TransWilts CRP, CIC and Melksham RUG
Public and sustainable transport in Wiltshire

Home Accessibility GWR site Facebook The Mouth Forum Resources Training About Us Contact
 
For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
What is happening on the 231 bus? What are you going to do about it?

Question from my inbox: "What is happening on the 231 bus? What are you going to do about it?"

Answer: At present, First (West of England) run a bus service - the 231 - from Chippenham to Bath, via Corsham and Box. Apart from the final two journeys from Chippenham to Bath on Monday to Saturday (at 20:55 and 21:55 from Chippenham) and most Sunday services, these buses are commercially operated. That means that the decision to run them, times, route, fare structure, etc, is a decision made totally by First (West of England). The services need to be registered with the traffic commissioner, who should be informed of any changes 56 days (I think it is) before they take effect.

The final two journeys from Chippenham to Bath, and all Sunday services except the 07:40 from Bath to Chippenham (which is also commercial) are supported by Wiltshire Council, who have contracted for the services to run within certain rules upon payment of a fee - the annual cost is given in the current "bus consultation" papers. These services are also registered with the traffic commissioner as part of the same registration. By nature of the contract, Wiltshire Council do of course have some input to times, fares and ticketing issues with these services.

First has decided that from 24th April 2016, it will no longer operate the (commercial) route 231. I have been aware of the reregistration for a few days, but it's often the case that a deregistration is followed shortly by registration of a replacement, and only in the last 24 hours has it been confirmed by First in a press release, making it clear that only supported services will run after that date. Bear in mind that commercial services are run purely for the commercial advantage of the operator, which usually aligns with advantage to the passenger and so it works; once the commercial advantage to the operator goes, the linkage to the social and economic wellbeing of the area goes too.

"TransWilts" [[to whom the question was addressed]] is a community interest organisation looking to work with transport providers, local councils, central government. We are not decision makers and have no powers except perhaps of persuasion, and an ability to help inform people from information which is often public, but well obfuscated and hard to find. We have no more right than any other members of the public to access the information. In the case of the 231, I hope we have helped to inform discussions in good time for the changes; when the timetable of the 272 changes last August with the loss of early morning services, regular passengers only realised when the bus failed to "show" one morning. After all, it's likely to be in the interest of a company that's removing a service to keep it quiet until as late as possible to maintain revenue for the last few weeks, and to avoid / shorten any negative response.

So - when you ask who "above you" can be contacted , there's really no-one above us. We're not in the chain at all. At First Bus, Andrew Sherrington who issued the press release would probably be your starting point. Above him, James Freeman who looks after First's Bristol and Bath operation as a whole. But I seriously doubt that you (or anyone) will persuade them to change their mind. You could also contact your county councillor / if you live in an area served by the 231, I expect he / she already has correspondence on the topic. But the best route forward in my personal view is to take a look at the metrics of the passenger flows on the Chippenham to Bath corridor, look at other services in the same corridor, and look forward to what's needed for the future. And it may not be quite as bleak as you could thing from the direct answers above.




Let's move on. We've 'lost' the 231 which ran every 30 minutes from Bath and every 30 minutes from Chippenham - but during the day, the 231 provided only half of the bus service between the towns, as Faresaver's x31 also runs. Some sections of the route do differ, but for many people there's an alternative commercial bus already available within 15 minutes of when they want to travel. And because this alternative is commercial, Wiltshire Council aren't even allowed to offer First (or anyone else) to run a replacement for the 231, as that would be considered as unfair competition with a private company, and the council could be in serious trouble.

However, with the law as it stands (which feels pretty crazy at time), people are working hard to try to plug some of the major gaps that are left. First and Faresaver haven't been allowed to co-operate / share information on the route, as that would have been considered to be a cartel - an arrangement that would have made it difficult for a third operator to start a service - so the cancellation of the 231 has been (in theory) a surprise to Faresaver. But in this business it's pretty clear to see how buses are doing by watching them go by, and to look at other patterns of changes and make some pretty good educated guesses as to what might happen, asking "what if" and having some plans ready 'just in case'.

