Cornwall Good news with an old photo

Cornwall in going against the grain here:

Older people, and those of any age with a disability, who qualify for a concessionary bus pass will be able to travel for free at any time on Cornwall’s buses from 01 April.

Up until now, people who qualify for a bus pass under the English National Concessionary Fares Travel Scheme have been able to travel on Cornwall’s public  buses for free after 9.30am on Mondays to Fridays and at any time on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.  Now, Cornwall Council has decided to extend the scheme so that concessionary bus pass holders can travel on public buses at any time and will no longer have to wait until 9.30am to travel for free.

Cornwall Council Cabinet portfolio holder for transport, Geoff Brown said: “We have listened to residents who hold these bus passes.  They have told us that having to wait until 9.30am to be able to travel for free on the bus means that they can’t travel to early appointments.  In the case of disabled concessionary bus pass holders in particular, they have told us that under the current arrangements, they can’t use their pass early enough so they either have to pay or make alternative arrangements to travel to adult training and day centres.”

Geoff adds:  “We want to encourage people to use public transport and here is a practical way the Council can help people who have a concessionary bus pass to do just that at no cost to them.”

https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-news-room/media-releases/news-from-2019/news-from-march-2019/have-a-concessionary-bus-pass-you-can-travel-at-any-time-on-cornwall-s-buses-from-01-april/

and the good news continues

Residents in South East Cornwall are set to benefit from a successful bid to the government’s Transforming Cities Fund to improve transport links, with a particular emphasis on sustainable transport.  Cornwall Council joined forces with Plymouth City Council and Saltash Town Council to support and develop a bid for funding to improve the wider Plymouth travel to work area which includes South East Cornwall

The successful funding bid means that South East Cornwall is set to see a £320,000 investment in transport infrastructure to improve key bus corridors in the Saltash, Torpoint, Rame Peninsula and Liskeard areas. Improvements will include new bus shelters, timetable cases and the installation of digital real time passenger information (RTPI) signs at key locations. 

Another £516,000 has also been received to deliver walking and cycling improvements in Saltash to provide key connections to Plymouth, support economic and housing growth and manage increased travel demand.

The joint bid sees a total of £7.6 million for a number of sustainable transport initiatives in Plymouth.  In Cornwall, a share of the funding will go to improve cycling, walking and public transport links between Cornwall and Plymouth. 

Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport Geoff Brown said: “Improving sustainable transport connections in Cornwall and into Devon is so important for our residents.  This funding will help us deliver work being carried out on this Council’s One Public Transport System for Cornwall (OPTSfC) Project which aims to deliver an integrated and customer focused transport network under the Cornwall Devolution Deal.” 

Cornwall Council is now working closely with Plymouth City Council in preparing a bid for the second round of funding.

https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-news-room/media-releases/news-from-2019/news-from-march-2019/south-east-cornwall-set-to-benefit-from-transport-funding-boost/

This last story was such good news that the council tweeted:

Clearly whoever was in charge of this post hasn't actually used a bus in Cornwall for some time! (this photo was one of mine from  June 2009! https://flic.kr/p/6DfvRz)

The free bus pass explained

Spotted this on North Somerset Coaches Facebook page and feel that it deserves as wide an audience as possible!. A great little 'story' that explains all that is wrong with the free bus pass scheme:

Now, a little story... hope you are sitting comfortably! (This is pure fantasy but bear with us...)

The government decides bread should be free to the elderly. They design a complex formula using "base line data" based on how much bread is sold now to the elderly.

Each council uses the government computer spreadsheet to work out the average sale price of all the loaves actually sold by each shop, of all types and sizes, and this then decides from the "base line pre-scheme data" what percentage of the average sale price should be the repayment amount to each shopkeeper for the free loaves. This annually-fixed amount of money then paid for each loaf of any type or size given away.

The theory goes that shops should be no better or worse off than if there was no free bread scheme, so because more people will take free bread, because it is free, the total amount of money the shop receives should stay the same in real terms...(a shop selling 100 loaves a day before it was free and then "sells" 200 after the free bread scheme, as a mixture of free and paid-for bread, should still only receive the same amount of money as if they had sold 100 for "real money".)

By law the shopkeepers all have to give away all their bread to "free bread card" holders but only after 9am when it is a bit quieter, but they will only be paid their individual set amount described above - no matter what type of bread they give away, how much it would cost a "fare paying shopper" or what it cost to make/distribute/store/sell.

