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