?" No response so far!

Mike Lambden to Everyone (4:10 pm)
Whilst a few years out of date now, I found in dealing with councils all over the country there was always far more interest in rail than buses. The main involvement with bus was normally how they could save bus costs.

Colin Divall to Everyone (4:17 pm)
Agreed - framing is everything. look at the DfT^» rural transport call....

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:18 pm)
Transport select committee are looking at investment on coach services and Tourist and coach station s coach parks so views on megabus National Express Coaches and Berry Coaches service and their important to the community including Tourist Coaches.

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:19 pm)
the committee are holding hearing
consultation Bath local plan representations 18 th February 2021 south Gloucestershire local plan 4 th march 2021 .

Catherine Mack to Everyone (4:20 pm)
What David Phillips has just described is exactly the reason why consultation has to be planned at the right stage of a developing local transport plan: otherwise you will just get defensive responses such as from existing car drivers.

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:21 pm)
Bath Transport plan consultation on 4th march 2021
Bristol clean Air zone is going to Bristol mayor cabinet 25 th February 2021

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:22 pm)
government 26 th February 2021

david.phillips to Everyone (4:24 pm)
I haven't answered Chris's question yet - but perhaps the best contribution from third parties would be presenting a "better vision" for the future and selling this to councillors.

Colin Divall to Everyone (4:24 pm)
It's only just starting!

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:24 pm)
local County council elections for mayors s councillor police and crime commissioner candidate's please ask candidates for their views on public transport buses ,trains coach services ferry services and light rail in Bristol

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:26 pm)
Bristol city council wants coach operators views on the clean air zone

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:26 pm)
local government reorganisation is on the Government agenda

Daniel to Everyone (4:29 pm)
My experience of consulting the community, with Transition Bath, is that the people who support a move to active travel, less vehicle domination and local centres, they will tick a box.
The people who are against, will shout loudly, put up posters and wind up the local shop keepers.
They are then seen to be representing the majority, which they are not necessarily and often miss represent the proposals.

David Redgewell to Everyone (4:30 pm)
taunton town centre is big issue with bus users lack of passengers facilities
and closed of East reach