The estate is also almost entirely within 400 metres to the main road. I have heard the 7-8 minutes range used by a lot by planners. It is seems to be due to the fact that they cannot decide between a 5-10 minute walk so most now just meet in the middle which seems fair so this is now my measurement for walkability.
All planning guidance that I have seen, states 400m even guidance from
Active Travel England states 400 metres. Guidance from
Surrey County Council states "Homes should be within 400m walk of a bus stop or transport hub, as most people are prepared to walk five minutes (400m) to a bus stop".
Leicestershire County Council goes further saying "Walking distances to bus stops in urban areas should be a maximum of 400m and preferably no more than 250m".
The issue with that gradient is the fact that we are in Yorkshire... If a bus service was detour and climb up each gradient to make it an easier walk we would never get anywhere but you also want buses to remain accessible so measuring by 400 meters, which seems to be a 7-8 minute walk, seems appropriate.
The joys of buses adapting to the terrain. It's a hilly area and so the bus goes up the hill to provide easier access to the bus. Same thing happens in Wales with similar terrain. The alternative is the bus doesn't go up the hill and that whole estate is then forced to either climb the hill if they want to use the bus, or the more likely answer is people will just rely more and more on private transport.
Google maps also factors in the extra time it takes to climb a gradient. It also seems to be based on people far older than me since it is usually far too generous with time. So the elderly will likely be quite close to the estimated times.
It takes into terrain slightly but not by enough in my opinion. It's also still based off an average walking speed. If you are elderly, the walking speed, especially up hill, will be be of no help at all.
Does the area need as frequent as a service it gets, probably not. However given the estate is near the end of the route in Denby Dale, I can't see it majorly affecting passengers who aren't making use of the loop, and it's probably worth sending all buses the same way just for simplicity (which in itself can encourage people onboard). The diversion takes between 2 and 3 minutes to complete and based on the overall journey times and so on, a 2-3 minute saving each way wouldn't cut the PVR as the round trip would still be over 2 hours and so what would be the benefit? The bus gets to sit around Huddersfield for longer.
