Stagecoach West - Fleet News & Discussion

[DaveHarries]

Been told by a Commercial Officer that these changes are now being reconsidered. All we do know is that 853 is definitely going to Witney.

New timetable for the 853 is on Traveline. The change of operator to Stagecoach in Oxfordshire is mentioned but the new timetable suggests that there are no positioning journeys to/from Witney so looks as if rather a lot of dead mileage to be involved unless some way has been worked out of avoiding that.

Dave

 

[ValleyLines142]

Currently in a line of 50+ people waiting for a 94/94X at the Promenade heading to Gloucester. Last departure was 16:35. Utter shambles when they know there's a rail strike!

 

[GoneSouth]

Currently in a line of 50+ people waiting for a 94/94X at the Promenade heading to Gloucester. Last departure was 16:35. Utter shambles when they know there's a rail strike!

I was supposed to be on the train in Cheltenham today but no trains at all in Gloucestershire. GWR, TFW and XC have pulled the plug in everything. Had a look at the buses to see how they were doing and saw 7 in a row cancelled out of Cheltenham on the 94/94X, and that was at a busy time, about 1630 to 1730. That looks like an industry imploding.

 

[Marcus Fryer]

I was supposed to be on the train in Cheltenham today but no trains at all in Gloucestershire. GWR, TFW and XC have pulled the plug in everything.

Think it’s a lack of Network Rail signallers rather than the Train Operators. I believe TfW aren’t on strike as the Welsh Government has reached a deal with the RMT.

 

[ValleyLines142]

I was supposed to be on the train in Cheltenham today but no trains at all in Gloucestershire. GWR, TFW and XC have pulled the plug in everything. Had a look at the buses to see how they were doing and saw 7 in a row cancelled out of Cheltenham on the 94/94X, and that was at a busy time, about 1630 to 1730. That looks like an industry imploding.

Correct, the shutters were down at Cheltenham yesterday.

I'm aware that there are problems with Stagecoach at the moment, and I could accept one bus missing, but to have five buses not show up and have a gap of almost an hour in departures at rush hour in this heat during rail strikes is nothing short of disgraceful. Furthermore, when I got back to Gloucester, I just missed the 2A, and then next two 1s, the next 2 and the next 9 were all cancelled!! So it was another hour for a bus down Barton Street!! In the end I walked home.

 

[CharlesR]

The County Council have stepped in to support the 93, therefore the change to send the 97 into the Park and Ride will not go ahead

 

[LordCreed]

Reports are that 47686 has sadly been sent off for scrap.

15349 was involved in a collision with a car yesterday, so will be off the road for a little bit.

 

[GusB]

Reports are that 47686 has sadly been sent off for scrap.

15349 was involved in a collision with a car yesterday, so will be off the road for a little bit.

Could you supply a source for these reports please?

 

[CharlesR]

A fun few weeks ahead with the Commenwealth Games, Gloucester has sent 10 of the 2021 Scania MMCs with them and of course with that drivers. I am lead to believe more might be going as only 4/21 MMCs are in service today, and just two of them are on route, with the other two doing schools and forest interworks.

Gloucester and Cheltenham have stopped listing cancellations, instead just tweeting what routes will be affected. Service 10 is (as per usual) not running at full PVR and is now running mostly with single deckers. Service 97 is also single deckers, which is likely to continue for weeks. Meanwhile deckers are operating on services 1, 2 and 8. Stroud are publishing all cancellations which is useful.

Forest services 22, 23, 32 and 33 are now being victims of cancellation, leaving hour gaps in the service. Yesterday morning, the 07:40 32 to Ross-on-Wye wasn't ran meaning the next bus as far as Newent was at 09:40 and to Ross via Gorsley at 14:10. Hardly useful for school children and people trying to get to work.

Cheltenham has a few vehicles on loan from Stroud, running back the years with the ex-94 golds

Best of luck trying to travel with West these next few weeks

 

[geoffk]

A fun few weeks ahead with the Commonwealth Games, Gloucester has sent 10 of the 2021 Scania MMCs with them and of course with that drivers. I am lead to believe more might be going as only 4/21 MMCs are in service today, and just two of them are on route, with the other two doing schools and forest interworks.

Gloucester and Cheltenham have stopped listing cancellations, instead just tweeting what routes will be affected. Service 10 is (as per usual) not running at full PVR and is now running mostly with single deckers. Service 97 is also single deckers, which is likely to continue for weeks. Meanwhile deckers are operating on services 1, 2 and 8. Stroud are publishing all cancellations which is useful.

