Changes to Faresavers 267 service from 11/ 1 /16

Faresaver will be making some changes to their 267 service from the 11 January next year for these reasons.


Service number changes from 267 to X67 to make it easier for passengers to distinguish between our service and First.
•Minor timing changes from Bath, 3 minutes earlier, with exception of 1453 and 1553 which change to 1510 and 1610 respectively – we had a lot of feedback about the 1610 changing back in August and so this reverts to its original time.
•An additional trip departing Bath and 1740 as we have found that our 1715 leaves Bath with a standing load most nights. We hope this might ease this issue.
We are aware of the issue with the grouping of our service and Firsts’ 267 following the August changes but because of the way in which our 267 (X67) works with our X31, Bath – Chippenham service between 0900 – 1500 it is very difficult to change our times on one service without affecting the other


Please use the link provided to view the new timetable changes
http://www.faresaver.co.uk/timetables/5677c6c3e3bfe.pdf

Film to save buses

Do you use local bus services? Do you or anyone you know have a story you could tell about why bus services are important to you? If so please get in touch before 18^th December.

 The two areas we want to emphasise are:
1) Social need – would cuts to the buses have an impact on your quality of life? For example, would it make it harder to visit medical services or friends and family, to do your shopping and / or to access local facilities?
2) Economic – would bus cuts mean you weren’t able to access employment, education or training or mean that your staff, students or volunteers can’t get in easily?

The film will be used to lobby councillors and decision makers to continue their support for local services. The filming would take an hour or two at a time that suits you.

 

 

Anna Francis

Direct Tel: 01373 475574
General: 01373 465757

 

Core working days: Tuesday - Friday

Changes to the X34 from 7/ 12/ 15

Faresaver will be making slight changes to their X34 service on the 7th December the reasons for these changes are stated below.

The main issue we had was with the timing of the current 0802 departure from Frome as this had been getting to Frome about 0802-0805 and then having loaded was departing about 10 minutes late each day. This was then compounded further as on entering Trowbridge is was hitting the school/college traffic along the Frome Road. We have therefore retimed this trip to 0806 and given it more time along the whole route into Chippenham to reflect what it is currently achieving. In addition to this we have introduced an additional trip departing Frome at 0736 arriving in Trowbridge for 0806 for those who are finding that the following trip arrives too late into Trowbridge.

 

We have also removed the Medical Centre from the X34 to improve journey times and punctuality between Frome-Trowbridge. Since the X34 stopped going up to Sainsburys along The Butts the usage to the Medical Centre on the X34 has all but disappeared as people now catch the 267 instead. Those wishing to travel between the Market Place and Medical Centre are still able to catch the 267.

BBC News article about the protest in Taunton against Scc's proposed cuts to bus funding and concessionary fares

A protest has been held against proposed cuts to bus services and discounts for pass holders who use community transport in Somerset.

Somerset County Council is conducting two consultations as part of efforts to balance its budget for next year.
Cabinet member, David Fothergill said: "We currently subsidise 75 services and there are 25 of them we're looking at."
Protesters said the move would increase rural isolation and price some people out of using community buses.
The cuts would hit some weekend routes and services between most towns in Somerset, including Yeovil, Langport and Taunton.

Mr Fothergill added: "They're the ones with low usage or there's alternative means we can provide or it's just not economical to run them any more."
Tracey Harding, co-founder of the Frome and Villages Buses Action Group, which campaigns for better public bus services, said: "Frome has already lost three of its Saturday services in the last round of cuts made by First Bus.
"To have more cuts would be devastating."
The proposals would also halve the 50% concession bus pass holders receive on community transport to 25%.
Community bus Wiveylink is run by the Wiveliscombe Area Partnership
Pauline Homeshaw from the group said: "We're addressing rural isolation which so many people who use Wiveylink are absolutely suffering from already and Wiveylink has rescued them from that isolated state.
The council said the consultations would run until January, with a final decision taken later

Favbug and Friends of Yeovil bus staion Protesting in Taunton against Scc's proposed bus cuts

Protesting at Somerset County Council offices in Taunton today about the proposed cut by Somerset County Council to funding for all (but 1) Saturday bus services.Managed to speak to Council leader, Transport Chief and Councillor Linda Oliver.

FAVBUG's trip to the Lords in the local press

Our visit to London was picked up by a couple of local papers this week:

Bus campaigners take cause to Parliament

Frome Times, 03/11/15

LOCAL bus campaigners recently visited the House of Lords in Westminster as part of a Campaign for Better Transport networking event.

Tracey Harding and Emma Russell of the Frome and Villages Bus Users’ Group (FAVBUG) recently went to the Campaign for Better Transport meeting alongside around 200  politicians, academics and national campaigners.

The campaign hopes to improve the quality and availability of public transport for people across the country.

Tracey, who lives in Frome said, “We went to the meeting to try and find out more about possible funding cuts for buses, the potential for local authorities to have more power over bus services, and the upcoming southwest branch of the Campaign for Better Transport.

“We met Chris Todd who will be setting up the southwest campaign alongside David Warburton MP.

“Finding out more about the buses bill and how the councils can devolve will give us a greater understanding of the effects on public transport in Frome and across the region.

“We are hoping that the new powers might see an improved bus service in the area, and that rural areas won’t be overlooked in favour of improving services for larger regions.”

Somerset bus services have been some of the worst hit in the southwest in the past five years. More than a quarter of funding has been lost for the county; the annual budget for 2014/15 was £4,076,300, compared to £5,569,300 in 2010/11.

Tracey continued, “This month George Osborne could cut the central government’s bus service operators grant, which is a ring-fenced sum paid to local authorities to fund bus services in the area.

“Martin Abrahms at the Campaign for Better Transport hasn’t told me what would happen to that money if it were cut from the grant.”

FAVBUG continues to campaign for improved bus services for residents in and around Frome, and will next weekend be attending the launch of Campaign for Better Transport South West in Bristol.

For more information about what the group does, visit its blog at www.favbug.blogspot.co.uk or find the group on Facebook.

Frome bus campaigners join transport rally at House of Lords

Somerset Standard, 03/11/15

Campaigners battling to retain decent bus services for Frome and its villages have taken their fight to the House of Lords.

They travelled to London to hear discussions on the Queen's speech and the Buses Bill, which gives any area with an elected mayor powers to take control of their bus services. These powers will allow the mayor to franchise bus systems.

One of the campaigners is Tracey Harding, a founding member of Frome and Villages Bus Users Group(FAVBUG) recently fought to retain threatened bus services including the 161, 184 and the Rode part of the 267.

She said that the new bill would hopefully see a more integrated transport system with ticketing that will allow travel on more than one operator's bus for one fare.

Mrs Harding said that the Chancellor George Osborne planned to discontinue the £345 million government's bus service operators' grant to be announced on November 25.

The bus operators' grant paid from central government to local councils to fund bus services is currently ring fenced.

Meanwhile the pressure group, Campaign For Better Transport is launching a branch to cover the South West on November 14 at Hamilton House in Bristol.

The event is open to any campaign groups along with anyone interested in public transport.

Mrs Harding, who traveled to London with Emma Russell, added: "This event will also be for campaign groups to meet up to discuss the way forward for public transport across the region."

FROMES BUS SERVICES UNDER THREAT FOR A SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS

 It was 3 months ago that Frome suffered a bitter blow by First bus cutting 4 out of 5 of our bus services. Luckily those 4 services were taken over by other operators. Now we hear that Scc plan to cut funding to 3 of our Saturday bus services being the 53/ 58 and 414/424 along with the 33 wednesday service to Wincanton.
The 414/ 424 Saturday bus service came under threat of having its funding cut earlier this year in the last round of consultations made by Scc.
The 53/ 58 and 414/ 424 are operated by Frome minibuses who are a small family run operator. Frome minibuses also have their 669 service Shepton to Street under threat of having its Saturday funding withdrawn this will be a devasting blow to them if all of these routes are cut.

