Response to Transport Select Committee by
Sue Dawson
Bus Services across the UK
Has Deregulation Worked? Are
services better, more frequent, meeting passenger need? Are bus
services sufficiently co-ordinated with other forms of public
transport: are buses clean, safe, efficient? If not can deregulation
be made to work? How?
Deregulation has certainly not worked in areas where
there is no Passenger Transport Authority. In an area such as
Stoke on Trent where there is no such authority there is a real
need to regulate and govern bus services. To ensure that adequate
resources are available. To ensure that Social exclusion is reduced
to a bare minimum. On many out lying areas of this City, services
have been reduced to a bare minimum with little or no evening,
and Sunday services. People who face 'Transport Poverty'
are increasingly affected as their Post Office and local
shops close down in favour of the larger out of town retail outlets.
Many people face severe exclusion when they do not have an easy
and affordable Public Transport network. People
are having great difficulty in travelling to and
from essential services such as Health facilities,
employment sites, education and in some cases good fresh affordable
food shopping.
I have evidence of one lady on a particular council
estate in Stoke on Trent not being able to go to church on a Sunday
morning; due to the lack of a decent bus service (surely that
simple act of worship is a basic human right) Young people are
excluded from recreation and leisure facilities running the risk
of getting frustrated, bored and causing 'havoc' due to lack of
accessibility. In many areas whole bus routes are being lost.
It is appreciated that many local authorities have
very tough decisions to make regarding their budgets, and that
Social services and education are very rightly at the top of most
LA agenda's but what's the point, if people are unable to access
these statutory service provisions through lack of access? The
public transport budget should and must be brought more to the
forefront in government priorities.
Local Transport plans are failing to deliver on bus
infrastructure which is needed to support the bus services, such
as bus priority measures, bus gates and bus & train interchanges.
Local Transport plans need and should also be giving priority
to the re building of bus station and interchanges to make these
places attractive and comfortable with toilet, waiting and refreshment
facilities. (Take a visit to Hanley bus station in Stoke on Trent,
no decent waiting facilities or refreshment areas, we are the
home of the biggest toilet maker in the world, and yet Hanley
bus station has no decent toilet facility apart from one automated
self clean thing which no one will use!) There is a real need
for a new frame work for buses outside of London. The English
regions should have similar systems as of those operated by London
Transport.
The role of the Traffic commissioner should also
have built into it, powers to regulate fares, vehicles and timetables,
Public Transport User Forums should be used to obtain customer
feedback, and to liaise with the commissioner on timetable issues
and to act as 'honest broker' between employers, health service
providers educational establishments etc: Proper consultation
on timetables will give inclusion to more and more people.
Tougher guidelines should be laid down between Local
Authorities and operators.
Inspection teams should tasked to look at the cleanliness
and general appearance of vehicles; operators should be fined
for running 'dirty' vehicles. Punctuality & reliability
Targets should be set.
The committee should also look at the scheme being
presently developed by the Assembly Government on the Trans Cambrian
network linking all areas of South Wales by an express network.
Transport partnerships must be set up to look at
standards and governance of the Bus service network, with service
user representation being at the forefront.
The current concessionary fares scheme is a mess.
Many senior citizens are totally confused and bewildered by the
many confusing schemes between County & City boundaries.
The 2008 scheme should be rolled out nationwide earlier
to stop the 'us and them' situation.
Consideration should also be given to free travel
for young people, with parents now having the choice to educate
their children at a school of their choice. If there is a situation
of low income again choice is completely ruled out.
I take my son to school by car because it is so much
cheaper and quicker.
He has to travel on two buses each way. Thus giving
a cost of almost five pounds per. Day for travel!!
Susan Dawson, North Staffordshire Public Transport
Users Forum
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