Environment Audit CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Simon Trevan, support worker, Plymouth City Council

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Get on with the drivers (polite)

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Availability—particularly taxis

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Can get any bus, on a good bus route

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You get to your destination quicker when in a taxi

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It’s free x 2

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Taxi better—wait out in the cold bus stop

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Drivers telling people that are drunk to get off the bus

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Taxis—are quicker- not waiting for a bus

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Some people enjoy travelling on buses

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Lots of taxis, more than buses

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Nice people on the bus

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Taxis come to your door

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Nice bus drivers

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I like to travel on taxis then buses—too many people on buses

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To help to travel around

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Safe on the bus

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Gets you to A-B

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Lots of buses on different routes, most areas covered

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Nice scenery

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Drivers are very helpful x 2

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Buses have cameras to help protect the passengers

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I got no problems with buses

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I can use my bus pass x 3

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Independence

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Warm and clean

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Ok when they are on time

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Great as I have a bus pass x 2

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Being able to get out and about x 2

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Key card good for travelling

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Frequency of First—Park and Ride Milehouse Service

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Get’s you to your destination

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I can travel independently

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Journeys take too long

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Taxis are very expensive x 9

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Move off before you sat down x 2

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I don’t trust taxi drivers

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Not enough time to set off

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Taxi fare starts off before it sets off

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Paying for support staff

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You can not eat food in Taxis

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They don’t run on time and are always late x 4

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Taxis are not safe

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The teenagers swear a lot on the bus

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Some taxi drivers, pedestrians make me feel nervous

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Rude and unhelpful drivers x 5

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Bad time keeping for buses and taxis

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The bus service stops too early on a Sunday x 2

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Taxis don’t always park on the right side of the road and I don’t feel safe crossing on my own.

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Prices on the bus

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Relying on staff to book my taxis, I would rather do it myself

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Need to put more buses

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Not letting blind people sit down before setting off

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Need more room for prams and wheelchairs

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Cost (concessions) before 9:30 am

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Dodgy readers

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Support worker (named—not named)

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Multi-trip—(£1.50 per journey)—share? Just Plymouth?

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Not park and ride

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Don’t turn up on time or don’t turn up at all x 5

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Buses break down often, people left standing outside in the cold x 3

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When buses are running late they will drive through on amber light or they don’t stop at the bus stop at all

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Too expensive

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Too many lights

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People at the back of the driver

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Bad time keeping for buses and taxis

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Prices of bus fares went up just before Christmas, no explanation why prices went up just a notice on a board. But some people with learning disabilities did not understand or could not read it.

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School kids do not give up their seats for the needy

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Lots of drunken people on buses x 2

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Drivers not happy

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School kids vandalise the seats and play around on the buses

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Not enough time to get up off the seat

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Not many buses on Sundays when most people need to travel

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Some buses are overcrowded

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Not enough buses on certain days (weekends, holidays)

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Drivers don’t wait if they see you rushing for the bus

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Confusing timetable to figure out (holidays etc)

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Not happy because we cannot use bus passes before 9:30

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Sometimes people are bullied on the bus and the driver may not have noticed

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Some buses have litter on the floor

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Where to catch the bus

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Waiting outside in the cold bus stop

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Me and my mum don’t like the bus being late

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Sometimes have to walk too far

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More money

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Making the timetables easier to understand, explaining things better

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Taxis should be cheaper—stick to a firm you trust

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Making the timetable more realistic—length of time it takes a bus to travel from one place to another

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Taxis drivers should treat people better

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More buses on the road

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Taxis are expensive, they should be cheaper to use x 2

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Would like to use travel pass before 9:30 x 7

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Have taxis drivers CRB checked

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More security cameras on board

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Provide a taxi service that is suited to transport vulnerable adults

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Cheaper tickets x 2

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Proper monitoring of cars and drivers

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To lower floor more to make it easier to get on

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All women taxi service

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More room for prams and wheelchairs x 2

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More CCTV in taxis and buses

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Make buses that don’t break down

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The bus arriving on time and being more reliable x 4

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More “electronic table” information at bus stops

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Patience and understanding of my disability

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I want to be able to use my free bus pass x 2

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Sunday times more frequent

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More buses at peak times

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Better communication

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Rural buses stop early in the evening prepare to have later buses

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Timetables easier to read, digital screens are easier

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More CCTV in taxis and buses

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Having good looking bus drivers, not having bad tempered ones

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Letting people get on with a £5 note and refusing them and telling them to get change from the shop and missing the bus

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More considerate staff

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Drivers could be more polite and friendlier and more patient x 2