BUSES UNDER THREAT OF BEING CUT NEXT YEAR

 The affected services are listed below. SCC would like to consult with as many Somerset residents and groups as possible and we would be grateful for your views on these proposed changes before a final decision is taken by the Council early in 2016.
Route No Service Details Operator Days Operated Frequency Proposal
1 Yeovil – Shepton Mallet South West Coaches Mon – Sat 5 return journeys per day. Withdraw Saturday service – Mon to Fri services remain.
6 Bridgwater Town Service Bakers Dolphin Mon - Fri Hourly between 9am – 2pm Withdraw service – Alternative services are available within walking distance, and for those unable to access these, SCC’s demand responsive transport (Slinky service) and community transport is available.
16 Langport - Bridgwater Hatch Green Coaches Mon – Sat Every 2 hours Withdraw Saturday service and revise weekday timetable to remove 0715 journey from Bridgwater and 1800 journey from Huish Episcopi.
20 Seaton – Taunton Devon County Council (Stagecoach South West) Mon – Sat Every 3 hours Withdraw contribution to Devon CC for this service – Frequent services available between Wellington and Taunton. West Buckland could be served by the Slinky service if service 20 is withdrawn or re-routed.
22 Tiverton/Cullompton - Taunton Buses of Somerset Mon – Fri College days only Withdraw funding from July 2016. Service likely to continue to be provided commercially.
25 Taunton – Dulverton Buses of Somerset Mon – Sat Every 2 hours Withdraw all funding for this service – Service 25 will continue to operate commercially between Wiveliscombe and Taunton Mon to Sat. New reduced service to be introduced between Dulverton and Wiveliscombe to connect with service 25 Monday to Friday
29 Wells - Street - Taunton Buses of Somerset Mon –Sat 5 return journeys per day. Withdraw funding – peak service to continue to be provided on a commercial basis. Partial off peak service to be provided either commercially or through Demand Responsive Transport.
33 Wincanton – Frome South West Coaches Wed only 1 journey in each direction Withdraw service – Slinky service available
38 Huish Episcopi Extension Webberbus Mon - Fri College days only Re-route other existing public transport service to cover Huish Episcopi extension. Timetable revised accordingly.
40 Bridport – Yeovil Dorset County Council (Damory Coaches) Mon – Sat Every 2 hours Withdraw contribution to Dorset County Council for Saturday service – Mon to Fri service remains.
51 Stoke St. Gregory – Taunton Hatch Green Coaches Mon – Sat Every 2 hours Withdraw Saturday service – Mon to Fri services remain.
53/58 Warminster/Westbury - Frome Wiltshire County Council (Frome Minibuses) Mon – Sat Hourly Withdraw contribution to Wiltshire CC for Saturday service – Mon to Fri service remains.
67 Burnham on Sea – Wookey Hole Webberbus Mon – Sat 9 return jnys per day Withdraw minor funding contribution – Service to continue on fully commercial basis.
81 South Petherton – Yeovil South West Coaches Mon – Sat Hourly Withdraw funding – This may result in some reduction to the current timetable as funding supports two return journeys Monday to Saturday. The remainder of the service is commercial.
99 Chard – Yeovil Stagecoach South West Mon – Sat Hourly Reduce frequency on service between Yeovil and Chard.
113 Highbridge - Berrow Hatch Green Coaches Mon – Fri 5 return journeys per day. Withdraw service – Other public bus routes available within walking distance. Slinky service also available in the area.
158 Wincanton – Shaftesbury Dorset County Council
(South West Coaches) Mon – Sat 5 return journeys per day. Withdraw contribution to Dorset County Council for Saturday service – Mon to Fri services remain.
198 Minehead – Dulverton Webberbus Mon – Sat 5 return journeys per day. Service to be reduced and provided by smaller vehicle.
414/424 Frome – Midsomer Norton Frome Minibuses Mon – Sat Every 2 hours Withdraw Saturday service – Mon to Fri services remain.
667 Wincanton – Street Nippy Bus Mon – Sat Every 90 mins Withdraw Saturday service – Mon to Fri services remain.
668 Shipham – Street Bakers Coaches Mon – Fri 4 return journeys per day. Minor timetable revisions when contract is retendered in 2016.
669 Shepton Mallet – Street Frome Minibuses Mon – Sat Every 2 hours Withdraw Saturday service – Mon to Fri services remain.
776 Shepton Mallet – Midsomer Norton Hatch Green Coaches Mon – Sat 5 return journeys per day. Withdraw service – Other public bus routes available within walking distance. Slinky service also available in the area.
N9 Martock - Yeovil Nippy Bus Mon - Sat Hourly Withdraw funding from 0800 journey on Saturday. Mon – Fri service and balance of Saturday service remains.
N10C Stanchester School – Taunton Nippy Bus Mon – Fri One journey in each direction Withdraw funding from non-college day journeys. 

Bus deregulation 30 years on

On the 30th anniversary of bus deregulation, guest blogger Simon Norton, of Cambridgeshire CBT, looks at what effects it's had and sets out his priorities for reversing the current bus crisis.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the legislation that deregulated our buses, so it's an appropriate time to ask how they have fared since.
It's sometimes said that rail privatisation was intended to remove railways from politics. If so, it's failed -- they are now more of a political issue than they've been for decades. However, in these terms bus deregulation has been a resounding success: most of the media, politicians, and environmental and social campaigners, both nationally and locally, have all been silent (in some cases, no doubt, because they're unaware of the issue) as buses have been cut savagely.
Buses should be one of the most important political issues. Transport is so embedded into our society that its removal is a serious curtailment of people's civil liberties. Cars blight our communities with pollution, danger, congestion, noise and climate change emissions; but all too often escape to the countryside, whether to live or visit, demands - guess what? - a car.
But bus deregulation has stunted the development of effective user campaigns. Local authorities have abdicated the development of effective area-wide networks to commercial operators, who tend to concentrate on the most profitable routes. This makes campaigning for improvements like banging one's head against a brick wall. Many Local Transport Plans, for example, cover the whole gamut of transport issues except for what matters most to bus users; what local bus networks should look like and how often services should run.
With little support from other campaigners, bus users have suffered in silence as the Government has targeted some of its most vicious cuts on them. Some urban neighbourhoods are now isolated in the evenings and on Sundays, while there are fair sized villages where people can't even get to work for normal office hours. All this while the Government plans massive road widening, airport expansion, rail upgrades, and dedicated routes for cyclists and, yes, buses. But nothing is done for what bus users need most - the far cheaper goal of developing and maintaining a comprehensive network.
A few areas, such as Brighton & Hove, have managed to buck the trend. But, contrary to the stated expectations of some deregulation advocates, these positive results haven’t spread to other areas.
So, my priorities for change would be as follows:
1. Set up new bus partnerships in all parts of the country, to include local authorities, bus operators and bus users. They would have a statutory duty (and sufficient funding!) to procure a comprehensive bus network. At the very least, every village should have services to a nearby town at times suitable for work, school and shopping; and larger villages, urban neighbourhoods and major new developments should have regular services seven days a week, evenings included.
2. Require providers of facilities to take reasonable steps to provide for non-motorists, along the lines of existing legislation for disabled people. This would include the removal of funding from heritage attractions whose opening times don't align with transport availability (e.g. if they open only on Sundays in areas where buses only run Monday-to-Saturday).
3. Use a combination of revised planning guidance and a parking tax to give both new and existing developments incentives to cater for non-motorists.
4. Teach teenagers how to travel without relying on cars - instead using public transport, cycling and walking. Mind you, we'd probably need to train our teachers first. People taking driving tests should also have to show that they know how to travel without a car

A trip to London

Tracey and Emma went to London yesterday to attend Campaign for Better Transport's meeting at the House of Lords. We met politicians, academics and national campaigners. We wanted to find out more about the possible funding cuts for buses, the potential for regional devolution providing more powers to local authorities to regulate bus services and the upcoming founding of Campaign for Better Transport's South West offshoot.

