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Redbridge council spends £18k on 'Covid Bus'

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DelayRepay

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Wasn't sure where to post this.

Over Christmas, a 'Covid Bus' appeared in the London Borough of Redbridge

1616734598378.png

This travelled around the Borough during December, January and February warning people to stay at home,

A FOI request has reviled that this exercise cost over £18k - £6k for the wrapper and £12k for staffing and fuel.

I think this was a complete waste of money, and there must be far better things that £18k could have been spent on in Redbridge.

Any Redbridge residents on the forum? Are you happy about your council spending money on this?
 
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185143

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Wasn't sure where to post this.

Over Christmas, a 'Covid Bus' appeared in the London Borough of Redbridge

View attachment 93063

This travelled around the Borough during December, January and February warning people to stay at home,

A FOI request has reviled that this exercise cost over £18k - £6k for the wrapper and £12k for staffing and fuel.

I think this was a complete waste of money, and there must be far better things that £18k could have been spent on in Redbridge.

Any Redbridge residents on the forum? Are you happy about your council spending money on this?
But... if everyone is locked away in their Bunkers houses, then they won't see a bus driving round the main road!
 

deltic

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Seems a fairly low cost public information campaign which would have been seen by its target audience - ie those out on the streets
 

DelayRepay

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Seems a fairly low cost public information campaign which would have been seen by its target audience - ie those out on the streets
True - but with all the press coverage, constant adverts etc, people would have known what the rules were, and what the advice was, even if they decided not to follow them.

Would someone who has decided to go out for a non-essential purpose be persuaded to go home by a decorated bus? I think not because they have already decided to go out despite advice/laws to the contrary.

I thought councils were strapped for cash - surely £18k could have been better spent?
 

Simon11

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Seems a fairly low cost public information campaign which would have been seen by its target audience - ie those out on the streets
I would say that the livery applied is really poor and in that high street, that bus doesn't really stand out (apart from being an older bus lol!)
 

yorksrob

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It would have been a lot more cost effective to have an advertising campaign on ordinary service buses.
 

deltic

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True - but with all the press coverage, constant adverts etc, people would have known what the rules were, and what the advice was, even if they decided not to follow them.

Would someone who has decided to go out for a non-essential purpose be persuaded to go home by a decorated bus? I think not because they have already decided to go out despite advice/laws to the contrary.

I thought councils were strapped for cash - surely £18k could have been better spent?
It is aimed at people who dont read the press etc - £18k is very low spend for a public health information campaign

It would have been a lot more cost effective to have an advertising campaign on ordinary service buses.
Would it? - is there a bus route that only operates in Redbridge and would the operator guarantee that they remained on that route. Councils have a legal responsibility for improving the health of their local population, money for this would probably have come from that ring fenced budget
 

yorkie

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Seems a fairly low cost public information campaign which would have been seen by its target audience - ie those out on the streets
Do you think that if the £18k hadn't been spent, there would be higher infection rates in this area?

And go put it another way, if all councils had spent an additional £18k in this way, would we really have lower infection rates?

Given the root cause of the UK's particularly high death rate is poor health caused by a combination of lack of adequate exercise and poor diet, would you support a UK wide bus fleet making a similar warning in that regard?
It is aimed at people who dont read the press etc - £18k is very low spend for a public health information campaign
How many people don't read, watch or listen to any forms of media?

If a council wants to get a message to them, why not post information through their letterbox?
Would it? - is there a bus route that only operates in Redbridge and would the operator guarantee that they remained on that route. Councils have a legal responsibility for improving the health of their local population, money for this would probably have come from that ring fenced budget
I don't see how this improves health; indeed quite the opposite in respect of physical and mental well-being.
 

yorksrob

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It is aimed at people who dont read the press etc - £18k is very low spend for a public health information campaign


Would it? - is there a bus route that only operates in Redbridge and would the operator guarantee that they remained on that route. Councils have a legal responsibility for improving the health of their local population, money for this would probably have come from that ring fenced budget

With a normal advertising campaign, you'd be able to spend a lot less money and capture more of the buses that pass through Redbridge.
 

Jimini

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Redbridge resident here (South Woodford).

