South Bank battle to save No11 buses (From York Press)
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South Bank battle to save No11 buses
8:49am Thursday 20th September 2012 in News
MORE than 200 people have joined a campaign against plans to divert a bus service away from a York community.
First is set to introduce changes to its No11 route, which travels between Bishopthorpe and Ashley Park, next month, meaning the service will cut out the South Bank area, but the decision has sparked anger among residents.
A petition, which so far contains 220 signatures, has been set up amid fears the service changes will cause problems for many people, particularly the elderly, in using local buses.
First has said the rerouted service will come into force on October 7 and the alterations have been designed to cut down on timetable delays. Shopkeeper John Young, who runs D&K Stores in Albemarle Road, said: “The community is appalled by the decision.
“If First are serious in this approach, cutting the service without consultation and without making clear what their issues are and how they might be overcome, working with their customers to do so, then frankly they are not fit to receive the subsidy bus companies attract from taxpayers.
“All of this is a poor reflection of First’s management and their ability to deliver public services or engage with their customers.”
Scarcroft Hill resident Ann Petherick said she had written to First airing her concerns that elderly passengers would struggle to access bus services once the changes begin.
She said “It is very important to them, because one reason a lot of people moved to South Bank was due to the fact it had a good local post office and a good local bus service – now it will have neither.”
A spokesman for First said: “We have registered to make some timetable changes to service number 11 from Ashley Park to Bishopthorpe.
“These are due to come into effect on Sunday, October 7, and will further improve the timekeeping of our buses on this route. These changes are part of our overall aim to improve the customer experience on our buses in York.
“We are in discussions with City of York Council about the timetable changes to service 11 and will work with them to find the most suitable solution to the issues raised by local residents.”
Comments(9)
kimothy22
says...
10:22am Thu 20 Sep 12
This means that alternative to losing the loop would be to adding an extra bus to the number 11 service in order to keep timetable efficiency but this would add an extra cost as the cost of the bus and the running of it ie driver and fuel ect this would not be financially viable for the company as to the small number of passengers that use the bus from the loop
Ichabod76
says...
11:15am Thu 20 Sep 12
" and the alterations have been designed to cut down on timetable delays. "
“These are due to come into effect on Sunday, October 7, and will further improve the timekeeping of our buses on this route. These changes are part of our overall aim to improve the customer experience on our buses in York."
It would appear that First don't want their buses trundling round even slower routes
but on the bright side it will be safer to walk or cycle ! ( but that doesn't work for everyone dose it )
Oncebitten
says...
2:06pm Thu 20 Sep 12
ven if it is to work!
daveyboy25
says...
2:14pm Thu 20 Sep 12
daveyboy25
says...
2:14pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Johnbish
says...
4:46pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Stevie D
says...
6:24pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Neither is a particularly great option, but unless something can be done about the congestion around the city centre and all along the route, the route needs some change because it is so unreliable at the moment.
Magicman!
says...
11:26pm Thu 20 Sep 12
... Of course if First hadn't got rid of a route that used to serve Heworth and altered the other (the current 11) to have a massive loop around the village, then the Heworth end of the route wouldn't take so long and thus time savings could be made there.
Firstgroup have, and always have had, a rather strange policy over bus routes that aren't as economically viable as they'd like: which is to either reduce the frequency or the places served to save on fuel or number of vehicles deployed to the route, but because it serves less places then less people use it, so then the fares are put up to try and claw back losses, which then further reduces patronage as people find other methods to travel, and then the route is axed entirely. This isn't just in York, this has been happening nationally and has given the company a appauling reputation, which the new management is trying to reverse.
But, as has also been said, free OAP bus passes are a major drain on resources. For every £1 fare that is travelled on an OAP pass, the bus company is lucky to get 60p reimbursed, the rest they have to find themselves (which normally means raising the fares so us able bodied persons end up subsidising the OAPs, and then having to stand on a bus for a considerable length of time because it's full of OAPs who are freeriding whilst we pay their fares). This is what killed off the York-Harrogate route X54: neither Transdev or Harrogate Coach Travel had enough normal passengers on board to subsidise the huge losses the route was making because only those with snow on the roof were using it.
BPC Chairman says...
9:21am Thu 20 Sep 12
Passenger using the service from Bishopthorpe are fully aware that lots of passengers get on and off during this loop around South Bank.
We cannot see how missing out this loop will have any effect on the
timetable efficiency but passenger numbers will definitely drop and during future bus service reviews decisions may be taken to reduce the frequency of bus services to Bishopthorpe.
Surely to maintain the current route is the best way to ensure the whole service is viable for the foreseeable future.
In their reply First agreed that the service is used around South Bank but then stated that "the numbers using it are insufficient to justify the alternative - which is an additional bus with a substantial cost to the service".
We do not understand this comment - we do not want an alternative bus we want to maintain the route as is!
Stewart Harrison
Bishopthorpe Parish Council”