Oh, and Tracey was almost ejected for wearing her Save Our Buses t-shirt - political slogans aren't allowed in parliament!

You can read the full story in this weeks Frome Standard on page 4 and Frome times on page 2

Joining Favbugs e mailing list

Favbug now have an e mailing list that will send you invites to our meetings and receive copies of our minutes etc. Just click on the link below

www.bit.ly/favbug-emails

Somerset puts down devoluttion marker

Somerset County Council and 19 partners across the region today outlined their case for a devolution deal which would benefit the South West and the whole of the UK.
A ‘Statement of Intent’ has been submitted to Government in response to its appetite to devolve powers and budgets from Westminster. With key themes of Economic growth; Health, social care and wellbeing; and Infrastructure and local resilience, the document is not a fully worked-up proposal, but sets the scene for discussions with Government about what powers could be devolved.
It has been prepared by Somerset and Devon local authorities and follows meetings held in August, kicked-off by a devolution summit organised by Somerset County Council. In total, 20 local partners are involved in the submission, which will have the support and endorsement of the business community through the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, which covers Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.
Cllr John Osman, Leader of the County Council, who called the initial August summit, said: “A lot of authorities have done a lot of work in a very short time to prepare this document – that’s another example of what can be achieved when authorities in the region pull together where we have common ground.
“These are very early stages, but we are ambitious and believe that devolution would help us create jobs, build the right infrastructure and make progress on key issues like health and social care integration.
“We have shared goals with our partners and will be working very closely with them in the coming weeks and months to move things forward.”
Speaking on behalf of Somerset’s five district councils, Cllr John Williams, Leader of Taunton Deane Borough Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for all Authorities across Somerset to accept devolved powers with budgets and demonstrate we can deliver improved outcomes for our community. In getting this joint statement together we have seen remarkable cross-Council and cross-border working. With those shared aims already evident it augurs well for the preparation of the fully worked up details for our devolution proposals yet to come.
This is all about Somerset Councils working together to maximise opportunities to enable us to punch above our weight. The level of cooperation between all Somerset Councils is to be applauded. We now have our statement of intent which sets out how we can take control of the all-important themes proposed and move to a fully worked up submission. The need to deliver better outcomes for our communities is paramount.”
Steve Hindley, chair of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership said: “The Heart of the South West LEP is delighted to be a partner alongside the local authorities in their proposed deal for devolution. We will be actively supporting and continuing to work with business to bring about step-change in investment to leverage transformational growth, generate more prosperity and unleashing the area’s economic potential.”
The Statement of Intent is now available on the Council’s website www.somerset.gov.uk/devolution
The partners involved in the devolution Statement of Intent are as follows:

• Heart of the South West LEP
• Somerset County Council
• Somerset’s district and borough councils: Mendip, Sedgemoor, South Somerset, Taunton Deane and West Somerset
• Devon County Council
• Devon’s district and borough councils: East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge and West Devon
• Plymouth City Council
• Exeter City Council
• Torbay Council
• Exmoor National Park
• Dartmoor National Park

Notes:
The Government has declared its desire to devolve powers and budgets from Westminster to local authorities. It expects any devolution proposals to reflect Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) boundaries and be supported by each area’s LEP.
If an area’s devolution plans include something that the Spending Review might focus on, for instance better use of public assets, then interest should be expressed by 4 September, though this is not a deadline for a fully worked-up devolution proposal.
The Leader of Somerset County Council organised a devolution summit on 5 August, which was attended by almost all South West local authority Leaders and Chief Executives. Somerset’s Leaders and Chief Executives met on 18 August and a similar meeting took place between Devon local authorities on 20 August.
It was agreed that they work together and with the LEP to put together a Statement of Intent/expression of interest.

Temporary bus stop in Dinder

This our temporary bus stop for the little people of Dinder. I know that Scc are pleading poverty but this is ridiculous.


                                         

Favbug wants to hear your problems using the 162 and 161 along with 184 and 173/174

Favbug would like to hear about any problems on the Frome to Wells via Shepton route and the Frome to Bath via Midsomer Norton route.
Favbug wants to know if you are finding it harder to get to and from work or school do the buses connect well, do you have long enough to spend for a day out etc along with the overall cost. Please leave  a comment as we can use them for a case study.

Utter madness

We used to have a bus every hour to Bath now we have 2 buses in an hour. If you miss one bus you have 10 minutes to catch the next. If you are unlucky enough to miss both buses you have to wait an hour, walk or get a taxi.
Whilst Rode has been cut from the route for most of the day to save 5 minutes off the journey time

Front page of the Standard

Well done Rode campaigners, you made front page of the Frome standard along with a lovely spread on page 4.




                                   

To help confused Bus users living along Green lane in Frome

Bus users it is only Faresaver that has stopped operating along Green lane, you can still catch First bus from Green lane.

Rode village mourning the loss of the 267

                                   Mourning the passing of the 267. Anticipating the rebirth.






250 people gathered in Rode village on the 22/8/15 to mourn the loss of 267 bus service between Frome and Bath via Rode Village . First  bus will be reducing their 267 from 52 buses passing through the village of Rode to just six a day from August 23. This will leave Rode village cut of at certain times of the day from Frome and Bath.

162 timetable + 161 connections

The new timetable for Frome Minibuses 162 service is now online, also showing the connecting First journeys to/from Wells. See www.fromeminibuses.co.uk for more details

Good news for 161 and 162 commuters

For the first time ever bus users can commute from Frome to Shepton and Wells.
You can now catch the 162 at 0710 Monday to Saturday  from Frome market to arrive in Shepton at 0759 . If you want to travel onto  Wells you can connect to the 161 at 0808 Monday to Friday that arrives in Wells by 0828 or the 0815 on a Saturday that arrives in Wells by 0833. To connect with the 1825 which is the last bus back to Frome from Shepton you will have to catch the 1645 or the 1755 from Wells bus station.

Bus passes

You can use bus passes on Libra travels 184.

Protesting in Bath

This morning around 20 residents from Rode village travelled to Bath bus station to protest against the proposed cuts to the 267 through their village on the 23rd August. Cllr Adam Boyden came along to offer protesters his support.

UPDATE FOR 162 FROME to SHEPTON SERVICE

Somerset county council jumped the gun slightly and sent out the 162 timetable before Frome minibuses had a chance to finalise their timetable.
The new timetable will be available at Frome councils info desk this afternoon and on the Frome minibuses website in the next couple of days.

Changes to bus services along the Butts Frome

Faresaver and First bus plan to make some changes in August that will affect the Butts area of Frome the changes are as follows.
First bus will be cutting their 161 service on the 23rd.
Faresaver  will be operating their 267 on an hourly service to take in the Butts.
Faresaver plan to cut their x34 service to Sainsbury's on the 1st September so will no longer operate along the Butts after that date.
With cuts to both the 161 and the x34 their will be no buses on a Saturday.


Frome Minibuses 80 service Bath - Shaftesbury operates to Sainsburys so may be a lifeline to bus users living along the Butts on a Saturday
Frome Sainsbury's to Cork St  1017  1417
Cork St to Sainsbury's  1210  1630

Crippling bus cuts to the 161 and 184

First bus have decided to withdraw two of their  bus services from within Frome with devastating consequences for bus users. Frome will lose two of their Saturday bus services on the 161 and 184 routes.
Cuts to the 161 will see the loss of 6 buses a day along with another 13 buses on the 184 bus route. Cuts to both bus services will leave bus users living between Frome and Shepton and Frome and Radstock without a bus service over the weekend or 3 days during a bank holiday period.


