Concessionary bus fares and EU rules lead to real problems

[whole diary]

[Lee]

On April 1, 60-year-old Roger Jenking is travelling from Oxford to Crewe - solely using local buses (link below.)
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2096701.0.60yearold_to_test_out_new_bus_scheme.php

He has decided to test a national concessionary local bus scheme which starts that day.

Mr Jenking plans to catch the 9am bus from Oxford to Chipping Norton.

From there he will catch the 10.02am service to Stratford, before hopping on the 11.45am to Birmingham.

From Birmingham he catches the 1.30pm to Wolverhampton, then the 3.46pm for Stafford, where he hopes to catch the 5pm to Stoke.

The final leg of his journey will see him taking a 6.34pm service to Crewe, which arrives at 7.25pm.

If Mr Jenking was paying for the trip, it would cost ^21.

The only direct National Express coach from Oxford to Crewe on that day leaves at 1.55pm and arrives at 6.20pm. A one-way fare costs ^24.

Mr Jenking plans to travel back by train.

All that bus travel, sorry that's my Idea of Hell.

Could be when I pass on, I'll go to Old Nicks place, might just find Hell is a Never ending bus ride! 

I did something similar in June 2007, as an experiment for Save The Train (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=346.msg1008#msg1008

[Lee]

Stagecoach could make cuts to bus services in Gloucestershire amid a dispute with local authorities (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20123352&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

[befuddled]

Hubby is entitled to a free bus pass.
Unfortunately, he`d have to walk more than 3 miles, up & down 1-in-4 hills, to the nearest bus stop.
Doh.

[Lee]

More DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) links.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/concessionary/concessionmarketingcoms/concesspressrelease/

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/concessionary/guidancetcasbusops

[Lee]

Stagecoach could make cuts to bus services in Gloucestershire amid a dispute with local authorities (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20123352&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

The six district councils in Gloucestershire say they will not be "railroaded" into paying Stagecoach in a dispute over the concessionary fares scheme. Stagecoach threatened to cut lifeline services, saying it had to recoup funds after the scheme left it more than ^400,000 out of pocket (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20184434&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

But the councils' consortium disputes the accuracy of the bus company's figures and accuses it of "Dick Turpin tactics" by pressurising it into handing over taxpayers' money for the time services were disrupted by floods.

This is despite the Government's independent adjudicator ordering the consortium to pay ^447,829 to meet the underpayment for the 2007/08 financial year.

Interesting that Stagecoach are laying some of the blame on the councils' consultants.

[Lee]

A pensioner has said a new national concessionary bus pass scheme was unfair, as the times the pass allows people to travel varies between districts (link below.)
http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.2140887.0.bus_scheme_unfair_says_oap.php

The new pass, which comes into force on April 1, entitles anyone over 60 or disabled to free travel on local buses between 9.30am and 11pm.

But three out of five district councils in Oxfordshire have decided to run the Government- subsidised scheme from 9am instead, and meet the extra cost themselves, although Cherwell and Vale of White Horse District Councils have not.

Cherwell leader Barry Wood said it would cost council taxpayers an extra ^120,000 annually.

He added that extending the scheme in the future was still a possibility.

[Lee]

Stagecoach could make cuts to bus services in Gloucestershire amid a dispute with local authorities (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20123352&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

The six district councils in Gloucestershire say they will not be "railroaded" into paying Stagecoach in a dispute over the concessionary fares scheme. Stagecoach threatened to cut lifeline services, saying it had to recoup funds after the scheme left it more than ^400,000 out of pocket (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20184434&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

But the councils' consortium disputes the accuracy of the bus company's figures and accuses it of "Dick Turpin tactics" by pressurising it into handing over taxpayers' money for the time services were disrupted by floods.

This is despite the Government's independent adjudicator ordering the consortium to pay ^447,829 to meet the underpayment for the 2007/08 financial year.

Interesting that Stagecoach are laying some of the blame on the councils' consultants.

Bus services have been cut, others may be reviewed and improvements halted as the row continues (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20226378&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

[Lee]

Bus passengers on some rural routes are being forced off their vehicles part way through their journey because of EU^» (European Union - about) rules (links below.)
http://thisiscornwall.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144125&command=displayContent&sourceNode=232510&home=yes&more_nodeId1=232470&contentPK=20237332

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144125&command=displayContent&sourceNode=232450&contentPK=20237330&folderPk=108202&pNodeId=251466

Legislation forbids bus drivers from travelling for more than 30 miles in one go.

Passengers on some routes must get on and off their bus, sometimes twice, to prevent bus operators from prosecution.

Operators in Cornwall have condemned the new rule brought in last April as "idiotic" and have called for Whitehall to step in.

Western Greyhound, based in Newquay, has been forced to split its Newquay to Plymouth service into three sections.

Although one driver is used throughout the trip, passengers have to buy three tickets and break their journey twice.

