Memorandum by Envolve (OPT 22)
OVERCROWDING ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Envolve works with Bath & North East Somerset
Council to promote travel plans in this authority area. We also
jointly co-ordinate an Employers Travel Forum at which employers
can meet every three months to discuss common concerns.
One issue that arises locally is overcrowding
on trains between Bath, Bristol and Filton Abbey Wood. People
also travel from this area also travel for work in London and
sometimes these trains are full in morning and evening peak hours.
My personal experience of travelling by a new Virgin Train recently
gave me the opinion that these trains would cope worse with overcrowding
than current 125 and Inter City trains.
The proposals for new trains should take into
account comfort of passengers when a train becomes overcrowded,
for reasons of both health & safety and reasonable comfort.
Some aspects of health and safety have restrictive effects to
the extent that no window could be opened on the train on which
I travelled. I haven't yet travelled a First Great Western Adelante
Train, but I will be concerned if design for passenger space is
as tight as that for the Virgin train.
It appears that new trains have been designed
with an emphasis on cost-effective seating rather than passenger
comfort and safety. It will be difficult to balance efficient
design with comfort. My concern is that an experience for travellers
on an overcrowded train could be intimidating and put them off
public transport.
Barry Maunder
Co-ordinator Bath Employers Travel Forum
December 2002
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