Nationwide first for BathRider bus ticket

Bus passengers will be able to travel as many times as they want on Bath bus services whatever the operator because of a bus season ticket scheme created by Bath & North East Somerset Council and introduced by the commercial bus operators in Bath. Both Day and Week tickets will be available for adults and children.

The BathRider Scheme is a national first where a Council has used powers under the Transport Act 2000 to make a ticket scheme. All operators in the city are required to take part in the scheme which starts November 9th 2009.

Public transport groups have given their support for the initiative. Mike Greedy, Passenger Focus Manager, said, “Simplified ticketing and faster journey times are two features that passengers raise as important areas for improvements. Passenger Focus welcomes this initiative which will make travel easier and quicker for all bus passengers in the city of Bath and hopes this can be extended elsewhere in due course.”

Anne Lock, spokesperson for Campaign for Better Transport, said, “Members of Campaign for Better Transport were delighted to hear of the work undertaken by the Council in order to get the BathRider scheme up and running. We welcome the successful introduction of this initiative which will enable buses to ferry passengers around the City without the delays which arise from succeeding passengers fumbling for their fare and receiving change.”

Complex negotiations with commercial bus operators have taken place over the past six months. The Council is grateful to them for their co-operation, assistance, and advice in getting to a workable solution that will offer worthwhile benefits for passengers. Amongst those to benefit the scheme are children going to Ralph Allen School who need two buses to go to school and University students and staff who need more than one bus to get to campus. The ticket is not applicable to Park & Ride services or tour buses.

How does the BathRider work?

Passengers can buy their Daily or Weekly BathRider scratch cards at Bath Bus station; Tourist Information Centre – Abbey Churchyard; Tourism Centre –Bath Spa railway station (Platform 1); STA shop – Bath University.

When the date of travel is scratched off the ticket is then valid for the whole of that day. If it’s a weekly ticket the ticket is sealed over and is then valid for 7 days from the date scratched off. There is no limit to the number of times the ticket can be used that day or week, but the ticket must be shown to the driver each time it is used. The price (set by the bus operators) will be : Daily – £4.95 Adult/ £3.70 Child; Weekly – £17.50 Adult/ £16.50 Child.

To find out more about the district’s public transport network people can go to www.bathnes.gov.uk/transportandstreets

Don to meet Post Office Ltd over Weston closure

Bath MP Don Foster will meet Tim Nickolls, Network Development Manager (South West) for Post Office Ltd, next Monday (9th November) to discuss re-opening a post office branch in Weston as soon as possible.
Don has been in regular contact with Post Office Ltd since the previous branch closed unexpectedly in June.

Don said, “It is vitally important that Weston village has a post office, and Post Office Ltd have remained committed to re-opening the service in Weston, anything less would be unacceptable.

“Unfortunately, commercial negotiations have not been as smooth as originally hoped, but representatives from Post Office have made visits to Weston to speak to interested parties.

“As we know from previous closures, other businesses are also affected. For example at Mount Road in Southdown, when the post office closed trade dropped by around 15%. The post office needs to be open soon or there could be long-term consequences for Weston village.

“However, there are differences between this and other closures. Post Office Ltd did not want this branch to close, in the past we have had to deal with government closures ordered by Labour and the Conservatives, neither of whom have grasped the true social value of the post office network.”

Don calls for low floors on 12 route

Following the recent announcement by First Bus to discontinue running the number 12 bus service, it has been confirmed that this service will now run under Faresaver.

However, it seems unlikely that buses on this route will run with low floors, and so will not be accessible for a number of bus users. While Don is grateful that the 12 route has been saved, he has written to both Faresaver and the Council to try and address this issue.

Don Foster said:

“I am delighted that Faresaver has decided to operate this service, which is relied on by many people in Bath.

“That said, it is concerning that we might not have low floor buses on this route, which could make buses inaccessible for many. When the Liberal Democrats implemented the bus gate it led to First spending millions modernising their fleet, including improving bus accessibility. We don’t want to let these high standards slip.