Forest services 22, 23, 32 and 33 are now being victims of cancellation, leaving hour gaps in the service. Yesterday morning, the 07:40 32 to Ross-on-Wye wasn't ran meaning the next bus as far as Newent was at 09:40 and to Ross via Gorsley at 14:10. Hardly useful for school children and people trying to get to work.

Cheltenham has a few vehicles on loan from Stroud, running back the years with the ex-94 golds

Best of luck trying to travel with West these next few weeks

There's also a press report that Exeter will be supplying buses and drivers to the Commonwealth Games. I think this is a well-established practice for large sporting events but, the past, the driver situation hasn't been so critical. No doubt Stagecoach makes more money this way than by running local bus services.

 

[ValleyLines142]

A fun few weeks ahead with the Commenwealth Games, Gloucester has sent 10 of the 2021 Scania MMCs with them and of course with that drivers. I am lead to believe more might be going as only 4/21 MMCs are in service today, and just two of them are on route, with the other two doing schools and forest interworks.

Gloucester and Cheltenham have stopped listing cancellations, instead just tweeting what routes will be affected. Service 10 is (as per usual) not running at full PVR and is now running mostly with single deckers. Service 97 is also single deckers, which is likely to continue for weeks. Meanwhile deckers are operating on services 1, 2 and 8. Stroud are publishing all cancellations which is useful.

Forest services 22, 23, 32 and 33 are now being victims of cancellation, leaving hour gaps in the service. Yesterday morning, the 07:40 32 to Ross-on-Wye wasn't ran meaning the next bus as far as Newent was at 09:40 and to Ross via Gorsley at 14:10. Hardly useful for school children and people trying to get to work.

Cheltenham has a few vehicles on loan from Stroud, running back the years with the ex-94 golds

Best of luck trying to travel with West these next few weeks

Yes, also noticed 10751 on loan to Gloucester on the 10 yesterday! Very unusual sight. Seems to be back in Cheltenham on its usual 94 duties this morning though.

15527 is on the 94 this morning too. Also two of the Scania E300s that are usually resident on the 41 in Cheltenham were on the 94 yesterday, one of which at the height of rush hour! Not ideal.

Praying that Stagecoach get their act together soon, especially as the next set of rail strikes have been announced.

 

[route101]

Is the Stagecoach West day rider for Devon valid on the 9A to Lyme Regis?

 

[geoffk]

Is the Stagecoach West day rider for Devon valid on the 9A to Lyme Regis?

Not sure. I'm a concessionary pass holder so I've never needed to buy one. There should be a map on their website.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Is the Stagecoach West day rider for Devon valid on the 9A to Lyme Regis?

You are getting confused. It is Stagecoach South West and their ticket does cover cross border routes

 

[Peter Philips]

Is the Stagecoach West day rider for Devon valid on the 9A to Lyme Regis?

The Stagecoach South West day Explorer is valid, but be quick as Stagecoach only only reaches Lyme Regis for one more week and some 9A have recently been cancelled due to driver shortages.

 

[route101]

The Stagecoach South West day Explorer is valid, but be quick as Stagecoach only only reaches Lyme Regis for one more week and some 9A have recently been cancelled due to driver shortages.

Yes, used the ticket today from Lyme Regis on the 9A.

 

[Callum15632]

Does anyone know why 28687 and 28688 have transferred to Swindon from Cheltenham as 28688 is tracking on the 55 today?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Does anyone know why 28687 and 28688 have transferred to Swindon from Cheltenham as 28688 is tracking on the 55 today?

Not seen the latest position but are certain of the Swindon e400mmc from the 55 and S6 heading for Commonwealth Games work?

 

[RELL6L]

Does anyone know why 28687 and 28688 have transferred to Swindon from Cheltenham as 28688 is tracking on the 55 today?

Could it be because as of yesterday the 853 is no longer operated by Cheltenham?
It appears - as of yesterday - to be operated by Witney, using double deckers, but still on a timetable which entirely starts and finishes and has long breaks at Cheltenham. Seems pretty mad. I thought it would have been integrated into the S2 with journeys every 2 hours extended from Witney or Carterton to Cheltenham, then it might work, but this looks very odd. So 11233, which has just left Oxford for Cheltenham, will presumably sit at Cheltenham from 10.45 to 13.10. Perhaps it will still help with staffing issues at Stagecoach West?