In some areas councils go one step further and average out every shop in their area, and this means the corner shop also has to give its bread away for the same reimbursement as Tesco, despite having totally different costs. The village baker also has to give away his super-special £1.99 loaf, for the same reimbursement rate per loaf as the Tesco Value 5p loaf.

Carry this on further, next year even more people are claiming their free bread, so the percentage of the average sale price goes down to stop the shops making any money. Eventually it costs more to make and stock because shelves are full of bread that will be given away free for next-to-no reimbursement.

Now the finishing touch... Tesco in Yorkshire, or Torquay, or Gloucester will all receive wildly different amounts of repayment because of the different figures used by their individual local authorities on the input side of the spreadsheet.

Doesn't that all sound crazy? Well thats exactly how it works for bus passes - bus companies forced by law to give their "product" away free for a repayment amount that has no relevance to the cost of providing that product - and indeed have no say WHATSOEVER in how much they are paid.

And what makes it all so very sad? We are all trying to get more people using buses and to impove Public Transport.

The full article - with lots of interesting comments on North Somerset Coaches Facebook

More use buses thanks to new pass

 

From April to September this year there were more than 3.2million concessionary bus trips in Plymouth, up 21 per cent on the same period last year. The cost to the council rose from £2.3million to £2.5million.

More use buses thanks to new pass

It has to be said that Plymouth does seem to be doing a lot better with their free bus pass provision than many councils, and dont seem to be in the same degree of panic that a lot of authorities are experiencing with the cost of the scheme. They do point out that the number of users was expected to have been higher than it has turned out, and that they are one of the more efficient local authorities when it come to administering the system. I have been impressed at the lack of news locally which suggests it is working better here than elsewhere.
Its not all good news though with one local operator having an outstanding appeal which if it goes the operators way could put the council into a loss. Nationally Stagecoach have been quite vocal against the scheme and have placed plenty of appeals in various areas which must make it very difficult for local authorities to plan ahead and set budgets, but then it cant be easy for operators either!

*************************************

On a separate note keep an eye out tomorrow for Atlantean STK131T which is hoping to be out and about for an hour or two. Give us a wave if you see us - Hopefully pictures to follow over the weekend!

An important week

I have been covering transport in Plymouth for three years now, the first proper posting being the 2nd April 2005. In that time a lot has changed in the local bus scene. This week however is probably one of the most significant weeks in Plymothian Transit. The events of this next week will have a major impact on bus travel in Plymouth.

Monday sees that start of the new Northern Connect service by Target Travel. Certainly a very useful link which brings another splash of pink to the streets of Plymouth and increases Target's presence on bus work in the city.

The next event is perhaps the most significant as its the start of free nationwide travel for pensioners. At least it should be if people get their passes in time - something which isnt happening in a lot of places. There will be plenty to say about this during the week!

Next weekend then sees the new First services for Plymouth. More on this tomorrow!

It looks like it could be a busy week on Plymothian transit!

free travel

In my post yesterday I mentioned that the impending nationwide free fares for pensioners is going to be a major theme this year. I therefore wasnt suprised to see this news report today from one of our neighbouring local authorities:

Local taxpayers in the South Hams are likely to have to pick up a large bill when free bus travel goes nationwide on April 1. The concessionary bus fare scheme will allow those over 60 or with disabilities to travel free on local bus services anywhere in the country. South Hams District Council is getting an extra £403,000 in grant to pay for the service. However, the council says the additional money still may not be enough to meet the actual cost of the scheme, leaving local taxpayers to pick up the rest of the bill

"Who knows how many people from across the country will use the scheme when visiting the South Hams?

This last question is perhaps the most difficult to answer for most councils - especially in large tourist hotspots like South Hams, Cornwall and Torbay. Quite how they plan for something like this is beyond me!

I have been monitoring this for a while now and over the past month i have been building up the picture across England. I am plotting all the news stories I come across on a map so I can see just how widespread this issue is. Certainly I am getting at least one new story a day now of yet another local authority complaining - or a bus company complaining.

The map is shown below - click the blue text bottom left to go to the larger map page and click the blue / red markers to read the stories I have found so far. As most news events are based on local authorities and bus companies the markers themselves are meant as rough guide to the location rather than as an exact street location!