“I’m looking forward to working with Faresaver and the Council to attempt to resolve this important issue.”

Campaign success as Council joins ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme

Liberal Democrats have been calling for Bath and North East Somerset Council to join the Government’s Cycle to Work for several years now. They have therefore welcomed news, announced to Council employees this week (as part of the Council’s Green Week), that the Council has finally signed up to the scheme.

The Cycle to Work scheme offers employees the chance to purchase new bikes repaid by loans through a salary sacrifice system. Employees could save up to half the cost of a bike!

Councillor Roger Symonds (Combe Down) is a keen cyclist and the Council’s Member Champion for Cycling. He commented:

“I’m delighted that after several years in the asking the Council has finally signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme. This will be a real benefit to employees – saving money and improving their health and fitness – and the community as a whole through a contribution to reducing traffic.

“In Bath we are lucky to have Cyclescheme – the country’s leading company in providing bikes through this salary sacrifice idea – right here in the city, so it’s especially right that we should sign up.

“Many other employers in the area have already joined the scheme.”

The scheme has won the backing of MP for Bath Don Foster, who said:

“I am pleased that the Council has finally shown leadership and signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme. The Council has long been trying to encourage people to cycle more, but yet has done little to help its own employees cycle to and from work.

“It is great that a Bath company is leading the way in promoting this programme, and that so many employers are signed up to the scheme including Bath employers such as the RUH. I hope that the scheme will now go from strength to strength, and that more employers will look to join in.”

Councillor Paul Crossley (Southdown) added:

“I welcome this news but I am amazed that the Council’s Conservative leadership has been so far behind the curve. We have been calling for the Council to join the scheme for a long time now, whilst the Administration said it was too complicated.

“Now that the Council has joined the cycle purchase scheme I call on them to sign up to the full ‘Cycle to Work Guarantee’ and start looking at what other facilities cycle commuters need, such as lockers, secure storage and even showers. ”

Don calls for Commons commitment to 10:10

The 10:10 Campaign is calling on individuals and organisations to commit to trying to cut their carbon footprint by 10% in 2010. Bath Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster has already joined.

Last week (Wednesday 21st October) Don supported moves for the House of Commons to join the 10:10 campaign. Speaking in a debate on the issue he criticised the Labour Government for failing to back the proposal.

Don said,

“The 10:10 campaign has so far been a real success, with many individuals and organisations signed up. The Government should be taking a lead, not just lecturing others on what they should be doing.

“That’s why I asked the Minister why she thought everyone else should sign up for 10:10, but not the House of Commons. Sadly I got no answer and most Labour MPs voted against the measure.

The debate was called by the Liberal Democrats, who were the first political party in this country to put climate change on the national agenda.

Don said,

“It is disappointing that the government failed to give their support. The government needs to provide strong leadership on climate change, particularly in the run up to the Copenhagen Summit, and signing up the House of Commons to the 10:10 would have been a significant step in doing so.”

Mystery of disappearing bins

Councillor Ian Gilchrist (Liberal Democrat, Widcombe) has stumbled on a mystery which has residents annoyed and Council officers perplexed: someone is stealing Bath’s litter bins!

The problem was first brought to the attention of Cllr Gilchrist by a resident in Widcombe who detailed four locations in the area of the Lower Bristol Rd and Brougham Hayes, where there had once been litter bins performing their civic duty but where there now remain nothing but a circular impression in the ground. Other Councillors have heard similar reports from other areas.

Fearing that this might be a Council tactic to reduce litter collection costs Cllr Gilchrist contacted the relevant officers, who replied: “We are bewildered as to why/who has removed these bins. We have had many bins disappearing since August, and we can only assume that some parties may be involved, taking the opportunity to increase their income through the scrap metal trade”.