Paying bus users will be hit the hardest as they will have to pay to use more than one bus to complete the full bus journey on the 161 and 184 routes. Anyone that works during a weekend will be left without a bus service to get them to work. A lot of working families only get to spend time together at the weekend if they don't drive how  can they enjoy a day out together without a bus service. Bus users wont be able to visit sick or elderly relatives, so their relatives will be left to feel lonely and isolated from their loved ones. Bus users will know longer be able to visit Frome or Wells market which is one of the busiest days of the week in both areas. Bus users living in Coleford, Holcombe, Mells, Stratton -on- the-Fosse and Great Elm will have to take 3 bus journeys to get to their major hospital for appointments a major headache for those feeling unwell. The new operator of the 184 bus service have  cut their  service to Frome's Sainsbury's as it will now terminate at Frome market place. Cutting Sainsbury's from the 184 route will mean that villagers will struggle to buy the basics unless they take 2 bus journeys, the smaller stores in Frome market place don't carry a wide range of products.


Favbug did some research for usage of the 161 last year and we found that the 11am, 1pm and 3pm buses were the busiest times. It would take 2 buses to save the Saturday 161 if they ran them at 11am and 1pm. Their must be quieter times during the week were buses could of been cut back to help to save Saturday bus services on both bus routes.
Instead of cutting both bus services on a Saturday without any kind of consultation a better solution could of been found if the bus users themselves had been consulted.

UPDATE FOR 161 AND 184 BUS USERS

 SCC  have agreed interim funding for the Monday to Friday services of both routes, the 161 replacement from Shepton Mallet to Frome will be called 162 and operated by Frome Minibuses. The 184 replacement from Frome to Midsomer Norton will be operated by Libra Travel.

Unfortunately we do not have the funds to provide a Saturday service as well. The funds agreed for Monday to Friday are in place until 31/05/16, during the period between now and then Somerset County Council will be reviewing everything it funds, including all bus services, as part of the on-going effort to save approximately £30m due to reductions in the Government funding we receive.

 

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Meeting in Shepton

The Don't Cut Us Off! Meeting took place at Mendip District Council Chamber on 3rd August to discuss concerns over impending cuts to First bus services. You can read the minutes here.

Frome protesters in action

More support for our campaign

FAVBUG and the Don't Cut Us Off campaign were out in force at the Cheese and Grain in Frome last Tuesday, when Green Party leader Natalie Bennett came to speak about green issues, including the importance of reliable affordable public transport.

We ran a stall to give out information about the cuts to bus services and collect signatures for the petition being sent to Somerset County Council. We had a lot of interest and many signatures!

Here's Natalie and Frome's Green Party parliamentary candidate, Rode-born Theo Simon, with Lucy Travis of FAVBUG and the Don't Cut Us Off Campaign in Rode.

Please keep spreading the word about this campaign!

POSSIBLE GOOD NEWS FOR 161 AND 184 BUS USERS?

Encouraging news on alternative service providers for bus routes 161 and 184. These routes are currently out to tender, which close next week. There are numerou...s applicants, some of whom are said to be very keen. David Warburton, our MP, has been working on this with FAVBUG, First Bus and Somerset County Council, and has held talks with other providers

UPDATE FROM FIRST BUS IN THE BATH CHRONICLE

161 – Wells – Shepton Mallet
First have undertaken a comprehensive review of the Service 161. There will be significant changes to the route and timetable from 23 August:
- The five buses a day that run between Frome & Shepton Mallet will be withdrawn. Somerset County Council are investigating the impact this will have before making a decision on how best to proceed.
- The route from Shepton Mallet to Frome represented less than 10% of the passenger numbers on the 161 yet cost up to 50% of the resources required to run the service.
- The 161 will operate every 60 minutes throughout the day Monday – Saturday
- A new Sunday & Public Holiday service is being introduced which will operate every 60 minutes approximately between 10:00 & 18:00. A later last journey will operate, this will depart Wells at 19:35 these changes are being made in response to numerous requests from local residents and the town council.
There will be significant route changes to the 161.
- The 161 will no longer serve Dinder and instead operate direct along the A371, improving journey times. This section long suffered low customer use as well as difficult and challenging road layouts.
- On the outskirts of Shepton Mallet the 161 will no longer serve Pike Hill. This change will allow access to Shepton Mallet Community Hospital.
- From the cenotaph the 161 will operate an anti-clockwise loop via Canards Grave Road, Whitstone Road, Charlton Street & Paul Street. This new link will provide access to the Mendip District Council offices, Park Medical Practice, Shepton Mallet Leisure Centre as well as many residential areas.
- From the cenotaph the 161 will then operate via Weston Shepton Road, Old Wells Road and St Peters Road before joining the A371 towards

184 – Bath – Frome : withdrawn
The 184 will be withdrawn on 23 August and is replaced in part by other services.
- The introduction of new Service 174 combined with services 173, 178 and 379 means the current frequency will maintained between Bath & Radstock.
- Customers in Chilcompton will be able to use service 173 for direct journeys to Midsomer Norton, Radstock & Bath.
- Customers in Stratton-on-the-Fosse will be able to use new service 174 for direct journeys to Radstock & Bath.
There will be no First service to Holcombe, Coleford, Mells and Great Elm. First have worked closely with Somerset County Council throughout the decision making process, they are currently investigating the impact of the changes before deciding how further to proceed

267 – Bath – Frome: fewer services from Rode
To continue operating the 267, the difficult decision has been taken to remove some journeys from the village of Rode.
- The 06:11, 07:16 and 08:17 Monday – Friday departures from Frome will operate via Rode.
- The 17:10 & 18:10 departures from Bath will also operate via Rode.
- On Saturdays the 07:22 & 08:22 departures from Frome and the 17:10 & 18:10 departures from Bath will operate via Rode.
All remaining journeys will operate via the A36 between Woolverton & Beckington. This will create a quicker, more direct service for customers, this change also allows First to remove one bus from the operating pattern.
These changes will make the 267 financially sustainable and secure its continued operation.

CHANGES TO FARESAVERS x34 and 267 bus service from August 23rd

It has just been confirmed by Somerset county council that Faresaver will no longer be running the x34 to Sainsbury's from the 1st  September.


Faresaver will be changing the route of their 267 from the 23rd of August the new route is as follows.


Bath-Dorchester street, Broad  Quay (Back-Ambury, Corn street, St James Parade) Lower Bristol Road, Wells Road, Bear Flat, Wellsway, Midford Road, A367 Midford, Hinton Charterhouse, Norton ST Phillip, Woolverton, Beckington, Oldford, Frome, Bath Road, Princess Anne Road, Stonebridge Drive, Brunel way, Clink Road, Berkley Road, Rodden Road, Frome Medical centre, Rodden Road, Berkley Road, Northparade, Market place, Broadway, Oakfield, Critchill Road, (whitewell, Green lane, Weymouth Road to Frome Mkt place) Marston Lane, Sandys hill lane, Marston Road, The Butts, Butts Hill, Wesley slope, Bath Road to Frome Market


267 Buses before 9 am will carry on running on the present route of Critchill road, Whitewell, Green lane, Weymouth road to Frome market place.
267 buses after 9am will run from Critchill road, Marston lane, Marston road, the Butts, Butts hill, Wesley slope, Bath road to Frome market.
So bus users along Critchill will be able to access Sainsbury's and users living along the Butts will still be able to access the Gp surgery and Frome hospital.

161 BUS USERS BE PREPARED TO PROTEST AGAIN IN SHEPTON

161 bus users from Frome and other areas along the 161 will you be willing to back Favbug for a second time and travel with us to Shepton to help to save the 161 bus service.
Favbug will be teamed up with the newly formed Shepton and villages bus users group Savbug to fight to save the 161 do us proud bus users and stand behind both groups.
As soon as I get a date for the Shepton protest I will update you.

