Better Transport

We recently asked a bus company what they wanted from people campaigning for better buses. Here's what we were told:

"A general point first. We want people to care about their bus service and support public transport. Crucially, that means using buses rather than the car. Often people become vocal about a service only at the point when patronage has declined to such an extent that it is not viable. By then, the economics of retaining a service become very difficult and it is often too late.

"Most bus operators already have very close local links with the bus passenger body Bus Users UK. There are regular contacts with local management teams. If a group has a suggestion about how a service may be improved, it would be best to use this existing channel.

"In addition, our local management teams often hold bus surgeries and welcome constructive feedback from local people. When we plan major service changes, we tend to inform local people in advance that we are looking at options. That is the point when it is best for them to take an interest and let us know their views, rather than launching a petition afterwards when people had been given a chance to have a say.

"One of the biggest ways local people can help improve their local services is by campaigning for buses to get proper priority on the road so they are not caught in the increasing traffic congestion affecting our towns and cities."

"It is important to bear in mind that bus routes and schedules are constructed in a certain way for good reason. It is in any bus operator's interests to ensure the route is attractive to users and continues to attract a growing volume of passengers. Operating high-frequency services on main routes has proved very successful in generating modal shift from car to public transport. Some groups often want a service to go right to their own front door or to divert into a particular area. That may be right in some cases, but in others it may increase journey times unnecessarily and make the bus less attractive for other users. A balance needs to be struck.

"One of the biggest ways local people can help improve their local services is by campaigning for buses to get proper priority on the road so they are not caught in the increasing traffic congestion affecting our towns and cities. They should also ask questions of their local authority to ensure that money allocated for public transport is being spent on public transport and not diverted into other areas. This is true of budgets for social services and concessionary fares schemes."