Bus service changes in the Bath area from 29 November

More changes to local bus services:

“I am writing to give you early notification of some service changes that we are planning to make in the Bath area and Wiltshire.

Over recent months the changes in the wider economy have meant that less people are travelling. To reflect this and better match our resources to current demand, we’re making some changes to local bus services from 29 November.

Buses between Chippenham and Bath will be changing following requests from customers and careful analysis of actual travel patterns. The services will be:

Service 231 – running every hour from Pewsham to Chippenham, following the existing route through Corsham and then to Bath.
Service 232 – running every hour, again from Pewsham to Chippenham, but following the current route of service 233 in Corsham, before continuing to Bath.

As a consequence, and due to low customer use since its introduction in February 2009, Service 233 will no longer run. There is no change on Sundays.

Elsewhere, we’ve aimed to minimise the impact of these changes on customers by where possible, concentrating on individual journeys where there are easily accessible alternative options. Several services will see a slight decrease in overall frequency to reflect the fall in demand.

We will no longer be operating Service 12, which runs between Bath City Centre and Whiteway, on a commercial basis on Monday – Saturday from 29 November due to low customer use. The tendered journeys on Sundays and Public Holidays will be unaffected for the time being. Bath and North East Somerset Council is considering options to provide a possible replacement service for the rest of the week.

Buses between Midsomer Norton and Bath via Peasedown St John will be changing with a bus running every 20 minutes rather than every 15 minutes at off peak times on Monday to Saturday. Services 173 (Bath – Wells), 178 (Bath – Bristol) and 184 (Bath – Frome) will all run hourly at off peak times.

The timetables of services 178 and 184 will be changing to ensure an even frequency, with most journeys on Service 184 leaving Bath 5 minutes later and 10 minutes earlier from Frome. The timetable of Service 173 and services on Sundays will not be changing.

Other changes include:

Service 2 – Combe Down – Ensleigh: Following customer requests, the journey leaving Ensleigh at 1832 will be extended to Combe Down rather than terminating at the City Centre. Two other journeys from Combe Down will leave slightly earlier: the current departure at 0722 will leave at 0719 from 29 November, and the bus departing at 0735 will leave five minutes earlier at 0730. Two morning journeys to Ensleigh will no longer run due to low customer use. These are the journeys leaving the City Centre at 0742 and Combe Down at 0825.

Service 5 – Bus Station – Twerton: Following customer requests to improve punctuality, the frequency of buses at off peak times on Monday to Friday and all day on Saturdays will be changed to run every 15 minutes rather than every 12 minutes. This will allow for congestion along the route especially on Lower Bristol Road. The stop at Lower Bristol Road, Twerton Arch will no longer be served due to safety concerns. The nearest alternative bus stops are at Lansdown View or at the junction of Shophouse Road and the High Street.

Service 13 – Foxhill – Bathford: To improve overall punctuality, the frequency of buses on Monday to Saturday will be changed to run every 15 minutes rather than every 20 minutes

Service X39 – Bath – Bristol: In line with customer demand, on weekday mornings, buses from Bath Bus Station between 0700 and 0900 will run every 15 minutes instead of every 12 minutes. Buses from Bristol Bus Station between 0800 and 1000 will also run every 15 minutes. Buses will continue to run every 12 minutes throughout the day at off peak times.

Service 179 Bath – Midsomer Norton (via Timsbury, Farnborough and High Littleton): At peak times on Monday to Saturdays, this service will be changing to run between Bath and Farnborough only. This affects three morning journeys and one afternoon journey – leaving Midsomer Norton at 0636, 0708 (0718 on Saturdays) and 0901, and the journey leaving Bath at 1730. Customers wishing to travel between Farnborough and Midsomer Norton at peak times may catch service 178. There are no changes at off peak times.

Service 234 – Chippenham – Frome: One journey currently leaving Chippenham Bus Station at 1625 (Mon – Sat) will leave 5 minutes later at 1630 to enable students at Chippenham college to catch the bus.