INSTEAD OF CUTTING BUS SERVICES TALK TO BUS USERS FIRST AS A COMPROMISE CAN BE FOUND

Bus operators instead of making cuts or making drastic alterations to bus routes, talk to your clients as they are the ones who use your services.
Most bus users would be happy to talk to you  about ways to improve your bus services if you would just listen to them.
Bus users don't want to lose their bus service and you don't want to lose your customers so just sit down and work with us as a compromise can usually be found.

HUGE THANK YOU TO BUS USERS

I would just like to say a huge thank you to all bus users who gave up their  Saturday morning to join Favbug at the Frome bus protest.


161 bus users we might have to ask you to be willing to join us over in Shepton when they have their protest. We are fighting to save the same bus so I hope that Frome's bus users will be willing to travel across to Shepton to help to protest over their as well or w could lose the link between Frome, Shepton and Wells for good.

BUS USERS VIEWS OF HOW THE CUTS WILL AFFECT YOU

Can bus users please email your thoughts on the bus cuts FAO Sam on news@frometimes.co.uk as he would love to hear your views

FOLLOW BUS CAMPAIGN GROUPS ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

Bus users can follow local campaigners on Facebook for regular updates and to comment on what is being said by following:


Fav bug             https://www.facebook.com/favbug
Don't cut us off group https://www.facebook.com/groups/dontcutusoff
Save the Rode 267 https://www.facebook.com/groups/228718297320512/


You can also follow us on Twitter
@FAVBUG
@Savethe267bus
#SaveFromesBuses
#Saveourbuses
# CTBW ( Catch the Bus week )

NEW x34 TIMETABLE IS NOW ONLINE

The new x34 timetable that will be replacing the 234 timetable is now online. The glaringly obvious thing that you will see is the fact that their are no buses after 17.30.
Bus users who are unhappy with these changes need to contact David Fothergill the head of public transport and David Wwarburton Mp. Details for both can be found in the section who to complain to. Please send individual letters or e mails to both as they need to see the strength of public feeling about these changes.

BUSES AXED SO FAR

234 being replaced by Faresaver Mon - Sat
30 Frome local service being replaced by Frome minibuses
161 Frome to Shepton being replaced by ?
267 To Rode village service reduced
184 Frome to Bath via Radstock  being replaced by ?


David Warburton confirmed cuts to the 161 between Frome and Shepton so far NO other operator has been found to take over the route. The 267 is going to be cut from Rode village for a second time this time possibly for good.

BUS USERS UNITE AND GET READY TO PROTEST TO SAVE VITAL BUS SERVICES

BUS USERS UNITE
Bus users across several areas will need your help to protest. RODE, FROME and SHEPTON could be about to lose bus services.
It might not be affecting you personally as your bus might not be one of the ones that is being cut or the bus is not being cut in your area. How would you feel if it was your bus that was being cut and know one was going to help you to save it. If ONE BUS is CUT it is one to many, once a bus is CUT you cant get it BACK!
please help the RODE campaigners, FAV BUG and the SHEPTON campaigners to insure that NO BUSES are CUT.

How bus Cuts will affect ROGE VILLAGERS

Tomorrow could see the loss of a vital bus service in Somerset but local residents of Rode are fighting back.

Lucy Travis‎Save the Rode 267

Just wanted to thank everyone for sending in example of how Rode people and Rode connected people are affected by the withdrawal of the 267
Here are just a few... examples: 1/4 of staff at ChoconChoc (one of the main businesses in Rode) travel by the 267 including their Office Manager.

Two of Rode School teachers are also affected as use the bus too.
Children who go to school in Bath whose parents chose the school as there was bus service to Bath.
Commuters to Bath who may have to look for other jobs as have no alternative travel options e.g one car household / don't drive etc..
Also some people are also contemplating having to leave Rode village as they need a bus to get to Bath for family issues and the shops. Or people who can't drive due to ill health and need a bus..
People in Woolverton won't have safe bus service to use either as its impossible to cross the A36 especially if you are young and old.
Still on the look out for how people who are affected by the 267 bus withdrawal by First. Particularly on the look out still for people who go to the RUH or another hospital regularly so if you know anyone (appreciate most of the older generation aren't always on facebook).

WHO TO COMPLIAN TO ABOUT CUTS TO BUS SERVICES

Who to COMPLAIN to about cuts to Bus services:
If you have any complaints you wish to make about cuts to your bus services please write to the COUNCILLOR IN CHARGE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT at the address below.

David Fothertill
Somerset county council
County hall
Taunton
TA1 4DY
Telephone 01823 443740
Mobile 07765 256256
E-Mail DJAFothergill@somerset.gov.uk


MP FOR SOMERTON AND FROME
David Warburton
13 Stony Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BU
01373 580500
david@davidwarburton.org.uk


MP FOR WELLS
James Heappey
3cTown street
Shepton Mallet
BA4 5BD
01749 343255 they have a temporary office number of 01749 675542 as they are having problems with their phone line should be sorted soon.
james@jamesheappey.org.uk


Write letters to the local press
SOMERSET STANDARD
letters to: editor@fromestandard.co.uk
FROME TIMES
news@frometimes.co.uk
BATH CHRONICLE
 Letters to the editorEmail: letters@bathchron.co.uk
Telephone: 01225 322274
Mp's can also be contacted at
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Rode in peril again

FIRST BUS TO END RODE’S 267 .. YES AGAIN!
Without any consultation, First Bus are rushing through plans to end Rode’s 267. We lose it on August 21st.
This after First has already announced they’re ending their 234 bus service to Rode on August 2nd. Again without any consultation.
Rode is a major Somerset village and a primary village in Mendip. Very many people who live in Rode need to travel by bus to Bath for work, study, medical treatment, rail connections as well as to shop or just to go out in an evening. It’s their only way of getting to Bath.
This village therefore must have a direct bus link with Bath.
That’s our message to First Bus … and it’ll be our message to Somerset County Council too.
Already our County Councillor, Linda Oliver, and our MP, David Warburton, have offered Rode their full support in this battle.
Last year after the village-wide protest, First Bus was forced to reinstate our 267, at the time First Bus said to us “Use it or Lose it” .. Well we did use it and yet we are to lose it. Not that First Bus knows just how much we used it, as their data collection on bus passengers in Rode is totally flawed. They have been only counting Rode as the last bus stop in the village on the way out to Bath. So alot of the tickets in Rode are marked from the neigbouring village Beckington (even though the bus stops are definitely in Rode Beckington is 1.5 miles away). We have given First Bus numerous incorrect tickets (some saying Frome when getting on at Rode heading to Bath). We collected incorrect tickets for about 3 or 4 months but that has now stopped. However, as I was talking to someone yesterday she produced an incorrect ticket from yesterday.
Also if you are travelling with a weekly or monthly bus pass or a school pass then your journey isn't recorded. It is only recorded once when you purchase the bus pass not every time you use the bus. Alot of people have these in Rode and don't always purchase them in Rode! First also don't count the passenger footfall off the bus at a stop.
Also we have conducted our own bus user survey last year of everyone getting on and off the bus for a two week period. Rode is the biggest village for people using the bus between Frome and Bath. So we need to fight this. We need to get even more support than last time. .And we need your help!
If Rode looses it bus to Bath, the nearest bus stop to Rode is over a mile away down some busy country roads with no footpaths or street lights and having to cross the extremely busy A36. Rode needs its bus service to Bath as walking to another village isn't an option especially for the young and old but for anyone.
There’s a petition to sign (we need as many signatures as possible) .. It’s already in the Rode Post Office and we’ll get it to all the Rode pubs as soon as possible. We will also put it online too. We will do a leaflet drop this week around Rode.
A protest is planned for July 4th at Rode Post Office, High Street at 1045. We need even more support than last year at the protest! Please come along and support our bus service as this could happen to a service near you soon! We will invite the media to this.
Please note we aren't contacting the media at this stage while we ramp up our campaign. Please don't contact them on our behalf. If you have any connection please let me know. Our 267 bus campaign team will contact the media in due course.
And if you haven't seen this video this shows how much Rode's people care about their bus service to Bath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZzZjjaQHeU
Also if you are travelling with a weekly or monthly bus pass or a school pass then your journey isn't recorded. It is only recorded once when you purchase the bus pass not every time you use the bus. Alot of people have these in Rode and don't always purchase them in Rode! First also don't count the passenger footfall off the bus at a stop.
Also we have conducted our own bus user survey last year of everyone getting on and off the bus for a two week period. Rode is the biggest village for people using the bus between Frome and Bath. So we need to fight this. We need to get even more support than last time. .And we need your help!
If Rode looses it bus to Bath, the nearest bus stop to Rode is over a mile away down some busy country roads with no footpaths or street lights and having to cross the extremely busy A36. Rode needs its bus service to Bath as walking to another village isn't an option especially for the young and old but for anyone.
There’s a petition to sign (we need as many signatures as possible) .. It’s already in the Rode Post Office and we’ll get it to all the Rode pubs as soon as possible. We will also put it online too. We will do a leaflet drop this week around Rode.
A protest is planned for July 4th at Rode Post Office, High Street at 1045. We need even more support than last year at the protest! Please come along and support our bus service as this could happen to a service near you soon! We will invite the media to this.
Please note we aren't contacting the media at this stage while we ramp up our campaign. Please don't contact them on our behalf. If you have any connection please let me know. Our 267 bus campaign team will contact the media in due course.
And if you haven't seen this video this shows how much Rode's people care about their bus service to Bath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZzZjjaQHeU


WE NEED YOU.
We will be writing letters to people with a position of influence e.g the Chair of First Group Can you suggest any key stakeholders or people we can write to?
If anyone has any influence or connections with First Bus, County Councils, or any key stakeholders or companies or people of influence etc would be good to hear from you. Do you know them personally so can write on our behalf? Please PM me if you can help.
Can you ‘Tweet and or post a message to a ‘Facebook group or your news feed to spread the word to make First and others aware of our campaign.
New hashtag for the campaign on Facebook and Twitter is ‪#‎SaveTheRode267Bus‬
If you are on Twitter please follow us and send us a Tweet on @Savethe267bus
Faceboook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/228718297320512/
Save our 267
@SAVETHE267BUS

GOOD NEWS FOR 234 AND 30 BUS UERS after FIRST BUS ANOUNCE CUTS TO BOTH SERVICES

First bus will be deregulating the 234 and 30 services at the beginning of August.
Good News For 30 users
Frome minibuses are proposing to take over the Monday to Friday route as it is at present from early August.

Good news for 234 users
Good news from Faresaver Facebook Page. Faresaver would like to announce that having recently heard the news that First Bus are cancelling the 234 service from Chippenham to Frome via Melksham and Trowbridge, we have been working hard to ensure that there will be a comprehensive service on this corridor from 2 August 2015. Our existing service is already double the frequency of the old First service i.e. mainly half hourly.
We have now registered some additional journeys with the authorities which includes a Saturday service and servicing Rode on an hourly basis. The timetable is 'fresh off the press' and subject to confirmation from The Traffic Commisioner's office. As soon as we get acceptance, we will upload a draft copy to our website

Minutes from meeting 22nd April

The latest FAVBUG meeting took place on 22 April.

You can read the minutes here.

Good news for Somerset Crowd funding reached its target

Great news in just 29 days!
Now the Campaign for Better Transport who have backed our highly successful "DON'T CUT US OFF!" campaign across Somerset have reached the target they set to help us bring back our essential bus services across the County.
Now the campaign, led by Martin Abrams who attended last month's packed bus meeting in the Mendip Council Chamber in Shepton, will head to six key areas to give local groups workshops on the key, proven things we can do to save and expand our buses services. Now that the target has been achieved, Martin and his team will be able to go across the country to help save buses in the most badly affected areas of North Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, Powys, Bolton, Hampshire and right here in Somerset.
The Campaign for Better Transport have a great track record of over 30 years of campaigning for better bus and train services in the UK and their inspiring workshops have helped save and bring back many bus routes across the UK.
Every pound of the £5046 raised will be kindly match-funded by the Foundation for Integrated Transport, so everything everyone has given will make double the difference to us here in Somerset!
Garfield Kennedy, one of the founders of the "Don't Cut Us Off!" campaign says: "Saving all our Saturday buses from the cuts that Somerset County Council were threatening us with, was just the start. The well-attended meeting in March in Shepton proved that we can't let the market towns and surrounding villages in Somerset be cut off at weekends, or in the mornings or evenings. It's a lack of imagination and a false economy to slash these essential services, and we intend to challenge the administration in County Hall who are letting down the old and young, and all those who either cannot use or choose not to use cars to get about.
Together with the Campaign for Better Transport and the Don't Cut Us Off! Campaign we are en route to making a real difference to public transport in our poorly served County!"


£5,046.25 raised of £5,000 target

news article as part of Dont cut us off campaign

The "Don’t Cut Us Off!" campaign wish to thank all those who attended the Public Meeting last Thursday to discuss the future of bus services in Somerset. We are especially grateful to Martin Abrams from the national Campaign for Better Transport who travelled from London to take part in the debate.

The meeting was held at Mendip District Council Chamber (under the auspices of Shepton Mallet Town Council) and it addressed the poor level of public transport provision in Somerset.

When the County Council recently made a direct threat to remove all the Saturday bus services to and from Shepton (and take away support for many other routes across Somerset) we formed the "Don’t Cut Us Off!" pressure group. If the threat had been carried out it would have cut off the town and nearby villages from early Friday evening to mid-morning Monday.

The campaign combined forces with the Frome and Villages Bus Users’ Group and made enough of a fuss to encourage 1500 people to send letters and survey forms (and petitions) to their County Councillors. For now, Shepton’s buses have been saved, but others weren’t so fortunate in Bridgwater and Weston-super-Mare.

We now want to widen the Don’t Cut Us Off campaign to include Glastonbury, Street, Wells and settlements across the whole of Somerset. We know that we all have similar issues.

Of course the ultimate irony is that bus users from further afield couldn’t get to and from Shepton to attend last week’s meeting since we have no evening bus services.

There is no magic wand to wave away the many problems raised at the meeting, but we sense that we could iron out the most glaring illogicalities if we joined forces – as we did when we prevented the closure of libraries across the county. 　

We see a combination of local intelligent tinkering – involving listening to bus users' experiences and suggestions, bringing bus companies together, involving our County politicians and just as important, working with others like the Campaign for Better Transport to apply pressure at national level to change policy since our local situation is a reflection of a countrywide problem. 　

It was obvious from the meeting that unchecked market forces aren't delivering the services that the public has a right to expect. Our hope is that a middle way can be found where core routes are made to match need.

We believe it is possible to address the most glaring issues - like the utter stupidity of buses arriving in Wells two minutes after "connecting" buses leave for Bristol, the lack of any service to match the start and end of work and college days, the lack of routes that connect logically with hospitals and rail stations, the lack of Sunday services, the lack of evening services (to make it possible to enjoy entertainment, cinema etc), better indication of routes on the sides of buses, and improved and integrated timetables and simplified cross-company ticketing. 　