 

View Larger Map

Free Fares

A story in the Chronicle in Newcastle
TRANSPORT Secretary Ruth Kelly is being asked to intervene in a row over free bus travel for pensioners which could cost another £5m. Leaders of the Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Authority have revealed there is a funding gap to cover the cost of the scheme for the second year running.Free bus travel for pensioners and disabled people was introduced by the Government in 2006 across the country but the £350m allocated did not cover all the cost.There was a £3.7m gap to subsidise bus travel and the authority was forced to cut some loss-making routes, put up children’s fares, axe half price travel for 16 to 19-year-olds in full time education, and take money from reserves.
I remembered that Omnibuses covered this story back in January 2006.
I decided to have a look back on this story and gather a few of my blog entries into one place on my sister Plymothian Transit pages where I will be following the introduction of the nation wide scheme next April in a bit more detail

More Freedom for pensioners

Plymouth's pensioners can now travel on local buses outside the city for just £1 - nine months before the Government brings in its nationwide free scheme.Pensioners and the disabled already travel free on buses in Plymouth. The new scheme, launched yesterday by First buses, means they can now go further afield with a £1 each way 'add on' fare.The concession will be available on any First Devon and Cornwall bus. The journey must start or end in Plymouth.Pass holders can board a bus and ask the driver for the £1 'add on' ticket.

Marc Reddy, the Managing Director of First in Devon and Cornwall, said: "This new commercial offer demonstrates our commitment to providing value-for-money travel in Devon and Cornwall, and our close working relationship with Plymouth City Council."

This is excellent news for local pensioners as it does at last open up more of the area to them. Its a good move by First too as its bound to increase their passenger numbers this summer and perhaps more importantly give them lots of brownie points with the local authorities involved. Well done Marc!

There is a hint at the troubles ahead though:

Gordon Brown announced plans to allow pensioners and the disabled to use local bus services anywhere in the country in 2006, saying extra funding would be made available so the scheme could start by April 2008. The Local Government Association has accused the Department for Transport of dragging its feet over hammering out details of the new scheme.

I am beginning to see this same sort of comment coming oit across the country as local authorities are struggling with the present scheme and are still waiting to hear whats going to happen when the national scheme starts. Its not long to go now!

Free Travel for Pensioners

Free off-peak bus travel for the elderly and disabled anywhere in England - not just in their own council area - was backed in the Commons. (Monday 14th May)
The concessionary bus travel bill gained an unopposed second reading.
The transport secretary, Douglas Alexander, said that buses were "at the heart" of the transport system and a "lifeline" to many communities.

Its good to see that this bill is going ahead unopposed. At least it should iron out the differences between local authorities. It remains to be see just how it gets administered - and more importantly - funded!

Free Fares Fiasco continues

When the Government introduced free fares for pensioners it did its usual trick with funding public services and has left a real mess for local authorities to deal with. With most of Devon and Cornwall getting county wide free travel, Plymouth pensioners seemed to be loosing out big time. Well it now seems like Plymouth pensioners wont be alone. Torbay have announced that they too are going to restrict the scheme to their own area, and withdraw from the county scheme. East Devon, like Plymouth were never part of the county wide scheme and Mid Devon has admitted it too is considering pulling out.
"The government tells us they have funded this fully, but they have not. Every council, certainly in Devon, has had this problem."

Where is the bus

This is the bus stop at the bottom of Keswick Crescent. It was taken at 11:07. I should not have been there at 11:07. The bus I am waiting for was due at 10:55. It actually came at 11:12. When there is only one bus an hour this is a long wait. It was a good job my plans were flexible. I was planning on taking advantage of Devon County Councils excellent network of Dartmoor services but at least one option was lost due to arriving in town so late. There was of course a Sunday Service today. Naturally yesterday was also a Sunday service. My young son and I caught buses yesterday - both on the 50A - both running nearly 15 mins late. It didnt help in that none of the bus stops around this part of the city have the 'realtime' displays. When (if) we get this then maybe it will help numb the pain of relying on the buses on a Sunday. We actually caught another 50A home from town this afternoon. It was due to leave at 16:05. At 16:05 the service dissappeared off the realtime display altogether and we feared the worst. It did arrive at 16:10 only 5 mins late. I can cope with that! It arrived at Keswick Crescent nearly 15 mins late. It was difficult to see where that extra 10 mins was lost as there were no real holdups anywhere. I can only assume that its a timetable issue in that the buses dont have enough time to cover the route?