Mark Howard, managing director, said:

"The Government says that it wants to improve public transport and we as bus operators want to improve it too. The Government must change this idiotic legislation as quickly as possible."

"The thing that really gets me is that older people and young mothers with babies in prams are having to clamber on and off buses for no good reason at all.

"This is not about safety. Bus operators have been caught up in legislation designed to stop haulage firms from allowing their drivers to travel for long periods."

Larger bus operators said they have worked around the new legislation and that services have not been disrupted.

Operators First Devon and Cornwall operate a number of routes over 30 miles and carry 17 million passengers around the two counties every year.

Company chiefs said they had decided it was more important to continue to serve the customers on these routes with no disruptions.

A spokesman said:

"The implementation of the 30-mile rule means there is the need for additional drivers and the purchase of tachographs for the vehicles. First has decided to absorb this cost, in the interest of our customers and services. It is not necessary for customers to change, or get on and off buses as we have altered the way in which these services are operated (which has ultimately increased costs) in order to ensure they continue to be operated legally."

[Lee]

Campaign for Better Transport view (link below) :
http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/public_transport/buses/blog

Starting Tuesday, people over 60 and people with disabilities will be able to use their free bus pass to travel on buses anywhere in England during off-peak hours.

While this should make it easier for people to leave their cars at home when they go on holidays and shopping trips around the country, the scheme will in fact only be of use if there are buses for people to use! Worryingly, there is some evidence that free bus passes have in the past resulted in cuts to bus services - because bus companies and local authorities haven't been sufficiently subsidised by the Government for transporting free passengers - and that this national expansion of the programme may result in more cuts (I recently spoke to the Guardian about this issue - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/10/transport.buses)

If the Government is serious about improving public transport and ensuring people have real travel choices, it must provide adequate funding and a workable bus pass scheme. It should follow the example set by Scotland and Wales; both have more straightforward schemes in place already.

Have there been bus cuts in your area recently? Do let me know about them - campaigns[at]bettertransport[dot]org[dot]uk

[Lee]

Article link on bus pass plans in the North Somerset area (link below.)
http://thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231190&home=yes&more_nodeId1=144922&contentPK=20275404

Elsewhere, the huge number of people who visit Windsor is causing concerns about the scheme (link below.)
http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/news/article-5883-bus-pass-charges-could-cost-council-dear/

[Lee]

Pensioners have taken more than 700,000 extra free trips on Oxford buses in the past six months ^ leaving the city council with a ^400,000 budget black hole (link below.)
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/3757402.Bus_pass_bill_hits___400k/

A scheme allowing pensioners to travel anywhere on local services free of charge and changes to how councils pay bus operators has seen an increase of almost 50 per cent in the number of subsidised journeys.

It is costing the council hundreds of thousands of pounds and has led to overcrowding on some routes.

Council executive member Antonia Bance lobbied local government minister John Healey for extra money to cover the cost of concessionary journeys into Oxford, at last month's Labour Party conference.

[Chris from Nailsea]

... not helped by the fact that Oxford City Council also have some ^4,500,000 'frozen' in Icelandic bank accounts? 

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7660741.stm

[Lee]

On the Isles of Scilly, the arrival of free bus passes on 286 doormats was met with indifference and wry amusement ^ as there is no bus service on the islands (link below.)
http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/news/Free-pass-pensioners-bus-sight/article-424058-detail/article.html

The 2007 Concessionary Bus Pass Act compelled the Council of the Isles of Scilly to issue the passes, regardless of whether they were of any use.

The council was also given a hefty grant by the Department of Transport ^ of ^50,000 a year for three years ^ to administer the service.

But so far, with no bus service and limited demand, the council has struggled to use the cash.

The only spending has been a little under ^4,000 to provide 72 pensioners, who do not live on the main island, with a pass which enables them to travel by boat to St Mary's.

Councillors are now considering setting up a community bus scheme to provide a year-round service for residents and which is equipped to help disabled and elderly people get around.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Ongoing problems with the scheme in Gloucestershire:

Paying for free bus passes is bringing about cuts to services in Gloucestershire.  A number of councils in county say they're having to restrict spending on services in order to supplement the free bus pass scheme, launched in April.

The Government wanted elderly and disabled passengers to have free off-peak travel and gave all local authorities grants to pay for it.  But four out of the six district councils in Gloucestershire; Gloucester City, Cheltenham Borough, Stroud District and Tewkesbury Borough, say they're having to add additional money to fund the scheme.

For the full article, see http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/latestnews/Services-cut-pay-bus-passes/article-467849-detail/article.html

[grahame]

At a Wiltshire Council budget meeting that I attended on Wednesday evening (organised by the Chamber of Commerce), the chief executive, chief financial officer and council leader stated that their spend on public transport had gone up 27%.

when challenged (and not by myself - by other interested parties) that they should also support rail, they stated that they are not allowed to do so (this is a bending of the truth, by the way - they are only not 'allowed' to do so because it would go against their 'no expenditure on rail' policy decision)