Bristol connections: Metro, Bus Rapid Transit, PTE, ITA and local councils - discussion

[whole diary]

[swrural]

As an old Hanhamite  - looks good, (service 43/44) but the BEP has spelt Lawrence Hill incorrectly.  Has the Grauniad taken them over?

[anthony215]

Well lets hope this proves to be a sucess now I wish First Cymru would run some night buses in Swansea.

[JayMac]

As an old Hanhamite  - looks good, (service 43/44) but the BEP has spelt Lawrence Hill incorrectly.  Has the Grauniad taken them over?

The BEP is now just The P. The paper dropped 'Bristol' and 'Evening' from its name in April 2012. Now just 'The Post' on the masthead.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Not necessarily ... 

The Bristol Post team of journalists all appear here, at http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/people/The%20Bristol%20Post/profile.html under their group 'Bristol Post' - and they post as such.

 

[swrural]

All correspondents call it the BEP and we shall continue to do so - hopefully it is in the list of abbs (like that last bit    )?

In fairness, if you are actually buying one in the Bristol newsagent (why would you do that?) you would ask for a Post.  But that's if you are there.     

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bristol harbourside bus route changes agreed


Under the proposal BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit) vehicles would not run across Prince Street bridge

Plans to change the routes of two new rapid bus routes in Bristol have been agreed in principle.

The city's elected mayor George Ferguson previously said he did not want buses running across Prince Street bridge or through the harbourside. But opponents of his plans said the city risked losing some ^140m for transport projects.

The changes were agreed with transport minister Norman Baker following a meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Ferguson said a "number of potential improvements" would give a better connection on the route between Long Ashton and Temple Meads railway station.

"This helps burst the bubble of those who have been claiming that my appetite for changes to the route around the harbour would mean the Department for Transport withdrawing all the money," Mayor Ferguson said. "There are huge potential improvements to be gained in terms of route, vehicle and nature of the scheme with better connection to Temple Meads."

But one of his unpaid transport advisors, Pip Sheard, resigned following the meeting with the minister.

"I'm very sorry that without even waiting for an update at this afternoon's gathering of the transport advisers Pip Sheard has tendered her resignation," Mr Ferguson added. "But she is asking for what would amount to an illegal change of transferring funds to other modes of transport, however desirable that might be."

Ms Sheard said she had resigned because she wanted a "proper discussion" on the options and "the advisory group didn't look like being the proper forum for that".

"We were going to be given a chosen option with very little opportunity for putting forward alternatives and what we need here is a genuine debate on which is the best public transport route," she added.

[JayMac]

Pip Sheard is, I believe, an advocate for some sort of light rail solution rather than this bonkers BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit). I for one am glad that she's taken a principled stand and resigned from the advisory group.

Saddens me that it would appear Mayor Ferguson is being hamstrung by the bean counters in Westminster. 'Bus and Bikes' Baker needs to embrace trams as well.

Having recently been in Manchester and seen what they have done, and continue to do, with their tram network, I am in total agreement with Pip Sheard.

Trams for Bristol say I.

[swrural]

Yes I agree BNM, but the money on offer won't buy more than a couple of haltes.  (Sticking to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) talk).

[JayMac]

Bristol is now only second to Leeds as the largest urban area in mainland GB^▸ (Great Britain) not having any form of metro/light rail public transport.

Diesel engined buses are not a long term solution, even if they are to run (in but a small part) on dedicated infrastructure. Come on Mayor Ferguson. You're doing well pressing the case for heavy rail in and around Bristol. Why not start the ball rolling on light rail as well? Think of the legacy. You could be the man who brought trams back to Bristol.

[TonyK]

Found myself on one with Dame Joan Bakewell back in November .. thinking man's crumpet as was...

I would.

Lives next door to Robert Plant. My enduring memory of her TV career was a program where she watched the making of a porn film, in the interests of science of course (or was it art?). Now where was I?