Below is a picture of Plymouth Citybus serving the Plymouth Seafront. Well, I wish there was a bus in this picture. But there was no service to this area today. Sunday Service - which means no service. It was a pleasant day. A good day for a wander around the ever popular Barbican and Plymouth Hoe. It was actually really busy. I do find it amazing that there is no service down here on a Sunday.Plymouth proclaims to be proud of its maritime history. Just dont try to explore it on a Sunday or a Bank Holiday. Or if you do - bring your car.

Is there another City which seems to actively discourage tourism like Plymouth? There were plenty of coaches bringing tourists in to the Barbican today. Most of them would have had the pleasure of a visit to Bretonside Bus Station. Nice.

I did mention the excellent Dartmoor network built up by Devon County Council. The Sunday Rover ticket now covers the whole Stagecoach Devon network, quite a few smaller operators, and most of First Devon & Cornwall services in Devon. This now gives more people of Devon full access to the Moors on Sundays than ever before. Apart from the people of Plymouth - unless you are lucky enough to live on a First route then you dont have full access - unless you pay Citybus to take you to somewhere where you can access the network. I was going to mention that the Dartmoor network must be great for pensioners with their free travel. Then I remembered that Plymouth Pensioners are not allowed to leave the City anyway. They are only allowed to visit places in Plymouth. Still - at least they can catch a bus to Plymouth Hoe or the excellent Barbican - unless its a Sunday obviously.

First are really spoiling us again

Derriford Hospital had another Bus Users Forum today attended by representatives from the City Council, First Devon & Cornwall and Plymouth Citybus. It was actually a fairly quiet affair with only 3 staff turning up this time - I guess many are away at the moment, although with no timetable changes to annoy staff at the moment either things are fairly quiet anyway.

The biggest contentious issue was the poor deal Plymouth pensioners get with the free bus passes compared with Devon and Cornwall. This was fairly explained by the Council representative as all being down to money and how the money from Government has been poorly distributed. He actually did a good job at explaining all this, and the staff raising the issue did accept his reasons.

The one little bit of good news I managed to find out from Marc Reddy from FDC was about the X80 Plymouth Torbay service. I have noticed the increasing use of Dennis Dart single deckers on the service recently whilst the big 'Airbus' Olympian double deckers seem increasing use on city services. This was partly to keep the buses 'local' he said. He did also confirm that later this year the X80 was getting low floor double deckers. There had been rumours of a batch coming from Bath which at first some thought might be for the Park and Ride instead of new double deckers. As we have already found out the new buses are coming later this year.

All in all its just another sign of improvement at FDC.

Soap Box Sunday- Free Travel

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

As the free travel scheme starts next Saturday it has been interesting watching the subject starting to appear in local news sites across the country as pensioners slowly begin to find out exactly what they are getting (or not getting) in the way of free travel.

Typical is this story:

An older bus user is angry about a new free travel scheme for over-60s which will leave him out of pocket because he has to travel in the rush hour.The Government scheme, which starts on Saturday, April 1, gives free bus travel after 8.30am, but takes no account of the increasing army of elderly workers who use public transport. The change also means the old concessionary pass system, which benefited many workers over 60, will be thrown out.From next month, Kingsley Canham, 61, who has to leave much earlier than 8.30am to get to work on time, will have to pay full fares - doubling his travel costs. Full story

Note that this is Norfolk where the council has agreed to pay a bit extra to fund an hour extension and start at 08:30 instead of 09:30 which is the governments suggested time. Plymouth of course has just gone for the minimum it can get away with. Many pensioners who work will be caught out having to pay full fare. Stories like this are appearing all over the country - although I have seen little down here where the local paper seems dis-interested.

Of course it cant have been missed that the recent budget has promised a national scheme from 2008. So why couldnt it have been a national scheme in the first place? Because once again its just a cynical ploy by Gordon Brown to make it look like he is thinking about pensioners when the rest of the budget is clearly unfriendly to this increasingly vocal group.

Bus operators too are expecting a difficult time of it. In Cumberland there is this report about the major operators difficulties.

