Bath bus station - merged posts

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

Has the information desk re-opened yet?

No, and I don't think it is planned to happen. There are now some leaflets in racks.

Only when inside the lobby do you find a sign to tell you the toilets are through a further door into the noodle bar cafe. These toilets aren't always available though, as the people running the cafe have blocked access when it is full.

Another sign sign of decline, designed to put people off using them by making access as uneasy as possible, casting doubt on if you are actually supposed to be using them.

[Mark A]

Using it today, a passenger in a (small) mobility scooter was boarding: the bus station bay layout was not cooperating with this as once the bus ramp was out the concrete high kerb deflector by the boarding area didn't allow them to take a straight approach to the ramp.

Mark

[Mark A]

The way the screens work now: they display bus departures out to a ~90 minute horizon. The screens rotate up to four pages of bus times and for the more frequent buses, several different departures. As the screens do so they do not display a timer and it's not quick or straightforward to check departure times for a particular bus as the only one that's relevant is on the first screen and passengers need to hang about until that's displayed once more.

This isn't the best practice - passengers do not need to know future departures, they're already at the bus station so they are looking for the next bus departure on any particular route. If the screens displayed only the next bus for any particular route, it might even be possible to eliminate the screen rotations which would be a big win for usability.

Thinking that First must run the screens I dropped them a tweet about it, they've responded saying it's actually the local authority that runs the bus station. I asked which local authority and they've responded that it's Bath and North East Somerset.

The screens... there's more... last year I raised the issue that some of the displays are misconfigured - the image being displaced horizontally to the extent that on a couple, the first column displaying the service numbers is part hidden leaving people who aren't local to Bath guessing.

And then the new acid etch graffiti - having raised that as an issue, to be fair, someone quickly came around to attempt to remove it. Unfortunately they were equipped only with a damp sponge or similar, so, for now, the graffiti survives and is encouraging more.

Mark

[GBM]

The display screens in Cornwall are the responsibility of the Cornwall Council.
Individual operators may be given access, but unlikely.

The problem occurs when vehicles are on diversion, the Council rarely put that on the screens.

[Mark A]

Hmm. This is more of a maze than many people would suspect.

Back to Bath and if it's the case that the council runs Bath bus station and funds it by charging the bus companies for access, it's funny that with council-subsidised services such as the 6a, the subsidy doesn't extend to use of the bus station by its own subsidised services - the 6a turning at the bus station and laying over in one of the bays, but is not permitted to pick up passengers there, they have to go up the road and around the corner to the stop in Manvers Street.

Mark

[grahame]

Hmm. This is more of a maze than many people would suspect.

Back to Bath and if it's the case that the council runs Bath bus station and funds it by charging the bus companies for access, it's funny that with council-subsidised services such as the 6a, the subsidy doesn't extend to use of the bus station by its own subsidised services - the 6a turning at the bus station and laying over in one of the bays, but is not permitted to pick up passengers there, they have to go up the road and around the corner to the stop in Manvers Street.

Mark

I have spoken with the odd contact ;-) on this thread as originated and understand "it's WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about)" ... personal message to follow with an email address.

[njt]

The display screens in Cornwall are the responsibility of the Cornwall Council.
Individual operators may be given access, but unlikely.

The problem occurs when vehicles are on diversion, the Council rarely put that on the screens.

Operators in Cornwall do have access to the system, are able to update there own journeys and add messages to displays.

The problem is bus disruption information is there are simply too many systems in place.  The process needs a single point of input for disruption which creates a data source that can then be used by the multitude of data outputs to give consistent information to passengers.

[Sulis John]

Continuing on the screens at Bath Bus Station - having one screen with its scrolling display for bays 1-8 and another for 9 -16 (the actual split may be different)is also very user unfriendly as well t requires you to search two screens, which are not necessarily in synch. One screen should show “page 1” for all bats permanently and have pages 2 - 5 scrolling on the other. No need to show buses that leave in more than about 30 minutes at all. Also need a third bank of screens in the middle- if you’re in a queue at bays 9 or 10 both sets of screens are too far away to read.