In this era of sophisticated IT systems, it is unacceptable that nothing can be done to vastly improve connections and services to mesh with the lives of our citizens. Continuing to run down our arterial buses in our rural communities flies in the face of the increasing demand for services to connect an expanding population; it fails to address a reduction in our carbon footprint; it wastes public money (since Somerset County Council is throwing money at a broken system that they have failed to manage), and it damages our local and national economy, cutting people off from jobs, and isolating individuals and communities.

We have no easy one-solution-fits-all answer other than a distinct feeling that buses are not used by those who legislate and that the dog's breakfast of services that we currently have is probably the worst way to serve the public outside of a third world country.

At last week’s public meeting, Martin Abrams quoted the former mayor of Bogota in Colombia, Enrique Peñalosa: "An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but rather one where even the rich use public transport". Rural Somerset and Somerset County Council could learn from that!

Garfield Kennedy, Chris Inchley & Tracey Harding

for the "Don’t Cut Us Off!" Campaign

Don't cut us off letter to the press

The “Don't Cut Us Off!” campaign to improve our bus services is astonished that Somerset County Council cannot find a senior elected representative to attend the important 5th March public meeting in Shepton Mallet to discuss the future bus timetable that meets the needs of Somerset residents and visitors.

We now call upon the County Council to supply a Corporate Manager for Transport to attend the 5th March meeting, as the political representatives deem it not important enough to make time to hear the views of the travelling public and the bus companies. 

Most of our county’s towns and villages do not have bus services that meet need. But it is impossible to improve public transport if those who make decisions, like the leader and transport portfolio holder, essentially sit with their fingers in their ears unwilling to listen to users.  We do however note that the transport portfolio holder has offered to meet with Shepton Mallet Town Council, but will not engage with the people of Somerset who actually need and use the buses.

The Don't Cut Us Off! campaign wants to improve the existing timetable and the routes that buses take.  We want up-to-date data on bus usage to be collected and analyzed to identify the real needs of users (and potential users). This can then be used to target bus subsidies more effectively to improve services. We want to set up a countywide forum of users, bus operators and the County Council. These stakeholders would then be well placed to deliver improvements in service that would provide buses routes and integrated timetables that are closely matched to the lives of users.  If optimized timetables make routes more popular then this will also increase revenue to bus operators. Ultimately this could even reduce the need for public subsidies.

Not unreasonably, we expect better from our political leaders than sitting in a corner saying they don't want to listen to the ordinary people of Somerset.  We expect those who control the public purse to use the limited money available to best advantage. This campaign has found that the public is eager to help the County Council to achieve this.

So come on, councillors!  It’s time to rise to the occasion on the 5th of March and engage with younger, older, disabled, less-well-off, carbon footprint-aware, occasional, regular and future bus users.

Sarah Bolton

Tracey Harding

Chris Inchley

Garfield Kennedy

Derek Tanswell

Sharon Snook

for the “Don’t Cut Us Off!” Campaign

WE HAVE WON

It has just been officially announced by Somerset county council that they will not be making any cuts to their Saturday bus services next may. 




Well done to all bus users who took part in the consultation along with campaigners especially Emma Russel ( Frome ) and Sarah Bolton ( Shepton Mallet ) who like myself spent hours out in the cold to inform bus users about the councils consultation and gathering  usage figures. Huge thank you to Counilors  Garfield Kennedy ( Shepton Mallet ) and Derek Tanswell ( Frome ) for putting a strong case  forward to scc on our behalf.

Press release from the Don't Cut Us Off Campaign

Somerset County council have confirmed that they will be funding all of their Saturday bus services, check local press for more details.


Thank you everyone who took part in the councils consultation and all who have been campaigning hard to make this happen.

DONT CUT US OFF Article in Shepton Journal

The “Don't Cut Us Off” campaign welcomes the news that the County Council will not remove the bus services on a Saturday in and out of Shepton. We would like to thank all those people that took part in the consultation and those who lobbied the County Council.

The Don't Cut Us Off campaign recognises that without public and bus user pressure the County Council would not have removed the threat of bus services being axed; this against a backdrop of poor advertising and the silence of our county councillor in regard to the bus consultation.

During the process of our campaign we have discovered many deficiencies in our bus timetable that fail to respond to the travelling public’s needs.  This includes timetabling that does not allow connections to railway stations, and bus services that do not connect with other bus services.  One example of this being buses to Wells that do not connect at the bus station, but force the travelling public to run to make connections elsewhere in Wells to get to Bath and Bristol.

The supporters of Don't Cut Us Off are disappointed that all Conservatives voted against the Town Council motion that included holding a meeting between the County Council, bus operators and the people of our town and surrounding areas to discuss better timetabling.  Fortunately the motion was carried on the chairman’s casting vote, so the planned meeting will go ahead and be announced in the Journal soon.

Most people agree that the current timetable does not meet the aspirations of this town.  The County Council effectively subsidises bus operators for running services that do not meet the needs of our community.  This is a waste of subsidy and an abuse of public money.  We want bus operators to earn their subsidy and this would include helping to design a better timetable and promotion of integrated bus services matched to need.

This reprieve of services is welcome, but the complacent relationship that has allowed bus services in our town to fail to serve our community must end. The Don't Cut Us Off campaign calls on all stakeholders to improve public transport, with greater integration of routes and better use of subsidy.  

proposals made at Shepton Mallet meeting

AGENDA ITEM – THE IMMINENT THREAT TO SATURDAY BUS SERVICES TO AND FROM SHEPTON MALLET

Proposed by Cllr Chris Inchley and Seconded by Cllr Garfield Kennedy

THE CONTEXT

This council notes that Somerset County Council has conducted a consultation on bus subsidies that finished in the Christmas holiday period. 

This town council is deeply concerned by the County Council’s proposals to withdraw funding to our local bus services on Saturdays, adding to the already damaging cuts to Sunday and evening weekday services.

For many in our community and the surrounding villages, buses are lifelines for many – including vulnerable people, the young and old and those who either chose not to drive or cannot afford to own a vehicle.

This council finds it unacceptable for our town and our community not to have important arterial public transport links on Saturday.  This council notes that this town will suffer more from the proposed cuts to subsidies to ensure the provision of essential bus services due to our already poor public transport service provision, and the lack of many facilities in the town (including entertainment venues, year round public swimming pool and a limited retail offering).

Shepton Mallet has many villages surrounding the town, yet the town and the nearby villages have the worst provision of public transport services of all neighbouring Somerset settlements (including Wells, Frome, Glastonbury, Street, Yeovil, Midsomer Norton etc).  Regular and reliable public transport links should be seen as an investment for economic renewal for our town centre and for the wellbeing of those living, working and visiting here.  Removal of services will have a negative effect on business. Surveys conducted by the national “Better Transport” group has shown that every pound spent on the support of vital bus links will pay back between £3 - £5 in economic benefit to communities.

OUR RESOLUTION

“Shepton Mallet Town Council calls upon Somerset County Council to provide sufficient funding from the money already given to them by central government for community transport links, and from the County’s substantial reserves, to allow residents that need reliable bus services to other towns and the City of Wells for work, leisure or to access essential public services.  With a population of nearly 10,500, Shepton citizens do not deserve to be cut off all weekend.  We ask that public transport services should be based on a timetable to meet the needs of a growing town, including the reinstatement of evening weekday services.

Shepton Mallet Town Council further calls on Somerset County Council to conduct a new more widely publicized consultation, and to request that the County commission an independent economic impact study on the wider effects of losing or curtailing our Saturday bus services.

Shepton Mallet Town Council also formally invites Somerset County Council councillors and officers, bus operators, a representative of the “Better Transport” campaign group, local MPs and prospective Parliamentary candidates, District and Town Councillors and the community to a widely advertised public meeting to establish a bus timetable that meets the needs of our community now and into the future.”