BUS operators across Cumbria are gearing up for a huge increase in passengers when subsidised travel for pensioners is implemented across the country. Stagecoach North West, Cumbria’s biggest operator, faces a logistical nightmare as six different schemes are introduced in the county. The company anticipates an increase in demand of between 10 per cent and 40 per cent from April 1. It already has plans to double the frequency of some popular services and plans to take on extra staff to cope. The company is also training staff to deal with the complex system of fares caused by the differing schemes offered by the various district councils. Stagecoach North West boss Nigel Barrett said: “It’s not quite as simple as free fares for pensioners – it depends on where you live and what your local authority has decided to implement as a scheme. “It is extremely complicated. In Cumbria we have six different authorities and four different schemes, because each of the local authorities has done their own thing. “We are looking very carefully at all services to make sure there is sufficient space on them when it starts.”

Last year’s budget saw the Government announce free off-peak bus travel for over-60s. However, Cumbria’s six district councils went a step further and decided to offer add-on benefits. Mr Barrett added: “It is an absolutely massive headache – there are 27 different schemes we deal with in the North West. “There could be a pensioner boarding a bus from Carlisle going to Newcastle and there are seven different fares we could issue depending on where they come from. “It’s a complicated set-up compared to the Scottish scheme, it’s appalling. We are desperately trying to get our house in order to make sure that drivers understand on April 1.” FirstEdinburgh, who run the service from Carlisle to the Scottish capital, have already trained their drivers. Adding to the confusion, the new fares schemes across Cumbria will be introduced on the same day as Scotland introduces free travel for pensioners throughout the country.

A really good read which I think sums up the cynical nature of all this from Gordon Brown is in the Telegraph.

Brown robs pensioners blind, then offers free coach trips

In the old days, poorer pensioners used to go to a public library when they wanted to keep warm. But now that so many libraries are shutting down or restricting their opening hours, Gordon Brown has offered the elderly an alternative refuge from the cold.

In his Budget speech, Mr Brown failed to explain what national interest would be served by making all taxpayers (including the elderly) foot the bill for pensioners' coach tickets. All he said was: "From April 1, there will be free local bus travel for every pensioner and for disabled people. But I believe that there should also be free national bus travel."
Well, what a peculiar thing to believe - no less extraordinary than believing that the Government should give all pensioners a free rubber duck for their baths or a free cuckoo clock for the wall.

Well, I do hope that many pensioners will get some use out of the scheme and that it will prove useful. I hope that those who do find the restrictions to free travel restrict their use of the buses, will not take it out on the driver. Somehow this last 'hope' is probably the one which wont be realised!

Soap Box Sunday- Free Travel

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

I make no apologies for coming back to this subject again. It is such a mess and once again the people of Plymouth are getting a bum deal. Thanks to the City Council for that.

I have been looking at the arrangements across Devon & Cornwall and it soon becomes apparent just how poor the Plymouth deal is. Cornwall County have a simple county wide scheme available all day. Journeys beginning or ending in Cornwall.

Devon things are slightly different. Most of Devon have a good county wide scheme for travel all over Devon after 9am. This includes travel in the two areas not in the scheme: East Devon and Plymouth.

East Devon are quite apologetic and put it down to negotiations with the other councils. At the moment they have a local scheme only. No time restrictions mentioned. They do say they will be reviewing the restrictions so it may yet join the county wide scheme.

So, Plymouth. What delights do you have to tempt your citizens? Not much really. Plymouth wide travel only. After 9.30am weekdays. And it looks like for blind people and the over 80's free travel is only available until 11.pm! Does this mean they will have to pay to catch the last bus home?

One other thing I have noticed is the different presentation styles of the councils. See the Cornwall web page about the scheme. This page is linked to from most of the local authorities in the scheme. I found it nice and easy - most people will.

Devon have a similar page which offers a good clear explanation of the scheme which is also easy to find on their web site.

East Devon who like Plymouth offer a poor scheme do at least have a decent web page to explain it all.

But then we come to Plymouth. Oh dear. After a lot of searching I found this less than friendly page. It may have the basic details but you get the feeling they don't really want too many people to know about the scheme they are offering.

Once again Plymouth City Council offer us the worst they can get away with. You really feel they just cant be bothered with it all. I am sure they must have much better things to be getting on with.

Please don't think I am being party political here. The whole free travel scheme is over complicated and expensive - that's Gordon Browns fault. That what he does with everything.

But when local authorities who want to make a difference for their citizens get together they can come up with decent travel schemes. Devon & Cornwall show that.

And I am not just against the local Labour run City Council. Plymouth City Council has show contempt for the people of Plymouth for many years. The political flavour of the council at any moment in time seems to make no difference. Which ever group is in charge the result for people in Plymouth is a poor service in almost all areas of governance.