I've seen it out and about on a few occasions, both round here and in Wanstead. Normally accompanied with an army of people practically shoving masks down your throat. It also plays an endless spiel blaring out announcements about being in a national lockdown, 60 people in Redbridge died of Covid in the past week, stay home blah blah blah.. :rolleyes:

*Edit* Managed to upload the recording here .
 

deltic

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Do you think that if the £18k hadn't been spent, there would be higher infection rates in this area?

And go put it another way, if all councils had spent an additional £18k in this way, would we really have lower infection rates?

Given the root cause of the UK's particularly high death rate is poor health caused by a combination of lack of adequate exercise and poor diet, would you support a UK wide bus fleet making a similar warning in that regard?

How many people don't read, watch or listen to any forms of media?

If a council wants to get a message to them, why not post information through their letterbox?

I don't see how this improves health; indeed quite the opposite in respect of physical and mental well-being.

As Jimini has now stated the bus was part of a concerted effort to get people to change behaviours. The UK high death rate was certainly due to the factors that you mention but you have to catch the virus in the first place to be killed by it.

The campaign was aimed at people out and about - sticking leaflets through letterboxes would probably cost more and not reach the people you are aiming at.

Not sure why people are so critical of a local council engaging with its population on a public health matter in this way. You might not agree with the strategy being adopted but that is a different issue.

With a normal advertising campaign, you'd be able to spend a lot less money and capture more of the buses that pass through Redbridge.

Interested if you have figures for this - a quick look suggests it can cost up to £6k for a 4 week campaign on a single bus so the same as here but with more control on where the vehicle goes. I can't imagine Redbridge does much bus advert buying so probably not going to get much of a discount. As Jimini now notes the bus was just one part of a campaign
 

Bishopstone

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No strong views on ‘was it a good idea?’, but I’m surprised a bus on an S-plate complies with London low emissions standards.

What’s the trick? Do you de-register the vehicle as a PSV and then it becomes a car, for regulatory purposes?

I suppose it may have been re-engined.
 

Darandio

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As Jimini has now stated the bus was part of a concerted effort to get people to change behaviours. The UK high death rate was certainly due to the factors that you mention but you have to catch the virus in the first place to be killed by it.

The campaign was aimed at people out and about - sticking leaflets through letterboxes would probably cost more and not reach the people you are aiming at.

Not sure why people are so critical of a local council engaging with its population on a public health matter in this way. You might not agree with the strategy being adopted but that is a different issue.

Because it's a symbol of our increasingly dystopian country. People are out and about and legitimately so, doing things such as shopping, picking up medication and have to put up with a bus shouting at them to tell them they should be home. There are people out there who are scared witless and daren't leave home for no reason other than daily scare stories that are fed to them through the media. Then this old banger rumbles past their front door and it's like something out of a movie, I wouldn't be surprised if it's sent someone over the edge.

There are pictures of it still out and about as recently as late February, still displaying the same out of date messaging and making out of date announcements. There's absolutely no justification for this garbage.
 

yorksrob

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Interested if you have figures for this - a quick look suggests it can cost up to £6k for a 4 week campaign on a single bus so the same as here but with more control on where the vehicle goes. I can't imagine Redbridge does much bus advert buying so probably not going to get much of a discount. As Jimini now notes the bus was just one part of a campaign

I can't remember what it was when we did it, but we got a bulk deal involving multiple buses.
 

the sniper

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Then this old banger rumbles past their front door and it's like something out of a movie, I wouldn't be surprised if it's sent someone over the edge.

What with what you've said and Brexit, I think we should ban advertising on buses. I'm getting the impression the British are dangerously influenced by this medium...
 

johnnychips

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Yes, but is it any worse than on Sheffield Station every two minutes ‘face coverings are obligatory on our stations and trains unless [well done EMR] you have an exemption. Remember some disabilities are not obvious’. Then you get on the Northern train and get a similar prerecorded announcement without mention of exemptions. Then you get a guard announcement, of whom I would think about one in three are over-zealous and vaguely threatening.

Yeah, let’s encourage people to travel by train.