Minutes for meeting on 14th January

At this meeting we were joined by all five Prospective Parliamentary Candidates for the Somerton and Frome constituency, councillors Garfield Kennedy and Chris Inchley from Shepton Mallet who are involved in the campaign to save the Saturday services from Somerset County Council's subsidy cuts, Peter Travis of the Rode 267 campaign, and Victoria Flynn, representing Tessa Munt, MP for Wells. 

CANDIDATES' THOUGHTS

Each of the PPCs gave their thoughts on the local situation for bus services, and buses as a public service:

David Warbuton (Conservative)

David has spoken to James Freeman, the Managing Director of First Bus, who has said that the 267 (Frome-Bath) is not currently profitable. First will be reviewing the route, and attempting to boost usage. He says they would like to consult properly with users next time, following the protests which followed their last cuts to the 267 route. The Rode leg of the route is not currently under threat. The withdrawal of Somerset County Council funding to the 161, however, will mean that that Saturday service will be cut. David has also spoken to John Osman at the council, and discussed the possibility of DRS (Demand Response Services) providing an alternative to those services which will disappear. 

John Freeman is currently recruiting to replaces Jon Barnard, who was formerly managing routes in this region. He would be willing to come to FAVBUG meetings, and is interested in community feedback. John has also indicated that there will be communication between First Bus and First Great Western with the goal of greater integration between bus and rail services. 

David Rendell (Liberal Democrat)

David congratulated the group on its proactive approach, and commented that monitoring bus usage was particularly useful. He said we need to prove to bus companies that services are capable of being profitable. The response to the council's consultation which we took steps to bring to the public's attention also sounds promising. 

David Oakensen (Labour)

David argued that the problem with local bus services is the lack of money being made available to councils - a 40% reduction in local authority funding since the Coalition government took power at the start of this Parliament. Also, the Conservative-led Somerset County Council will not increase council tax to increase revenues - this has a proportionally greater benefit for richer people. The result of such cuts across all services is that groups such as ourselves fighting for public services and representing vulnerable people are in effect fighting each other for a dwindling pot of money - if any of us succeed in saving a service it means that another service elsewhere will be cut. 

Theo Simon (Green Party)

Theo applauded FAVBUG working with campaigners from Rode and Shepton Mallet - it is a great example of the importance of communities being linked up, links which are threatened by the isolating cuts to public transport. Theo argued that it is unacceptable that bus users should need to 'prove our case', as a comprehensive and sustainable public transport system ought to be a central part of government policy. One of the reasons why it is not seen as important by the current government is that it is not regarded as a vote-winner - the loss of public transport primarily affects more vulnerable people, and their votes are not seen as key in winning elections. The Green Party would re-regulate bus services to create a functioning public service, consulting with communities and transport workers to design a system that works. This is not an infeasible dream - high quality, sustainably powered transport systems exist in other countries (e.g. Denmark) - the reason we have such a terrible system in comparison is down to the lack of political will among the parties who have held government. 

Roger Clark (UKIP)

Roger argued that, while UKIP weren't opposed to all subsidies, public trasport provision must be run as a business, and therefore if people want to have a bus service they must use it in sufficient numbers to make it profitable. If there's a bus service that we want and that isn't available from any of the bus companies, we should fund it ourselves. 'Capitalism is harsh' and we should 'use it or lose it', rather than just complaining about cuts. He warned us to expect further cuts and tax rises whoever takes power in the next election. 

SOMERSET COUNTY COUNCIL CUTS

Somerset County Council intend to cut subsidies to many services in the region, including all Saturday services passing through Shepton Mallet. This includes the 161 Frome-Wells service.

Garfield Kennedy made the point that cuts to public transport are short-sighted and are not real savings, as they have a detrimental effect on local economies. It has been estimated that every pound spent on public transport recoups four or five pounds for the economy. We discussed the knock-on effects that the cuts will have - preventing people from being able to take jobs in neighbouring towns, impacting the business of local shops, and increasing isolation and associated health problems. Bus services in Somerset are already poor and infrequent - we should be strengthening the services we have, not weakening them by cutting them further. Services may not be well used, not because they are not wanted, but because they have already been run down by cuts, becoming too infrequent or unreliable to be usable by many people. 

Chris Inchley criticised the way that the council's consultation was conducted, over a short period over Christmas, and poorly publicised. The consultation garnered around 1300 responses - and wouldn't have had that many if groups like ouselves hadn't publicised it.

Victoria Flynn, representing Tessa Munt, Lib Dem MP for Wells, read out a prepared statement on the cuts to services. This stated that she had been inundated with complaints about many type of cuts made by Somerset County Council. These cuts were typically short-sighted and ended up costing rather than saving - for example, library closures which resulted in a high court battle. Typically short-sighted are bus service cuts to Saturday services, stranding people at the weekends, when people naturally want to travel out of their towns into the surrounding area (there is already no Sunday service). Tessa Munt argues that central government should not be blamed for these cuts - there is a fund which has been made over to SCC to cover transport but which has not been used for that purpose by the council. Furthermore, SCC cannot plead poverty as they are keeping £30m in reserve in the bank - at 10% of their yearly budget, this exceeds the 3-5% recommended by the National Audit Office. Therefore SCC appear to making these cuts for political reasons, not because they are short of funds. 

Derek Tanswell, Lib Dem councillor, said that he believes that regardless of the responses to the consultation, SCC will be cutting the subsidies as originally proposed. 

Peter Travis suggested that if the council wanted to increase bus usage, one strategy would be to increase the cost of parking. 

NEXT STEPS 

Garfield is hoping to organise a meeting in Shepton Mallet. He spoke about working with Martin Abrams of Better Transport. Garfield has a background in film-making and we could think about making a film of the campaign. 

Theo suggested making the most of press, events and photo opportunities to increase the visibility of the campaign. 

You can find the Shepton Mallet campaign online at 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dontcutusoff

News article about bus cuts

Budget cuts by councils have left bus services facing a crisis, a report by the Campaign for Better Transport says.

The group says half the councils in England and Wales have cut funding for buses in 2014/15, amounting to more than £9m when compared with 2013/14.
The CBT said its figures came from Freedom of Information Act requests.
A Department for Transport spokesman said decisions about buses were best made locally but the government provided "substantial funding".
The CBT said local authority funding for bus services had been slashed by 15% since 2010, or £44m, with more than 2,000 routes being reduced or withdrawn entirely.
Its report also says that:

• Rural areas have been worst hit by cuts, seeing average budget reductions of 19% this year
• In 2014/15, nearly 500 bus services were cut, altered or withdrawn
• 22 councils cut bus funding by more than 10% in 2014/15
• The overall reduction in Wales in 2014/15 is more than £900,000, with 86 bus services having been cut, altered or withdrawn

CBT public transport campaigner Martin Abrams said the government needed to "wake up to the crisis facing buses".
 "Across the country, bus services are being lost at an alarming rate.
"Year-on-year cuts to budgets mean entire networks have now disappeared, leaving many communities with little public transport and in some cases none at all.
"It's very worrying that further steep cuts in budgets are threatened next year and beyond. The government must introduce new initiatives which recognise the vital social, economic and environmental role buses play."
'Poisonous cocktail' Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said: "This shocking new report lifts the lid on the trail of misery left strewn across the country as multimillion-pound cuts to bus services condemn hundreds of thousands of people to lives of isolation and imprisonment in their own homes.
"The poisonous cocktail of cuts and privatisation reinforces our call for bus services to be taken back into public ownership with the resources required to run as a comprehensive public service."
The DfT spokesman said that it regarded bus services as "vital", especially for many older and disabled people.
"That is why the government provides substantial funding, protected until 2015/16, to bus operators to help more services run and keep ticket prices down.
"A further £1bn a year is provided for the free national bus pass.
"Decisions about bus services are best made locally in partnership between councils and the companies which run the buses."