Soap Box Sunday

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

Daily Telegraph:
Plans to give Britain's over-60s free bus travel were in disarray last night as councils across the country complained they did not have enough money to pay for the scheme.
While the programme is going ahead smoothly in some areas, elsewhere local authorities are considering cutting other subsidies to meet the bill. continues...

Compare the Scottish scheme as promised by the Scottish Executive
Plans for free, unrestricted national bus travel for Scotland's older people and those with disabilities was announced today. In a statement to Parliament today, Transport Minister Nicol Stephen said existing concessionary travel schemes would be expanded to unlimited Scotland-wide free bus travel, as well as two free return ferry trips a year for older and disabled residents of Scotland's islands, from April 2006. Mr Stephen said:
"From 2006 all older and disabled people will be entitled to Scotland-wide free bus travel.
"The Executive made this commitment last year and today we are delivering. The new scheme goes further than we promised, offering free travel to all parts of Scotland at any time of the day - not just off peak periods. "This is a major expansion of our existing free bus scheme. It will open up opportunities and provide greater access to vital health and community services.
"A free national bus travel scheme will further improve the quality of life for over one million people in Scotland by opening access to greater travel choice. It will connect communities across the country.
Continues..

It does seem that the Scottish system will succeed because it appears to be introduced with the aim of improving lives for Scottish pensioners and the disabled. It will undoubtedly be expensive and quite probably difficult to manage and administer but there is a will to make it work.

The new scheme for England only promises...

• A new scheme from April 2006 will increase the statutory minimum requirement in Transport Act 2000 from half fares to free fares for older and disabled people on local bus services in England, with no charge for the annual pass.
• People over 60 and people with disabilities will benefit from free bus travel within the area of the local authority where they live (district councils in shire areas), from 9.30 am Monday to Friday and all day at weekends.
• 
  
Local authorities will retain their existing discretion to offer enhancements to schemes, including providing travel over a wider area eg county-wide schemes; concessions on other modes such as rail, light rail, or ferry, and weekday travel before 9.30 am.
Authorities will also be able to continue to offer travel token schemes as an alternative to a free local bus pass.
• Around 11 million people in England over 60 will be guaranteed free local bus travel. Disabled people eligible for concessionary fares will also benefit. Of course some of these people have already benefited from free fares under local authorities which have implemented discretionary schemes. Around 9 million people will get free fares from April 2006 in areas where they previously did not do so.

In other words a real mis-mash of schemes totally dependent on where you live and, more importantly, how much Central Government cash is going into the area you live. We are not all equal!

If you live on a border between local authorities you can have two next door neighbours having different access to free travel. The system in Plymouth is city-wide only. Devon is County wide. This can make a big difference. Some local authorities have a good public transport record - Devon being one of them. The areas where public transport is not so well supported will probably end up even worse off than before. (Plymouth might just fit into this category?)

I think the key to all this is amply explained in just one line in the Telegraph report above..

"The introduction of nationwide free bus travel was a key-plank in Gordon Brown's
pre-election Budget as he sought to win the "grey vote" for Labour."

The English scheme has been introduced with the sole aim of securing votes for New Labour. No real though went into it at the time. When they did sit down and start looking at it they realised it would be difficult to administer so they left it to local authorities to sort out. If it all goes wrong - it will be blamed on the authorities themselves. No blame will be accepted by central government for the mess they make. All this from a central Government who are better known for trying to take control of local public services away from local authority control.

If by some miracle it all does work out well - you can be sure who will take the credit!

Pensioner travel

Omnibuses: Miserable Day

Excellent and even handed update on some councils complaining about lack of funding for the free pensioner travel scheme from the excellent Omnibuses blog. Well worth and read any day.

On this subject I had an interesting email today as a result of my previous postings

You don't know me but I live in Plymouth and am interested in buses because I use them all the time (not being a car owner). I am also disabled and coming up to my sixtieth birthday so have a special interest in free bus travel after April 1. As I understand it, from info gleaned from the Devon County Council and Plymouth City Council web sites, I will be entitled to free travel within the city boundary but my blue Countywide Life Pass will be withdrawn and I will not be able to get any concessionary fares outside Plymouth. Totally unfair since Devon residents will be able to enjoy free travel all over Devon.
Anyway I have emailed gary Streeter who replied that he was not aware of the situation but would look into it. I also emailed 10 Downing Street (well why not...in for a penny, in for a pound). I have no idea if my protests will make any difference. I doubt if many pensioners are aware of the coming situation.

