Written evidence from P Cowlyn (BUS 122)
I have picked up a leaflet inviting bus users to
make their views known before Easter to the transport committee,
and my county of Somerset is mentioned. I live in Wells in Somerset,
and have until recently been a bus driver for our main company
Firstgroup. I have taken the decision to do without a car and
now use public transport for all my travel.
There has been a lot of concern in Somerset over
the drastic nature of the bus service cuts being introduced this
weekend. Basically the county council have withdrawn all subsidies
from evening and Sunday services, meaning that none will now be
operating. Somerset have said that they are reducing bus subsidies
by 46%, which seems a far greater reduction that the reduction
in the money coming from the government. They are also saying
that there will be further cuts to daytime services over the next
two years. Somerset are making huge cuts in other areas (ie 40%
libraries closing) and I understand that they had a lot of exposure
to the Icelandic banks which has hit them badly.
Although I might be quick to complain that I can
no longer go out in the evenings, particularly to the theatres
in Weston and Yeovil, and can no longer pay a day visit to my
father in Devon, I have to be realistic and say that many of the
evening and Sunday services have been very little used. In fact
Somerset has been lucky in that the county have until now supported
such services, as many other counties have not done so for years.
However I think the county would have done better to leave some
evening and Sunday services going and perhaps reduced some daytime
frequencies, but they have rejected this suggestion. Our area
includes four sizeable towns (Street, Glastonbury, Wells and Shepton
Mallet), all a long way from the nearest railway station. Fortunately
the evening and Sunday buses on the main route to the main railhead
in Bristol has been covered by a new subsidy from Bath and North
Somerset and Bristol city council, which will at least keep three
of those towns connected on a Sunday. But Street, Glastonbury
and Shepton have been left with no public transport at all on
a bank holiday, which seems crazy. As a bus driver I know that
Bank holidays can be very busy indeed, especially as our towns
attract many tourists. I suspect that in the forthcoming spate
of Bank holidays many visitors will come down to the area for
the long weekend and find themselves unable to leave.
Having had good evening and Sunday services for years,
many people have come to rely on them, many to go to work, and
these people are facing serious problems.
On the subject of the free bus passes for the elderly,
I can say as a bus driver that many of our elderly passengers
consider that the bus pass is the best thing the government have
ever done for them, and I certainly agree that the benefits are
huge. Free travel greatly enhances the lives of pass holders who
can now lead much healthier and more active lives. Free travel
keeps them busy, keeps them out of their cars, and helps the economy
by allowing them to go out and support local businesses and attractions.
Many local shops (especially tea shops!) say that business has
really improved since the passes came in. There is opposition
to the passes, mostly from those who drive cars, but many seem
to misunderstand the point that the pensioners are merely filling
empty seats on buses that would be running anyway, and therefore
costing nothing in real terms. Examples of overcrowding have been
very rare, and in the very few places where this has happened
(the Lake District and the Torbay area are the only two examples
I have found) the problem has been dealt with.
Some bus operators claim they are not being sufficiently
paid as they receive much less per journey than the normal fare.
But they miss the point—over 90% of the journeys would not
be made if fares had to be paid, so they would be no better off.
I wrote to the government a year ago with some comments
about the pass. I have said that I think to 0930 morning restriction
on pass use is unhelpful because it causes a large peak just after
that time. This does not occur in those counties (ie Cornwall,
Suffolk etc) that have removed the time limit. Also, many counties
have different start times and this causes confusion. Some counties
now have complicated rules concerning the frequency or routes,
allowing early journeys where frequencies are low, causing more
confusion.
Many pass holders say that if money is tight they
would rather make some payment than see the passes, removed. A
small fare such as 50p per trip, or an annual fee for the pass
(as with a Railcard) are two ideas I suggested last year, but
the reply I received stated that the passes would remain free.
Means testing has been suggested but this would be quite unfair
to those who have saved all their lives.
Certainly the funding needs to be carefully looked
at. I feel the scheme works better in Wales and Scotland where
the bus companies are reimbursed direct from the government works
better. Many of the counties did very bad deals with the bus companies
(Somerset included) but I believe this has now been changed. Somerset
claim there is a five million difference between the money they
get for the pass use and what they have to pay, and they are blaming
this for some of the service cuts. I feel that the scheme should
be centrally funded and that if this is not possible then money
for pass use should be kept separate from other cash such as the
rural bus grant.
Over a number of years bus services have greatly
improved, and if we are serious about wishing to reduce the use
of private cars we need to maintain the improvement. No fit-for-purpose
public transport service can operate at a profit, but I believe
that money spent on bus (and rail) services is money well spent.
To sum up I would say that whilst I agree that cuts
have to be made I think Somerset are being a bit too drastic.
I depend entirely on the currently excellent public transport
system we have in this country and I hope to be able to continue
to do so. And, finally, I feel that the benefits of the free travel
for the elderly and disabled far outweigh any drawbacks.
April 2011
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