 

[Parebunks]

Could it be because as of yesterday the 853 is no longer operated by Cheltenham?
It appears - as of yesterday - to be operated by Witney, using double deckers, but still on a timetable which entirely starts and finishes and has long breaks at Cheltenham. Seems pretty mad. I thought it would have been integrated into the S2 with journeys every 2 hours extended from Witney or Carterton to Cheltenham, then it might work, but this looks very odd. So 11233, which has just left Oxford for Cheltenham, will presumably sit at Cheltenham from 10.45 to 13.10. Perhaps it will still help with staffing issues at Stagecoach West?

I had thought that they were going to switch it to an extension of the S2 a couple of weeks after taking it over - maybe at the start of September? Can't remember where I read that though, so not sure. I think staffing issues were the main reason they transferred it - Oxford/Witney seem to be doing much better with drivers than a lot of other depots/companies.

 

[CharlesR]

Does anyone know why 28687 and 28688 have transferred to Swindon from Cheltenham as 28688 is tracking on the 55 today?

As of yesterday, Witney depot now operate the 853. As a result, Swindon deckers 10686 and 10687 have transferred back to Oxford (they came from Oxford in December iirc) and Cheltenham's 28687 and 28688 have transferred to Swindon.

Not quite sure why the 300s weren't taken directly to Witney, although I do know that they want the 853 to be ran with deckers from now on

 

[DaveHarries]

As of yesterday, Witney depot now operate the 853.

It seems as if this may not be the case for much longer as it looks like the 853 may, at least in its current form, soon cease to exist. From the VOSA Bus Service registrations ("BSR" hereafter) for the Western Traffic Area on 21-Jul-2022 come these two entries which suggest that a change first proposed sometime ago (I forget when: a year or two I think?) may soon take place:

PH0005863/88 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Curbridge to Oxford via. Witney
Service Number: S2
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

PH0005863/87 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Cheltenham to Witney via Northleach
Service Number: S2
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

Use of the VOSA BSR website's "export as CSV" option allows you to obtain more details. For both registrations it says, under the "Other details" column, "Change of timetable and service number."

On the subject of the S2, a look in the VOSA BSR for 20-Jul-2022 gives us this entry:

PH0005863/41 Cancelled
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Oxford to Carterton
Service Number: S2 (S2X, H2, S2)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

Further to which the next entries down are:

PH0005863/41 Cancelled
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Eynsham to Burford
Service Number: H2 (H2)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

PH0005863/16 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Oxford to Carterton via Witney
Service Number: S1 (S1, NS1)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

For these three the "Other details" column tells us:

PH0005863/41: Cancellation
PH0005863/85: Cancellation
PH0005863/16: Revised route and timetable (presumably to replace, at least in part, the S2

Changes have also been registered, also effective 28/08/2022, for a number of routes in Banbury and these are also given in the VOSA BSR for 20/07/2022. There will be a revised timetable for the B3 (Banbury Town Centre - Longford) while the B9 (Banbury Town Centre - Hardwick) is withdrawn. It seems that the Hardwick area of Banbury won't be without buses though as there is a registration for a Service B4 between Banbury Town Centre and Hardwick. It isn't clear if the B4 and B9 will run the same line of route but a search on Traveline for a B4 in Banbury brings up no search results which means that the B4 is a new route. The VOSA BSR search for 21/07/2022 brings up that, also from 28/08/2022, there will be a revised timetable for Banbury's B5 (Banbury Town Centre - Bretch Hill).

Lastly there is the withdrawal of Stagecoach Oxford's 14 & 14A routes (City Centre - JR Hospital) and also, in Abingdon, cancellation of Service 34 (Abingdon - Harwell Campus) and revisions to services 33 (Wallingford - Abingdon) and 41 (Abingdon - Abingdon) but I apologise if Stagecoach Oxford does not belong under Stagecoach West like Banbury does.

Hope this is of interest,
Dave

 

[RELL6L]

It seems as if this may not be the case for much longer as it looks like the 853 may, at least in its current form, soon cease to exist. From the VOSA Bus Service registrations ("BSR" hereafter) for the Western Traffic Area on 21-Jul-2022 come these two entries which suggest that a change first proposed sometime ago (I forget when: a year or two I think?) may soon take place:

PH0005863/88 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Curbridge to Oxford via. Witney
Service Number: S2
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

PH0005863/87 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Cheltenham to Witney via Northleach
Service Number: S2
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

Use of the VOSA BSR website's "export as CSV" option allows you to obtain more details. For both registrations it says, under the "Other details" column, "Change of timetable and service number."