I think this is going to grow as more people get to understand just what is happening!

Other items in the news today:

Bus firm waives fares for trainers of guide dogs for the blindFour-legged guide dog recruits are being given a helping hand in their training thanks to Plymouth Citybus.Guide dog trainers and their pups will be able to travel around the city free of charge thanks to a generous offer by the city bus operator.The company has teamed up with Guide Dogs for the Blind to offer puppy walkers free bus travel to boost the training and development of future guide dogs.Young guide dog pups start their training at just six-weeks-old, and a crucial part of it is learning to cope with public transport.They spend most of their first year with a puppy walker volunteer, receiving basic obedience training and getting used to the noise and bustle of the city environment.The new initiative will play a big part in helping the future guide dogs get used to public transport and busy environments at an early age.Terry Smith, of Guide Dogs for the Blind, described the scheme as 'immeasurably valuable' and said it would save the charity hundreds of pounds a year.He said: "These pups are the guide dogs of tomorrow and it is vitally important that they are exposed to the different environments they are likely to come across in later life."Familiarising these pups with buses in Plymouth means they learn well and it is very welcome by us."Puppies receive their initial training all over the country but Plymouth is one of the hubs. It is vital they get used to buses so from the cost point of view this arrangement will save the charity hundreds of pounds a year."Puppy walkers issued with a special pass and accompanied by a puppy will be allowed free travel on any Citybus service.Phil Smith, operations manager of Plymouth Citybus, said the arrangement with the guide dogs charity was an extension of the company's commitment to serving the whole community, including disabled passengers."I am sure many of our passengers will enjoy seeing the puppies when they come on board the bus," he added.

also
The South West Public Transport Users' Forum has hit out at the decision by FirstGroup to increase some bus fares by 20 per cent. Joe Lynch, vice-chair of the group, said: "These staggering fare increases are an unacceptable New Year's present from a company which delivered a poor service to bus users in 2005."The increases will cause considerable financial hardship for many bus users who will find that they cannot afford to undertake essential trips to places of work, schools, health centres etc."First Devon and Cornwall is going to have to work very hard to demonstrate that these new higher bus fares represent value for money to the user."Bus companies throughout the South West are facing rising costs and there is clearly the need for greater financial support from central and local government in order to mitigate the impact of fare increases on customers."City bus firms announced at the end of last year that bus fares would have to increase in the face of spiralling oil prices.

Bus Users Group

We had our Bus Users group meeting today at Derriford Hospital which was very well attended and quite entertaining. For change it was not all moans about the bus service as quite a few people praised the service of Plymouth Citybus on the 52 and 152 services which were taken over from First. Both are running well, but as Citybus Manager explained both are still 'very marginal' in terms of revenue so are under constant review. We all hope that the service does continue but of course the company needs to be able to run it at a profit. This is still an issue which passengers just cant see. As far as they are concerned buses are a public service and should run regardless of the cost, and certainly not just to make a profit for bus companies. Its interesting that you dont see people arguing that Tescos shouldnt make a profit selling food!
There were no major anouncements about any service changes this time.

I asked about the forthcoming "Tavy GoldLine" but didn't get much idea of when its likely to happen. It will be later this year - hopefully by 'Summer' but no more details are available yet. Apparently there was a meeting with Devon County Council taking place today to try and sort out the details. I did also lay down the point that Exeter seems to do a lot better than Plymouth and was this down to lack of co-ordination between the companies and Plymouth City Council - but just got a diplomatic response which didn't really answer my points!

There was also some discussion about the forthcoming free bus travel for pensioners and how difficult it was for bus companies such as First who cover several different council areas each with their own different free travel scheme. Devon & Cornwall have differing time restrictions in place which could make life very difficult for passengers and the bus companies trying to run services. Both companies can see likely problems but are hopeful that things will be up and running properly in time for April. I guess its a case of watch this space!

Free travel on non existent buses!

BBC News 12th January 2006
A Plymouth pensioner is refusing to pay her council tax after a bus service she describes as "vital" was cancelled. The number 17 First Bus service between Glenholt, Derriford and the city centre was scrapped on 3 January. Fordie Preston, 80, who lives at Glenholt said the bus was a "lifeline" and she was prepared to go to court if necessary to make her point. First said it took the decision because the route was no longer "commercially viable". First spokesperson Claire Sneddon said: "The service is simply not commercially viable and is not carrying enough passengers to cover the costs of running the service."
I was surprised they ran it as long as they did - apart from at peak times - it was rarely carrying more than half a dozen passengers.