We plan to announce this to our customers shortly with on bus posters and leaflets. Information about these and other changes in Bristol, Weston and Somerset will also be available on our website from tomorrow.

Timetables will be available approximately two weeks before the change.

All changes are Monday to Friday unless stated.

Kind regards

Justin Davies
Managing Director
First Bristol Somerset and Avon

Open Bath park & ride on Sundays

Earlier this year Don Foster met with local business owners and discussed plans to boost the Bath economy during the recession. After this meeting Don formed his “8-point plan”, which included opening park & ride sites on Sundays.

Don has since met with Justin Davies, Chief Exec of First Group, who said they would be interested in running the park and ride buses on Sundays. Bath & North East Somerset Council indicated in May’s ‘Recession Action Plan’ that they would look to offer this service, but haven’t announced any further information.

Don said,

“Sunday is now a full trading day in Bath and opening our park & ride sites on Sundays will help to encourage shoppers into the city.

“It’s such an obvious thing to do, and would show our local businesses that we are serious about helping the city economy.

“The Council should at the very least be looking to implement this for a properly advertised trial period.”

You can support Don’s campaign by signing the petition at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/bathparkandride

Service changes in the Bath area from September 27

Today, all Councillors received this letter from Justin Davies – the Manageing Director of First Bus in this area:

I am writing to let you know about a number of changes that First is making to bus services from September 27.

In Bath, the main changes affect services for university students with the introduction of a new Service 419, and changes to timetables to offer better journey options.

The timetable of Service 18 (University of Bath – City Centre) will change slightly to ensure that there are evenly spaced departures in coordination with Service 418. An additional early evening journey is being added in, giving students greater opportunities to travel.

Following a request from Bath Spa University, the Monday – Saturday timetable of Service 418 (University of Bath – City Centre – Bath Spa University) is changing slightly so that all arrivals and departures from Bath Spa University leave 10 minutes earlier. An additional early evening journey has also been added into the timetable, giving students more opportunities to travel.

I am pleased to announce that from 27 September a new Service 419 will run between the University of Bath and Bath Spa University operating during the morning and evening peak hours. This will provide a direct link for the student halls of residence on the Lower Bristol Road. Buses will follow the route of Service 418 in the main, but will run along the Lower Bristol Road rather than Windsor Bridge and Newbridge Road, giving students in the area more opportunities to travel. Service 410 will no longer run. Customers may catch services 18 or 418 alternatively.

There are also minor changes, mainly on Monday to Saturday, to services 2, 5, 17 and 234 to improve punctuality and reliability. Please click here for more information along with details of changes in Bristol, Weston, Wells and Somerset:
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/bristol/service_changes/

Yours sincerely

Justin Davies
Managing Director
First Bristol Somerset and Avon

Department for Transport will look to support Sat Nav scheme

The Department for Transport will be sending a representative to the next meeting of the South West Regional Freight Forum, following Bath MP Don Foster’s request that they support a local pilot scheme which will see local authorities provide appropriate routes to Sat Nav companies.

In reply to Don’s letter, sent on the 12th August, Paul Clark MP the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Transport states that the work undertaken “sounds potentially very promising”.

Lib Dems in Bath have been backing calls for more appropriate routes for traffic, especially HGVs, and encouraged Bath & North East Somerset Council to start sending a representative to the Freight Forum. Now the DfT will be represented at the meetings and will “consider what support [they] can provide.”

Bath MP Don said, “I am pleased that the Department for Transport are showing a keen interest in this project. I have highlighted a number of areas in Bath where HGVs are using totally inappropriate routes and getting these routes removed from Sat Nav maps will be a big step to helping resolve the problem.

“With the DfT’s backing, this pilot project could really take off. It is a common sense approach to resolving this issue.”

Bathavon South Cllr Neil Butters (Lib Dem) has been campaigning in Freshford, where large vehicles often use narrow roads to access the village. He added, “Residents in Freshford will be delighted to hear that the DfT are taking this issue seriously, and that moves are being made to try to reduce the impact of HGVs on the village.”