On the subject of the S2, a look in the VOSA BSR for 20-Jul-2022 gives us this entry:

PH0005863/41 Cancelled
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Oxford to Carterton
Service Number: S2 (S2X, H2, S2)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

Further to which the next entries down are:

PH0005863/41 Cancelled
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Eynsham to Burford
Service Number: H2 (H2)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

PH0005863/16 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Oxford to Carterton via Witney
Service Number: S1 (S1, NS1)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

For these three the "Other details" column tells us:

PH0005863/41: Cancellation
PH0005863/85: Cancellation
PH0005863/16: Revised route and timetable (presumably to replace, at least in part, the S2

Changes have also been registered, also effective 28/08/2022, for a number of routes in Banbury and these are also given in the VOSA BSR for 20/07/2022. There will be a revised timetable for the B3 (Banbury Town Centre - Longford) while the B9 (Banbury Town Centre - Hardwick) is withdrawn. It seems that the Hardwick area of Banbury won't be without buses though as there is a registration for a Service B4 between Banbury Town Centre and Hardwick. It isn't clear if the B4 and B9 will run the same line of route but a search on Traveline for a B4 in Banbury brings up no search results which means that the B4 is a new route. The VOSA BSR search for 21/07/2022 brings up that, also from 28/08/2022, there will be a revised timetable for Banbury's B5 (Banbury Town Centre - Bretch Hill).

Lastly there is the withdrawal of Stagecoach Oxford's 14 & 14A routes (City Centre - JR Hospital) and also, in Abingdon, cancellation of Service 34 (Abingdon - Harwell Campus) and revisions to services 33 (Wallingford - Abingdon) and 41 (Abingdon - Abingdon) but I apologise if Stagecoach Oxford does not belong under Stagecoach West like Banbury does.

Hope this is of interest,
Dave

One assumes they will reshuffle the H2/S2 and S1 so that one S2 every 2 hours runs from Witney to Cheltenham while maintaining the 15-minute service frequency from Witney to Carterton. That only adds one vehicle to the S1/S2 as of now to provide a 2 hourly service to Cheltenham - which is better for lower cost. The 853 duplicates the S2 between Oxford and Witney so this makes a great deal of sense. Which is what I was sort of getting at in post 439 above.

 

[LordCreed]

After not being used in nearly 6 months, 47910 has transferred from Bristol to Witney, and is working on the 233 today.

 

[DaveHarries]

One assumes they will reshuffle the H2/S2 and S1 so that one S2 every 2 hours runs from Witney to Cheltenham while maintaining the 15-minute service frequency from Witney to Carterton. That only adds one vehicle to the S1/S2 as of now to provide a 2 hourly service to Cheltenham - which is better for lower cost. The 853 duplicates the S2 between Oxford and Witney so this makes a great deal of sense. Which is what I was sort of getting at in post 439 above.

I think I see where you are coming from but my understanding is that the new S2 won't serve Carterton. I don't know if the new S2 will include Eynsham to continue the link to Burford though.

Dave

 

[RELL6L]

I think I see where you are coming from but my understanding is that the new S2 won't serve Carterton. I don't know if the new S2 will include Eynsham to continue the link to Burford though.

Dave

No the S2 might not serve Carterton. I am assuming:
From the east - as now:
S1 Oxford to Witney 4bph
S2 Oxford to Witney fast 1bph
H2 John Radcliffe to Witney 1bph

To the west:
S2 Witney to Cheltenham 1 bus per two hours
H2/S1/S2 Witney to Carterton 4bph. At the moment it is 2xS1, 1xS2, 1xH2, going forward it can only be 0.5 x S2 if alternate journeys go to Cheltenham. So maybe a terminating S1 will extend in its place every other hour.
Or maybe Carterton will be reduced to 3bph, anything is possible (if complex... would have to be 3 S1s every two hours meaning one would have to wait at Witney for 5 minutes, perfectly doable).

The S2 doesn't serve Eynsham, it only stops on the A40 at the edge of the village.