The service connects Glenholt to Derriford Hospital and the city centre, and some passengers will now have to walk at least half a mile (0.8km) to the nearest bus stop.
councillor Sue Dann, Plymouth City Council cabinet member for transport, said: "First made a commercial decision to discontinue the Number 17 service and we appreciate that this causes problems for people who rely on that service as their connection with the city centre." She said she understood Mrs Preston was "making a statement about her frustration" by not paying her council tax. "But I would ask her instead to make representations in writing to me at the council as a more constructive way forward," she added. Ms Dann said the council was currently reviewing all bus routes to see whether there were any viable alternatives which it could provide in next year's budget.

Mrs Preston has cancelled her council tax direct debit and says she will be writing to the council to explain her actions. "The service is a vital lifeline for pensioners who don't use commuter services and I feel the council should be doing something about it. "This is the most effective way I can think of of making a stand," she said. "I won't pay my council tax until another bus is sorted and if they say I've got to go court, I'll have a job to get there. "Good point!
At my time of life it seems ridiculous to have to fight for a bus."

Although I can sympathize with the lady I also sympathize with First on this one. This bus service has always struggled - and most of the previous versions of routes to serve Glenholt. Glenholt is a large estate on the Northern fringes of Plymouth which was very clearly designed and built for people with cars - and no thought whatsoever about public transport. There is no easy way of serving the estate without major inconvenience to other passengers who would not want a twenty minute diversion of another route. The fact that the council put in replacement services to cover the other routes withdrawn by First and didn't cover this one shows how little used the service is.
It also highlights the lack of thought that this government gives to public transport in this country. They are more interested in quick fix gimmicks than actually sitting down and looking at the problems bus companies and passengers have and trying to fix them. Thanks to the generous Mr Brown this lady will be able to have free travel on her local buses after 9:30 every day from April. Just a shame that Mr Brown cant help provide a bus for her to use in the first place. I am sure most pensioners would rather have better services closer to their own homes and pay a bit for them, than to have free travel on buses that don't go near them.

Of course this lady could just move to Exeter where the service just seems to be getting better. By this Spring it seems that just about all services there will be provided by low floor buses many of them really new. Another 20 new buses are due for Exeter in the next couple of months using help from the Kickstart scheme. While this is brilliant for the people in Exeter you do have to ask why the authorities and operators in Plymouth cant seem to get their act together in the same way and start to provide a decent bus service in Plymouth.

The company believes it will be the second UK town (after Dundee) and the first English town to achieve full low floor status.
I think this does ignore London though as being run totally differently to the rest of the country. I see that Trent Barton has also claimed to be the first English operator to have a 100% low floor network in place.( see the excellent Omnibus blog for more on this.)

Free Travel for Pensioners

Couple of stories catching my eye tonight:

12:00 - 29 December 2005
Plymouth is to lose its air link to Dublin after Air Wales confirmed it is to scrap the service next week.And the Plymouth-to-Cork service will be suspended from January 2, although it will be reintroduced in March. Air Wales has blamed declining passenger numbers on the Dublin route and says that the service is no longer commercially viable.When it reintroduces the Cork service, on March 27, the route will include a stop at Newquay to pick up more passengers to make the route as profitable as possible.
for a photo of an Air Wales plane at Bristol Airport take a look at this pbase web page.
also

Plymouth City Council is ready to spend almost £4million on offering free bus travel to over-60s and the disabled. Eligible residents will be able to catch buses for free between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays from April 1 next year.They will also be able to travel anywhere in the city for free at all times on bank holidays and weekends.The council is now negotiating a deal to reimburse bus operators for the extra costs incurred by the scheme.All local authorities in the country are required to offer free travel to over-60s and disabled people next year, as set out in Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget speech last March.

For the 'small print' of this offer a quick look at the City Councils own site with full details of the concessionary fares from April 2006.

I am just waiting for the full backlash when many pensioners realise they will probably be worse off as they loose cheaper travel throughout Devon in exchange for free travel in Plymouth. Typical Government scheme - ill thought out and will cause problems for operator and councils for many years to come.