Cllr Gilchrist says:

“Bizarre though this explanation seems, I can think of no other. It’s hard to attribute the problem to random acts of vandalism as the removal seems so systematic. I don’t believe there is much scrap metal value in these bins so I can’t see how it benefits the perpetrators, but nevertheless the cost to the Council to replace them will be considerable.

“Until the new bins can be put in place I would urge all people passing through this area to ensure they carry their litter home and dispose of it properly there.”

Unveiling of Plaque in Memory of Harry Patch

On this Wednesday afternoon, 28th October, at 3.00 pm, on the Guildhall stairs, the Chairman of the Council, Councillor Bryan Chalker, will be unveiling a commemorative plaque in memory of the late Harry Patch, who was the last surviving British soldier from World War 1. Harry was very proud to be a Bathonian and it was felt appropriate to remember him and his comrades in this way.

There will be colours from the Light Infantry (representing Harry’s Regiment) and a bugler will play. Guests attending include, the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, the High Sheriff of Somerset, two of Harry’s grandchildren, the Mayor of Bath, the Area Manager of the Avon Fire and Rescue Service (Harry was once a fireman), Officers from the Rifles Regiment, serving Officers from the Army, and representatives of the Royal British Legion and several Bath Veteran Groups.

PACT Priorities and next PACT meeting

An Oldfield PACT Meeting took place on 17th June 2009 at Moorlands Infant School.
The following priorities agreed at that meeting:
1. Improve access to contacting Neighbourhood Team and 0845 police number (waiting times / difficulties getting through, etc).

2. A new crossing on Livingstone Road before the junction with Moorland Road.

3. Misuse of the Memorial Gardens.
The Panel members have now worked towards resolving these issues and will report back on their actions at the next PACT Meeting scheduled for 6.30pm on Wednesday 4th November at St Alphages Hall, Oldfield Lane.

King Bladud’s statue back on public view in Parade Gardens

King Bladud’s statue will be back on public view in Bath’s Parade Gardens at the end of the month thanks to work done by King Bladud’s Pigs project in partnership with Bath and North East Somerset Council.

The life size statue of King Bladud will be officially unveiled on Saturday 31 October by Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset Council, Councillor Bryan Chalker and Gitte Dawson from the King Bladud’s Pig project as part of Heritage Open Week. The statue of King Bladud will stand alongside a stone pig carved by Nigel Bryant and students from The City of Bath College.

The statue, sculpted by Pieroni in 1859, depicts King Bladud the supposed founder of the city of Bath. During the 19th century, the statue stood on the top of the fountain in Bath Street. In 1872, it was removed from Bath Street and has been in the grounds of various houses on Entry Hill and in the gardens of Springfield Nursing Home.

In 2007, the statue was placed in storage. Ever since then, the Council has been keen to get the statue back in its rightful place. This has now been possible thanks to support from Kind Bladud’s Pigs project who have cleaned the statue and helped with the installation.

To mark the unveiling of the statue, 30 of the brightly coloured King Bladud’s Pig sculptures from the 2008 project will also be on show in the Parade Gardens on the day.

Councillor Bryan Chalker, Chairman of Bath and North East Somerset Council said:

“Bath and North East Somerset Council is delighted that the statue of King Bladud can once again be enjoyed by the public and would like to thank King Bladud’s Pigs project for their help with the move. We want to celebrate the history of the city and get a new generation interested in learning more about the world class arts and culture on our doorstep.”

Gitte Dawson, King Bladud’s Pigs project, said:

”Right from the beginning, the King Bladud’s Pigs project team were keen to restore this statue to public view, and so were the members of the public! Some people donated money towards this end, and we are very pleased that it has been possible to finance both the installation of the statue and the creation of the stone-carved King Bladud’s Pig from the proceeds of our poster, book and mini pig sales which carried on long after the pigs had all been sold.

“This is in addition to the £200,000 the project raised for the Two Tunnels project. A display about that project – on which work is due finally to start in January 2010 – will also be available on the day.”