 

[Gc1986]

As of yesterday, Witney depot now operate the 853. As a result, Swindon deckers 10686 and 10687 have transferred back to Oxford (they came from Oxford in December iirc) and Cheltenham's 28687 and 28688 have transferred to Swindon.

Not quite sure why the 300s weren't taken directly to Witney, although I do know that they want the 853 to be ran with deckers from now on

Does make sense drove past Swindon depot earlier today and not the usual number of buses there during school holidays. Most of Tridents out on routes.

 

[Parebunks]

It seems as if this may not be the case for much longer as it looks like the 853 may, at least in its current form, soon cease to exist. From the VOSA Bus Service registrations ("BSR" hereafter) for the Western Traffic Area on 21-Jul-2022 come these two entries which suggest that a change first proposed sometime ago (I forget when: a year or two I think?) may soon take place:

PH0005863/88 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Curbridge to Oxford via. Witney
Service Number: S2
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

PH0005863/87 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Cheltenham to Witney via Northleach
Service Number: S2
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

Use of the VOSA BSR website's "export as CSV" option allows you to obtain more details. For both registrations it says, under the "Other details" column, "Change of timetable and service number."

On the subject of the S2, a look in the VOSA BSR for 20-Jul-2022 gives us this entry:

PH0005863/41 Cancelled
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Oxford to Carterton
Service Number: S2 (S2X, H2, S2)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

Further to which the next entries down are:

PH0005863/41 Cancelled
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Eynsham to Burford
Service Number: H2 (H2)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

PH0005863/16 Registered
THAMES TRANSIT LIMITED
Route: Oxford to Carterton via Witney
Service Number: S1 (S1, NS1)
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 28 Aug 2022

For these three the "Other details" column tells us:

PH0005863/41: Cancellation
PH0005863/85: Cancellation
PH0005863/16: Revised route and timetable (presumably to replace, at least in part, the S2

Changes have also been registered, also effective 28/08/2022, for a number of routes in Banbury and these are also given in the VOSA BSR for 20/07/2022. There will be a revised timetable for the B3 (Banbury Town Centre - Longford) while the B9 (Banbury Town Centre - Hardwick) is withdrawn. It seems that the Hardwick area of Banbury won't be without buses though as there is a registration for a Service B4 between Banbury Town Centre and Hardwick. It isn't clear if the B4 and B9 will run the same line of route but a search on Traveline for a B4 in Banbury brings up no search results which means that the B4 is a new route. The VOSA BSR search for 21/07/2022 brings up that, also from 28/08/2022, there will be a revised timetable for Banbury's B5 (Banbury Town Centre - Bretch Hill).

Lastly there is the withdrawal of Stagecoach Oxford's 14 & 14A routes (City Centre - JR Hospital) and also, in Abingdon, cancellation of Service 34 (Abingdon - Harwell Campus) and revisions to services 33 (Wallingford - Abingdon) and 41 (Abingdon - Abingdon) but I apologise if Stagecoach Oxford does not belong under Stagecoach West like Banbury does.

Hope this is of interest,
Dave

Thanks! Surprised that the 14 and 14A are cancelled - they always seem fairly busy for less frequent city routes. In the most recent West Oxon housing plan, it was mentioned that Stagecoach had committed to 4BPH through a recently opened development just off the S1 route in Witney and as far as Carterton by 'early 2022', so I wonder if the plan is to have Carterton entirely on the S1 for now, and finish the S2/H2 at Witney aside from the 2-hourly Cheltenham extension.

 

[DaveHarries]

Thanks! Surprised that the 14 and 14A are cancelled - they always seem fairly busy for less frequent city routes. In the most recent West Oxon housing plan, it was mentioned that Stagecoach had committed to 4BPH through a recently opened development just off the S1 route in Witney and as far as Carterton by 'early 2022', so I wonder if the plan is to have Carterton entirely on the S1 for now, and finish the S2/H2 at Witney aside from the 2-hourly Cheltenham extension.

One thing I do notice is that the S1 does not serve the Broadshires Health Centre in Carterton: that is currently served by the S2 & H2. One route amendment to the S1 might mean that the S1 will serve Broadshires HC in place of those two routes.

Dave

 

[GoneSouth]

A fun few weeks ahead with the Commenwealth Games, Gloucester has sent 10 of the 2021 Scania MMCs with them and of course with that drivers. I am lead to believe more might be going as only 4/21 MMCs are in service today, and just two of them are on route, with the other two doing schools and forest interworks.