[grahame]

Continuing on the screens at Bath Bus Station - having one screen with its scrolling display for bays 1-8 and another for 9 -16 (the actual split may be different)is also very user unfriendly as well t requires you to search two screens, which are not necessarily in synch. One screen should show “page 1” for all bats permanently and have pages 2 - 5 scrolling on the other. No need to show buses that leave in more than about 30 minutes at all. Also need a third bank of screens in the middle- if you’re in a queue at bays 9 or 10 both sets of screens are too far away to read.

Some major issues were dealt with as these new screens were brought in, but in my view you are correct in suggesting that the system remains awkward and could be much, much better.  As part of a public transport interchange and reception point for visitors, Bath Bus Station leaves a lot to be desired.

[infoman]

One of the things I have noticed that the arrival boards in any location seem to be shown longer in my opinion (time wise) than departures.

I think most persons that visit travel hubs are departing and not arriving.

[grahame]

One of the things I have noticed that the arrival boards in any location seem to be shown longer in my opinion (time wise) than departures.

I think most persons that visit travel hubs are departing and not arriving.

I have not noticed arrivals boards in Bath Bus Station at all ... what I DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains) notice on my mainland European Journeys on trains was the very high prominence (equal in prominence) of arrival as well as departure boards - electronic and paper - at many stations.

Logic would suggest that arrival and departure numbers are balanced at most places. However, with bus stops where they are both sides of the road and on suburban railways with multiple platforms, the individual situation at stops and platforms will vary and you'll see far better waiting facilities at the departure side where people spend time than at the arrival side where people pass quickly.  I can find plenty of local bus examples (and indeed at one or two places I have  been involved in making suggestions which have been followed though) for a bus shelter on one side of the road but not the other.

Bath Bus Station DOES have more departures than arrivals ... certainly on our Faresaver routes into there.  Lots of people decamp off the incoming vehicles at Grand Parade and at Manvers Street just across the road from the Railway Station to connect with trains, and the bus sometimes terminates in Dorchester Street rather than continuing into the bus station.   However, many of the returning passengers board in the bus station.  From Grand Parade / Guildhall, some do their business through the city and join the bus at the bottom / bus station,  and the outbound buses on many routes don't even call at the Manvers Street stop opposite the station - irritating if there's a fast connection to be made as on a number of occasions I have dashed off the train and the short distance to the bus station, passing the bus I wanted as it pulls out and along Dorchester Street.

[infoman]

https://www.chuffed.org/project/new-home-for-climate-hub-banes?fbclid=IwY2xjawGX6yxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXi9vPPWWyTzvucT_iRKdibzUhYB8SvgKSmQPR8Dvfh2XyiZNrDe0FrCBw_aem_JXoQ2365255j9IRxwI_AWA

[grahame]

https://www.chuffed.org/project/new-home-for-climate-hub-banes?

Help Us Bring Climate Action to the Heart of Bath!
 
We’re thrilled to announce that Climate Hub BANES has secured a new home at the old ticket office in the Rotunda at Bath Bus Station! It’s been a long haul, but we’ve finally achieved this important milestone. It’s not for our exclusive use, as it remains part of the Bus Station, but it’s a prime location for raising awareness about climate and nature action in the heart of the city.
 
This new hub will serve as a dynamic, public-facing space where we can engage with the community, share knowledge, and provide vital information about how everyone can take small but impactful steps toward a more sustainable future. Our vision is to create a welcoming environment where local residents, commuters, and visitors can learn about nature and climate, discover sustainable living tips, and get involved in our campaigns for a greener Bath.

The elephant in the room of climate change is the effect of travel and transport, and one of the key improvers is using mass (public) transit.   One of the big sticking blocks of using public transport is the difficulty people have in navigating their way around a complex system about which information is not always easy to find. Will this nw hub help people use the public transport that it's so close to as well as looking after the nature and green environment?

[infoman]

Just hope those who volunteer/work at the new hub want to do THE job and not just do A job.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I've merged a few historic posts here - as ever, in the interests of continuity, clarity and ease of reference.

CfN.