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Post by wirewiper on Mar 17, 2021 18:41:44 GMT
The Government has published its national bus strategy for England, "Bus Back Better". You can download the full document (all 84 pages of it) from here if you want a bit of light bedtime reading: www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-back-betterBear in mind the strategy is explicitly for buses outside London, although some of its provisions could impact on the Capital's buses and could influence future Government funding for TfL bus services.
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Post by galwhv69 on Mar 17, 2021 19:06:50 GMT
Seems like a well written publication, very much like the use of various mini case studies such as the Transdev 36, Go Coach DRT & Reading Buses
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Post by wirewiper on Mar 19, 2021 18:04:08 GMT
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Post by vjaska on Mar 19, 2021 18:40:55 GMT
One concern I have is why is cycling getting funds from something geared towards buses - buses never got any funding from cycle projects. My only other concern is I can see this creating another two tier system except in the reverse where London is left to hang whilst the rest of the UK finally gets sorted out - can we not just have one unified strategy for both London and the rest of the country?
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Mar 20, 2021 0:24:51 GMT
One concern I have is why is cycling getting funds from something geared towards buses - buses never got any funding from cycle projects. My only other concern is I can see this creating another two tier system except in the reverse where London is left to hang whilst the rest of the UK finally gets sorted out - can we not just have one unified strategy for both London and the rest of the country? For some reason there's this view that cycling is the future. It's really not, the day it rains all the cyclists flock to the cars and buses and it's pretty much only ever middle aged males that use them with a smaller proportion of middle aged females. It's a really short sighted approach to assume cycling will ever make as much as a proportion of bus users in the grand scheme and fund it like that. How much cyclists do people actually see on a normal day? I live on CS3 and don't often see many people using it. For every 100 or so cars that go past I see one cyclist and that's not an exaggeration. With cycling they've got the infrastructure, now it's a case of wait for a noticeable increase on the bikes and a noticeable decrease on buses that's directly linked to cycling then they can take money away from buses, but until then I don't think this should be happening at all. I might be in the minority but I think car facilities need to be improved as time goes on too, with the very quick onset of electric and potentially Hydrogen cars within the next 20 years private traffic is going to boom again and there'll pretty much be no argument against it. If this happens the road network will not be fit for purpose and congestion will be through the roof. I dread to think what Mile End road will look like once Zero Emission cars come in and the traffic ends up increasing. The road network in London generally has taken a back seat, and while that was fine to persuade people onto buses the investment needs to start picking up again once the rapid conversion to electric cars gets underway. Electric cars will probably completely change the way public transport is treated, increases in congestion might see more people opt for rail and less people for the bus, while cycling will probably just become a mode of transport for the fit rather than the environmentalist.
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Post by wirewiper on Mar 20, 2021 10:14:35 GMT
Roger French ("Bus and Train User") is out of the blocks with his take on Bus Back Better. And as the MD of Brighton & Hove Buses for many years, he knows his stuff. His most telling comment is that there is nothing in the strategy about restraining car use, which has to happen to enable buses to operate reliably. By contrast, the Scottish Government has a target of a 20% cut in car use in the next ten years - and that includes electric vehicles. busandtrainuser.com/2021/03/20/week-11-better/ (commentary on Bus Back Better is towards the end)
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Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 20, 2021 11:29:55 GMT
One concern I have is why is cycling getting funds from something geared towards buses - buses never got any funding from cycle projects. My only other concern is I can see this creating another two tier system except in the reverse where London is left to hang whilst the rest of the UK finally gets sorted out - can we not just have one unified strategy for both London and the rest of the country? I agree, but I feel London is now being punished due to the way we voted at the last election.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 20, 2021 11:33:57 GMT
One concern I have is why is cycling getting funds from something geared towards buses - buses never got any funding from cycle projects. My only other concern is I can see this creating another two tier system except in the reverse where London is left to hang whilst the rest of the UK finally gets sorted out - can we not just have one unified strategy for both London and the rest of the country? For some reason there's this view that cycling is the future. It's really not, the day it rains all the cyclists flock to the cars and buses and it's pretty much only ever middle aged males that use them with a smaller proportion of middle aged females. It's a really short sighted approach to assume cycling will ever make as much as a proportion of bus users in the grand scheme and fund it like that. How much cyclists do people actually see on a normal day? I live on CS3 and don't often see many people using it. For every 100 or so cars that go past I see one cyclist and that's not an exaggeration. With cycling