Widcombe Cllr Ian Gilchrist (Lib Dem) has helped highlight the issue in his ward, specifically in Greenway Lane. He commented, “It is great news to get a positive response from the DfT, this could really see the scheme get going.

“Greenway Lane residents are sick and tired of large vehicles trying to use this narrow road as a cut through. Lib Dems in Bath have been working hard to try and tackle this problem and this could be a real breakthrough.”

B&NES Council rejects Bristol airport expansion

Bath and North East Somerset Council’s planning committee has opposed the expansion of Bristol International Airport at its meeting this week. This follows the similar position adopted by Bristol Council last month. The application is to be determined by North Somerset Council, but B&NES has is a consultee on the application.

Councillor Nicholas Coombes (Liberal Democrat, Bathwick) tabled the following wording which was adopted by 8 votes to 4:

That Bath and North East Somerset Council considers that the causes and effects of climate change should be the principal considerations in a development of this nature and therefore recommends that the airport expansion application should be refused on these grounds.

Councillor Coombes welcomed the vote and said:

“The expansion of airports is incompatible with attempts to cut carbon emissions. Indeed, it goes against common sense to imagine that Bristol International Airport can double its emissions over the next 10 years but that carbon emissions overall can be reduced in line with government targets.

“Only this week the Climate Change Committee that the UK will have to cut emissions by 90% by 2050 for the aviation industry to continue to grow.

“I am glad that none of the Liberal Democrat Councillors voted for airport expansion, but it is very worrying that most of the Conservatives put questionable economic gain ahead of protecting the environment.”

Action on Sainsbury’s traffic chaos

Delivery vehicle blocking Moorland Road

Construction work for the new Sainsbury’s on Moorland Road has created traffic chaos in the street. At 9:00 on Thursday morning, construction workers vans had completely used up parking on one side of the street and some on the other. When a delivery vehicle for the construction site arrived it blocked the street, causing disruption to shoppers and local residents.

Cllr Will Sandry has tackled the problem by speaking with Sainsbury’s site team and getting their agreement that the vans will not be parked up all day on Moorland Road, but will be put in to adjoining streets. Additionally, Cllr Sandry has alerted the Council’s parking enforcement team and has had assurances that the enforcement team will now monitor the situation.

Will Sandry said,

I recognise that the Sainsbury’s site team have a job to do, but they do not need to park all their vans on Moorland Road for the whole day and block the street. This stops shoppers parking and getting to the other shops on Moorland Road, in a recession that’s something we don’t want to happen to the small businesses there.

Kay Duce from Park Pets on Moorland Road said: ‘As a business that involves a lot of heavy items it is very important that our customers are able to pull in to pick up their shopping, the alternative is that they shop elsewhere.

Kay went on to say,

I’ve been worried about Sainsbury’s moving in and what that might do to my trade; but I wasn’t expecting this before they even opened. We and the other shops and businesses on Moorland Road are definitely open for business as usual.

20 is Plenty in Bristol

Speed limits of 20mph are set to be piloted in Bristol by the Liberal Democrat run city council.

Two areas of the city – Ashley/Easton/Lawrence Hill/Eastville/St George West and Southville/Bedminster/Windmill Hill – are being proposed for trials. Major roads running through these areas, such as the M32 and Stapleton Road, in Easton, and North Street, in Southville, would be exempt. The 20mph limits will not involve the introduction of any physical traffic-calming measures, such as speed humps or chicanes. Executive member for transport and sustainability Cllr Jon Rogers said:

The primary aim is to make walking and cycling in these communities safer and more attractive to more people.
Reducing the speed limit to 20mph should also help to reduce the number of road accidents. We will be monitoring the success of the two pilot areas and listening to comments before we look at whether they could be extended to other parts of the city. We are not expecting the schemes to cause any significant delays to drivers.