All correspondents call it the BEP and we shall continue to do so

In Cabot Circus, single mums aged 19 still go to Broadmead to spend their Family Allowance. As well as the BEP becoming the BP^» (Beyond Petroleum (Former name - British Petroleum) - home page), or even just the P, we new have to cope with GBMB - the new name for BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit)! To me, it sounds like a 1980's coalition of left-wing trade unions, of the kind who were always "at the end of the day", "sold down the river".

The council, according to the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)'s Robin Markwell, now refer to the "Greater Bristol Metro Bus" project, having overlooked my suggestion of "Community Rapid Access Project", which at least had a snappier acronym. Pip Sheard's resignation was because she had heard that the Mayor and the rest of the BRT sorry GBMB review board had decided to run the route along Cumberland Road. She is against the whole kit and caboodle, so handed in her notice. The Mayor has denied that there is any done deal, and has asked her back. Whatever the truth is, you gotta move with the times in Bristol these days!

BNM's point is absolutely accurate, as always. The mayor, however, has been told that he can amend the BRT GMBM route, and even the name, and still keep the cash. That puts the lie to the oft-chanted mantra that any deviation from the Best and Final Bid would lose us the ^200 million. He cannot, however, deviate from the "technology". He has to put a business case for the changes, which for all I know may give him the chance to show up the original figures as the twisted work of a barrack-room statistician.
As BNM says, diesel buses are a dying art, and electric propulsion is the way of the future. I hope that if we are to be lumbered with BRTGBBM, it is done in such a way as to make conversion to light rail an attractive option in the future.

These acronyms are wearing me down. I have only just mastered BLT - what was so wrong with "gay, etc"?

[trainer]

After an intense week of travelling by train, bus and tram, I am confident in saying that anyone who suggests that buses are an adequate substitute for any kind of modern rail transport (heavy or light) in an urban area either doesn't use public transport often or doesn't care about those who do.  There is little attraction for a motorist leaving the comfort of his/her vehicle for a bus IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).  Tinkering with the route of the bus does not address a the fundamental issue.

Having said that, Transdev (operating under several brand names) in the Keighley area seem to offer superior vehicles on at least some of their routes and I was impressed with them as an alternative to the other 'big boys' of the industry.

[anthony215]

Bristol is now only second to Leeds as the largest urban area in mainland GB^▸ (Great Britain) not having any form of metro/light rail public transport.

Diesel engined buses are not a long term solution, even if they are to run (in but a small part) on dedicated infrastructure. Come on Mayor Ferguson. You're doing well pressing the case for heavy rail in and around Bristol. Why not start the ball rolling on light rail as well? Think of the legacy. You could be the man who brought trams back to Bristol.

I most certainly agree with everyone here that trams would be much better than diesel buses.

I know leeds are looking at electric trolly busses so perhaps Bristol could look at something like this for this BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit) scheme

[TonyK]

I know leeds are looking at electric trolly busses so perhaps Bristol could look at something like this for this BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit) scheme

Indeed, Leeds has plans at an advanced stage. Personally, I don't think BRT is any good, and will have to be made to work rather than be attractive to passengers. But why not designate a segregated route from Temple Meads to the Centre, around Cabot Circus, and back to Temple Meads? Clear away as many utilities under the route as possible, then suggest trolley buses, because of lower noise and lack of pollution. Put the poles up for the overhead cables, then suggest that a system using only one cable per bus would save money. The current would pass through a shoe to a small metal strip in the road. Then suggest that it would save a heck of a lot of cash if we took advantage of the much lower friction afforded by steel wheels on steel rails. The world's first ever Stealth Tram!

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

Perhaps it is a sign of my getting old but when I lived down west, the Centre was always known as the The Tramway Centre and Bristol Buses as "Bristol Blues" when they were painted green. What would we do without nostalgia?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Even nostalgia isn't as good as it used to be ...