The current final service with Faresaver from Chippenham to Bath is at 16:42, with a 17:12 part of the way. First runs (but ceases) later buses at 17:02, 17:32, 18:07, 18:37, 19:10, 19:55, 20:55 and 21:55 - and Faresaver have registered (hot of the presses!) a couple more services after their 16:42 to provide for home going commuters. From Bath, after the last Faresaver bus at present - 17:35 all the way and an 18:06 part run - First ran buses at 17:50, 18:45, 19:45, 20:45 and 23:00. Again, Faresaver have registered a couple more services after their current last.

In some places, First and Faresaver took different routes, and another change in Faresaver's registration is to the routing of some (alternate?) buses to cover route sections formerly server by First.

Now that Faresaver have registered their changes, and commercial services are set, Wiltshire Council can offer subsidised contracts to replace the two late buses from Chippenham and the Sunday service (which First will probably go on running, as they do with the 271 from Melksham to Urchfont) and any other gaps that are left, should they wish to offer such contracts. It's unclear to me at present how much they will offer and for how long, as on one hand I am assured that there's no intention to loose the evening and Sunday service, and on the other had there's a consultation running at present which looks to save 2.6 million in annual subsidy, and the only way they offer to do that is to do a number of things which included the end of all evening and Sunday services.




So there you have it on the 231 - what's happening, what's likely to happen to the best of my knowledge.

The current system isn't very 'clever' in circumstances like these - and we haven't even looked at the effect on fares for (for example) people travelling from Corsham to Bath Spa University or the Royal United Hospital. Currently, that's £6.50 First Bath Outer Zone for a day return, but I think it rises to around £10 by the time you buy a Faresaver ticket into Bath and a Bath Inner Zone out to the RUH. One wonders where the extra money goes, especially as the bus operators taken together are making a huge saving by halving the number of vehicles they have on the corridor.

There won't be through ticketing either, nor (I suspect) a combined timetable. Service patterns won  [82][ac] Ä t be designed to connect (that would be an illegal cartel again!) . And other wider changes that could make a huge difference (such as looking at other buses in the network as a whole) are available.

A further issue with maintaining existing services as the stand (which I think you suggested) is that it gets very expensive to do - not only are you spending money on what was (perhaps) the best solution 5 years ago but isn't now, but you're also not looking forward to the future. Such route will call for an upward spiral of support from the public purse, and an even increasing downward spiral pressure on services still running,

A new "bus bill" is headed for parliament, and I've been in touch with our MP on this and have support. It allows councils to choose different approaches to look at the requirements in their area, and for Wiltshire we're attracted by a scheme under which the operators bid to operate specific routes and route groups, with common ticketing and information systems, for a set period. Please take a look at option 247 for details. It won't retain every bus   [82][ac][c2]æ but it will work to a useful and connecting network, pulling out remaining duplication, adding connections and opportunities, simplifying tickets and fares and providing an environment where the passenger will be rather higher in the pecking order than it seems at present.

At this point of the council's consultation, based on the law as it currently is and without a change of scheme, option 247 isn't on offer on the consultation. However, there is considerable local interest and it's starting to be noticed. It's in the "campaign" realm at the moment, but as it moves toward a partnership its something that TransWilts will take a very serious look at actively engaging with.

If you agree with my thoughts towards the end of this email, please do add your support via the council's survey, and please do let your councillor and your MP know that you support option 24/7 too. With public input   [82][ac][c2]æ it can be done.