they've got the infrastructure, now it's a case of wait for a noticeable increase on the bikes and a noticeable decrease on buses that's directly linked to cycling then they can take money away from buses, but until then I don't think this should be happening at all. I might be in the minority but I think car facilities need to be improved as time goes on too, with the very quick onset of electric and potentially Hydrogen cars within the next 20 years private traffic is going to boom again and there'll pretty much be no argument against it. If this happens the road network will not be fit for purpose and congestion will be through the roof. I dread to think what Mile End road will look like once Zero Emission cars come in and the traffic ends up increasing. The road network in London generally has taken a back seat, and while that was fine to persuade people onto buses the investment needs to start picking up again once the rapid conversion to electric cars gets underway. Electric cars will probably completely change the way public transport is treated, increases in congestion might see more people opt for rail and less people for the bus, while cycling will probably just become a mode of transport for the fit rather than the environmentalist. But it is not surprise at the London road network. With so many anti car measures over the years, the short sighted people have not realised in effect it has hampered bus services and also deliveries etc. The only form that can get around without much affect is cycles, or mopeds which would end up using the cycle paths when they are not meant to. London has stifled its own economy and deserves what it gets coming to it.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 20, 2021 11:37:48 GMT
Roger French ("Bus and Train User") is out of the blocks with his take on Bus Back Better. And as the MD of Brighton & Hove Buses for many years, he knows his stuff. His most telling comment is that there is nothing in the strategy about restraining car use, which has to happen to enable buses to operate reliably. By contrast, the Scottish Government has a target of a 20% cut in car use in the next ten years - and that includes electric vehicles. busandtrainuser.com/2021/03/20/week-11-better/ (commentary on Bus Back Better is towards the end) How would you "restrain" car use. Most people who have a car is not just going to give it up for using the bus. Even if the bus journey times were quicker, I really do not think you get it. It is all about the travelling experience.
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Post by vjaska on Mar 20, 2021 12:26:05 GMT
Roger French ("Bus and Train User") is out of the blocks with his take on Bus Back Better. And as the MD of Brighton & Hove Buses for many years, he knows his stuff. His most telling comment is that there is nothing in the strategy about restraining car use, which has to happen to enable buses to operate reliably. By contrast, the Scottish Government has a target of a 20% cut in car use in the next ten years - and that includes electric vehicles. busandtrainuser.com/2021/03/20/week-11-better/ (commentary on Bus Back Better is towards the end) How would you "restrain" car use. Most people who have a car is not just going to give it up for using the bus. Even if the bus journey times were quicker, I really do not think you get it. It is all about the travelling experience. Part of the travelling experience includes faster journey times alongside a plethora of other things
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Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 20, 2021 12:34:06 GMT
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Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 20, 2021 12:38:33 GMT
UK news summary
Friday 19th March 2021
The Times and yesterday's Evening Standard report on National Express' loss of £444.7 million. Ignacio Garat CEO, said: "It is encouraging to see that when restrictions have been lifted, demand for our services has quickly returned and I am confident of a full recovery over time, with many of the actions we have taken in the past year resulting in a more efficient business able to grow at pace."
The Financial Times also discusses National Express and says it aims to snatch business from rivals and win profitable bus and coach contracts from those on the brink of collapse. The FT speculates that this might be a sign of how the industry is heading and that moves like this could trigger consolidation in a sector hit by a collapse in passenger numbers. Other big UK bus groups are also looking to grow. First Group has won several large school bus contracts from competitors in the US and Stagecoach is pursuing a strategy to diversify into new markets like Sweden and Dubai
The Times' transport correspondent Graeme Paton highlights the reversal of the Beeching Cuts with government expected to announce today that the line between Exeter and Okehampton in Devon will open up for the first time in 50 years by the end of 2021. This is the first to be reopened to "level up" the economy. Others in advanced stages of planning include the Northumberland line between Ashington and Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the Fleetwood line in Lancashire
The Independent says the Scottish government has announced that ScotRail train services will be run by a public-owned company from next year when Abellio's contract runs out.
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Post by snowman on Mar 30, 2021 7:00:54 GMT
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Post by LondonNorthern on Jul 16, 2021 15:17:41 GMT
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Post by vjaska on Jul 16, 2021 15:36:30 GMT
At least a number of the people who have commented have a better and pro bus attitude in comparison. Not only does the service run hourly but it's also not the only bus that uses the pedestrian zone and I bet it's not as busy as Oxford's pedestrianised zone which likely sees more services and more frequent ones too.
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