To get back to the topic, I don’t think a bus making probably muffled and ignored announcement is the end of the world, and if it’s going all over the borough of Redbridge will be noticed/ignored quite infrequently. But yes, a waste of 18 grand.
 

DB

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Yes, but is it any worse than on Sheffield Station every two minutes ‘face coverings are obligatory on our stations and trains unless [well done EMR] you have an exemption. Remember some disabilities are not obvious’. Then you get on the Northern train and get a similar prerecorded announcement without mention of exemptions. Then you get a guard announcement, of whom I would think about one in three are over-zealous and vaguely threatening.

Yeah, let’s encourage people to travel by train.

To get back to the topic, I don’t think a bus making probably muffled and ignored announcement is the end of the world, and if it’s going all over the borough of Redbridge will be noticed/ignored quite infrequently. But yes, a waste of 18 grand.

Sheffield station has for years been bad for jobsworth announcements - it's just this now as well as the perils of wet platforms.
 

Jimini

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As Jimini has now stated the bus was part of a concerted effort to get people to change behaviours. The UK high death rate was certainly due to the factors that you mention but you have to catch the virus in the first place to be killed by it.

The campaign was aimed at people out and about - sticking leaflets through letterboxes would probably cost more and not reach the people you are aiming at.

Not sure why people are so critical of a local council engaging with its population on a public health matter in this way. You might not agree with the strategy being adopted but that is a different issue.



Interested if you have figures for this - a quick look suggests it can cost up to £6k for a 4 week campaign on a single bus so the same as here but with more control on where the vehicle goes. I can't imagine Redbridge does much bus advert buying so probably not going to get much of a discount. As Jimini now notes the bus was just one part of a campaign
Err, hold the bus, as the saying goes. I didn’t state / note any of your points above. Please don’t take my comments which were meant with genuine disdain about the whole setup and make it something else to fit your agenda.

My only point about the bus was that it was wholly inappropriate, oppressive, and a waste of our money. I don’t need to hear an automated announcement preaching to me about what a bad person I am when I’m going about my daily business — it was parked up next to Sainsbury‘s for pete’s sake!
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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**Shudders** I can’t believe this is real. It’s like something out of dystopian fiction. I get The Handmaid’s Tale vibes from it. Whoever designed that cannot be a nice person.
 

DelayRepay

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It is aimed at people who dont read the press etc - £18k is very low spend for a public health information campaign
I know some people avoid the news (and I don't blame them recently!) - but I find it hard to believe that anyone who was out and about was unaware that there was a lockdown. They were either out and about completing lawful/essential activities such as shopping, or they were out because they had decided to ignore the rules. I doubt many people who were out would have seen that monstrosity and decided to go back home.

£18k may be low spend but I am sure there are better things it could have funded.
 

185143

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Yes, but is it any worse than on Sheffield Station every two minutes ‘face coverings are obligatory on our stations and trains unless [well done EMR] you have an exemption. Remember some disabilities are not obvious’. Then you get on the Northern train and get a similar prerecorded announcement without mention of exemptions. Then you get a guard announcement, of whom I would think about one in three are over-zealous and vaguely threatening.

Yeah, let’s encourage people to travel by train.

To get back to the topic, I don’t think a bus making probably muffled and ignored announcement is the end of the world, and if it’s going all over the borough of Redbridge will be noticed/ignored quite infrequently. But yes, a waste of 18 grand.
Northern's onboard announcements certainly do mention exemptions. The announcement after every stop with the face covering message ends with "... unless you are exempt".
 

Mcr Warrior

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£18k may be low spend but I am sure there are better things it could have funded.
So six grand for the cost of the bus's makeover, and another twelve grand for the wages of whomever's job it was to drive the vehicle round the Redbridge area and any associated fuel costs? :s
 

Skimpot flyer

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I expect the video will now go viral...
Honestly, this is such a waste of money and like something from a badly-written and rejected Doctor Who script.

Or should that be Doctor WHO ?
 

DB

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I expect the video will now go viral...
Honestly, this is such a waste of money and like something from a badly-written and rejected Doctor Who script.

Or should that be Doctor WHO ?

Needs a dalek rolling along in front of the bus...

Perhaps it's as well not to give them ideas though!
 
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