(written 2016-03-04)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Z407 - Option 24/7 - the way forward for Wiltshire buses
  [4619] Buses - not about the buses, but about the people who use the buses - (2016-01-10)
  [4621] The power of scripting - (2016-01-12)
  [4624] Campaigning for a sensible bus solution and not against anyone! - (2016-01-17)
  [4625] Where does Wiltshire bus subsidy money come from? - (2016-01-19)
  [4630] The story behind the bus cuts, and what they could mean - (2016-01-24)
  [4631] What would the Wiltshire Council bus cuts mean for Melksham? - (2016-01-25)
  [4636] Rail user groups worried about what is happening on the buses - (2016-01-31)
  [4648] Why is bus funding a much hotter topic than a new set of traffic lights? - (2016-02-16)
  [4654] Getting to the Royal United Hospital - the Hopper and the alternatives - (2016-02-24)
  [4657] Rumours of bus changes by First in Wiltshire - what we know and suspect - (2016-03-01)
  [4658] The end of competition on a bus route - the effects from then end of the 234 - (2016-03-02)
  [4667] Wiltshire Supported Bus consultation - final few days - (2016-03-30)
  [4669] Buses - how did we get into the situation we are in? - (2016-04-02)
  [4690] Buses in Wiltshire - potential changes and where we stand at the moment - (2016-05-30)
  [4691] Real life PHP application using our course training MVC example - (2016-06-05)
  [4692] How are bus support payments currently calculated? - (2016-06-07)
  [4693] Wiltshire supported bus service consultation, early 2016 - interim results published - (2016-06-09)
  [4694] Supported Bus Services in Wiltshire - analysis of written-in comments - (2016-06-11)
  [4703] What do people use the bus for in Wiltshire - survey interim results. - (2016-07-11)