Gloucester and Cheltenham have stopped listing cancellations, instead just tweeting what routes will be affected. Service 10 is (as per usual) not running at full PVR and is now running mostly with single deckers. Service 97 is also single deckers, which is likely to continue for weeks. Meanwhile deckers are operating on services 1, 2 and 8. Stroud are publishing all cancellations which is useful.

Forest services 22, 23, 32 and 33 are now being victims of cancellation, leaving hour gaps in the service. Yesterday morning, the 07:40 32 to Ross-on-Wye wasn't ran meaning the next bus as far as Newent was at 09:40 and to Ross via Gorsley at 14:10. Hardly useful for school children and people trying to get to work.

Cheltenham has a few vehicles on loan from Stroud, running back the years with the ex-94 golds

Best of luck trying to travel with West these next few weeks

This comes on top of pulling services to provide a profitable charter on RAIT and Cheltenham race days. This is what happens when your transport infrastructure is provided in a commercial basis. People don’t count. It’s depressing and isolating for many people who have had many hours gaps in what should be an hourly service, meaning the those who RELY on the bus for school, college, medical appointments and work are becoming second class citizens.

Get your MPs involved people…

Oh, hang in, they’re all Conservatives in the area who also don’t value people who are slightly more economically challenged. This is the future of the UK, division, inequality and definitely not the levelling up promised by BJ.

And shame on you Stagecoach! No doubt when all the events are out of the way they’ll kick the PR machine into action, park a few new buses in the centre of Cheltenham or Gloucester to show how they are investing in the area, then repeat the cycle when it suits.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jul 2022 ==

Thought I’d have a quick look at local media to see if there was any interest in the bus network imploding… there wasn’t!

Ironically the benefits of segregated bus networks in Gloucestershire is being investigated. Gloucestershire County Council seems to have an ambition of increasing bus usage by 100%. Never gonna happen if commercial providers continue to undermine their ambitions !

I’ll give them 8.5 out of 10 for ambition. Ignoring the cost, the obvious advantage of a light rail system over bus is that Stagecoach can’t just pick that up and transfer it to Birmingham when the fancy takes them

'Buses are more viable than light rail for mass transit plans'

Gloucestershire County Council is in the early stages of developing a multi-million pound scheme which aims to drastically improve public transport and reduce CO2 emissions

www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk

Buses are more viable than light rail for Gloucestershire's mass transit ambitions, experts say​

Gloucestershire County Council is in the early stages of developing a multi-million pound scheme which aims to drastically improve public transport and reduce CO2 emissions

The use of segregated buses rather than light rail is looking like a more feasible option for Gloucestershire’s mass transport link, according to experts. Gloucestershire County Council is in the early stages of developing a multi-million mass transit scheme which aims to get more people on public transport to help meet their carbon reduction targets.

Transportchiefs at Shire Hallwant to see the number of people cycling increase by 300% by 2030 and the use of electric vehicles increase by 100%. They also want to increase the use of public transport by 100%, while reducing the number of car trips taken each month.

To achieve this, they say mass rapid transport is needed for fast journey times and reliable services across the county. A pre-feasibility study has identified several broad corridors in central Gloucestershire where there is enough demand to introduce mass transit.

These corridors include South West Gloucester to Gloucester city centre, Gloucesterto Cheltenham, Cheltenham town centre to North West Cheltenham, and from Cheltenham town centre to Bishops Cleeve with a potential extension to Ashchurch.

Speaking at last week’s Gloucestershire economic growth scrutiny committee, transport planning team leader Louisa Senft-Hayward said the county needs to double the number of people travelling by bus if it wants to meet its carbon reduction targets

She said: “The key benefit of having a mass rapid transit system in Gloucestershire is that it would be segregated from general traffic so it would not be affected by congestion. It would be more reliable. We need all areas to be accessible by public transport and we need simple and affordable fares and clear, simple information.

We looked at the difference between a bus based rapid transit system or light rail rapid transit system. At the moment we think bus rapid transit is more likely to be successful but it depends on that high level of segregation to protect it from congestion, high frequencies and high quality buses and infrastructure. We also looked at light rail rapid transit but that is less easy to make financially viable.”

The council is in the process of signing off its feasibility study before conducting a strategic assessment and initial options assessment. If all goes well, and subject to a successful business case and design stage, construction is expected to be done by 2027 at the earliest.