The Council is seeking the public’s comments before September 30.
Please let Will and Shaun know which roads in Oldfield Park you think should have their speed limit reduced…

‘Exciting steps’ for Bath City Centre unveiled

The Council is encouraging local people to give their views on wide ranging plans to improve the urban environment in Bath City Centre. The plans include creating a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly environment in a number of city streets by:

· Creating a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly City Centre, by introducing vehicle access changes on a number of streets;

· Expanding pedestrian areas on High Street, which can currently be over-crowded and hard to navigate at busy times;

· Developing improved pedestrian crossing areas on High Street and improving existing bus stops.

Local residents aspire for creating a City Centre environment where pedestrians and cyclists have priority, and where public transport is free to move on Bath’s historic streets.

We hope that these plans to improve transport offers the opportunity to help deliver this by using access restrictions at key times on some of the City Centre’s busiest streets and making the High Street even more pedestrian friendly. The proposals represent the popential first steps towards a friendlier environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

One of the key proposals being made is to restrict access between 10am and 6pm to vehicles on Upper Borough Walls, Parsonage Lane, Westgate Street, Cheap Street, Bath Street, Hot Bath Street, York Street, Abbey Green, Abbeygate Street, Swallow Street, Stall Street, Beau Street, and Lower Borough Walls.

The consultation document can be found by going to www.bathnes.gov.uk and under the ‘Of Interest’ section clicking on ‘City Centre Proposals – have your say’.

The consultation period will run until Monday, 14 September. Information will also be displayed at the Bath Central Library, on the first floor of The Podium shopping centre, from 2 – 9 September. The improvements are envisaged to take place in 2011.

Please make sure you have your say on these proposals.

New Super Off-Peak ticket will only add confusion

With First Great Western (FGW) set to introduce a new ‘Super Off-Peak’ ticket early in September, Bath MP has criticised the move saying it will only add to confusion for passengers.

Currently FGW have an Off-Peak and Peak ticket. The new Super Off-Peak ticket will be at the same price as the current Off-Peak ticket, with Off-Peak prices rising by 20%. Super Off-Peak travel will force people to leave Bath later in the morning, and also deny a return from London between 3pm and 7pm. Don said,

Travelling from Bath to London on the train already involves one of the most expensive journeys per mile in the world. Adding extra restrictions on cheaper leisure travel is hardly going to encourage more families to use the railways. Moving to three types of fare only add confusion, and many people won’t even know what ticket to buy.

Don added, “If you use an electronic ticket machine, it doesn’t provide any information on journey restrictions. I have grave worries about people being caught out.” Don Foster has written to First group outlining my concerns, but his advice to passengers is, where possible, try and book your train tickets in advance of travel.

The move comes only months after a train company advertisement campaign on fare simplification, with advertisement posters proudly displaying “off-peak”, “anytime” and “advance” tickets.

Please let Shaun and Will know your views on this move my First Great Weston my emailing us.

All not lost in quest to stop proposed-BRT

Bath MP Don Foster has vowed to continue to fight the controversial proposed-BRT route, after it passed through B&NES Council’s Development Control Committee at the third attempt.

The BRT is now subject to an Article 14 declaration, which means that Secretary of State John Denham will decide whether or not to call for a public inquiry into the scheme. Don said,

In many ways last week saw a sad day for local democracy, the Conservative Cabinet have just forced this scheme back to the planning committee until they got the result they wanted.

Local people must be understandably worried as to how this decision has been reached, especially after public letters from the Department for Transport and Government Office of the South West. However, it is still possible that we can overturn this decision, as John Denham will have to cast his eye over the proposals first.

Cllr Gerry Curran (Lib Dem, Twerton), the Liberal Democrat lead on Development Control, commented, “I will continue to oppose this unwanted scheme.

At each planning meeting to discuss the BRT, the Council has had to back down over a number of claims. They will now readily admit that it will do nothing to reduce congestion or pollution. It is just a waste of tax payers’ money, to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.

Local Lib Dems will be adding their voice to those calling for a public inquiry into this proposal, and will be writing to John Denham shortly.

What we really need is work to improve the Lower Bristol Road, such as the widening that has been promised for years. This would actually help to reduce congestion in Bath.