Z511 - Public Transport - Road
  [119] PHP course. Come by train. - (2004-11-15)
  [187] a popular bus number - (2005-01-23)
  [459] Kiss and Ride - (2005-10-09)
  [474] Vintage Bus Day - (2005-10-23)
  [764] Journey planning - Xephos v Transport Direct - (2006-06-16)
  [818] Heard, yes. Considered, no. The case for the train. - (2006-07-30)
  [1085] Lawrence Webb's Melksham Taxi service - (2007-02-18)
  [1125] Train service - petititon reply - (2007-03-31)
  [1254] Comparing bus stops - (2007-07-01)
  [1315] Two years of campaigning for a train service - (2007-08-22)
  [1428] Travel Across Wiltshire - the game - (2007-11-11)
  [1511] Buses from Well House Manor, Melksham, to Bath - (2008-01-18)
  [1560] HST Power Car TravelWatch SouthWest - (2008-03-01)
  [1567] Melksham - Swindon. Train v Bus v Car - (2008-03-07)
  [1668] Talk on TransWilts train service to Green Party - (2008-06-07)
  [1723] Bath - Melksham - Devizes. Bus route changes, new timetable - (2008-07-26)
  [1777] The Rise and Rise of First Bus Fares - (2008-08-29)
  [2075] Supporting Parkinsons and Trains - (2009-03-11)
  [2083] Do you support a decent train service? Please sign up! - (2009-03-15)
  [2268] Westbury Bypass Refused - looking forward - (2009-07-04)
  [2328] Melksham - no trains, no southbound buses through the town - (2009-08-08)
  [2372] Public Transport from (and to) Melksham on Sundays - (2009-08-23)
  [2431] Moving busstop! - (2009-09-30)
  [2515] Why we have two buses an hour - but not a half hourly service - (2009-11-28)
  [2522] Integrated public Transport - what could be done for Melksham - (2009-12-01)
  [2533] Five guests, three groups, one car - (2009-12-11)
  [2662] Is Melksham public transport actually used? - (2010-03-05)
  [2672] Dear Planners, please provide viable alternatives - (2010-03-11)
  [2771] Melksham to Calne by public transport - (2010-05-20)
  [2789] Melksham to London (Heathrow, and Central London) - (2010-06-02)
  [2791] Bath to Melksham buses - times - (2010-06-03)
  [2857] Park and Ride at Batheaston - will it solve Wiltshires Ills? - (2010-07-06)
  [2903] Bath to Devizes bus via Melksham - changing again in September - (2010-08-04)
  [2919] London to Calne, Corsham, Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon, Chippenham by public Transport - (2010-08-13)
  [2933] Bath - Melksham - Devizes buses from September - (2010-08-23)
  [2958] What do these road markings mean? Could Confusion Kill? - (2010-09-17)
  [2982] Travel, Transport and Tourism - A vision for Melksham, 2026 - (2010-10-03)
  [2983] Strong arm tactics in the bus industry? Poor result for the customer! - (2010-10-03)
  [3126] Car Parking in Melksham - thoughts on the proposed scheme, and wider thoughts too - (2011-01-09)
  [3194] Buses - what they cost and their future direction in the SW and in Wiltshire - (2011-03-06)
  [3290] Changes (and no changes) at Melksham bus stops - (2011-05-15)
  [3301] Using public transport - USA style - (2011-05-25)
  [3404] Buses on the Cambridge Guided Busway - (2011-08-24)
  [3471] Vintage Bus Running Day in Warminster. An example of good bus practise. - (2011-10-09)
  [3486] How important is public transport to people in the Melksham area? - (2011-10-19)
  [3487] Public transport - road and rail - (2011-10-19)
  [3504] Coaches from Trowbridge and Melksham to London - (2011-11-01)
  [3523] When competition is not a good idea - Melksham Bus Absurdity - (2011-11-16)
  [3564] I wish I was not a special case - (2011-12-29)
  [3579] Transport in Cambridgeshire - seen by an outside observer. What can Wiltshire learn? - (2012-01-15)
  [3580] Melksham Area - buses, trains, cycles, and roads. Meeting, 17.1.2012 - (2012-01-15)
  [3631] Getting around Dublin by public transport - some observations - (2012-03-01)
  [3699] Bristol 50? Bristol 25? - (2012-04-17)
  [3849] New bus times - Melksham to Bath - (2012-08-25)
  [3850] Bus times - Chippenham Station to Melksham, with London connections - (2012-08-25)
  [3866] Celebrate! Buses from Meksham to Bath - (2012-09-18)
  [3877] Public Transport Services - from and to Melksham - (2012-10-01)
  [3879] Mixed mode travel - Information systems - (2012-10-03)
  [3893] Public Transport across Wiltshire - a new map - (2012-10-13)
  [3904] Want to help us improve transport in Wiltshire? Here is how! - (2012-10-26)
  [3929] Melksham Bus Issues - to be raised at First Bus Customer Panel - (2012-11-21)
  [3937] Agenda for Wiltshire Link Travel groups meeting, Saturday 1st December 2012 - (2012-11-27)
  [3938] A long overdue meeting - a steeping stone towards coordinate transport user inputs - (2012-12-02)
  [3951] Christmas Bus Schedule for Melksham - First Bus - (2012-12-14)
  [4022] A request for all of Melksham transport groups to work integrated - (2013-03-01)
  [4023] Melksham to Chippenham (Station) bus services - times and routes - (2013-03-01)
  [4032] Easier public transport from Melksham to Bristol Airport - (2013-03-06)
  [4108] The painful cost of local travel to Melksham - (2013-06-01)
  [4111] Zigzag bus - forward for the future, or decaying service? - (2013-06-09)
  [4113] Wiltshire and Melksham Transport - what is going on? - (2013-06-09)
  [4123] New timetables from 28th July - bus routes 271 and 272 - (2013-06-24)
  [4124] Chippenham - Melksham - Trowbridge bus changes next month - (2013-06-26)
  [4143] Bus times - Melksham to Bath from 28th July 2013 - (2013-07-25)
  [4149] Bus changes to Bath - good idea, but I despair at information available - (2013-08-08)
  [4150] Melksham Regular Public Transport Map - as at August 2013 - (2013-08-09)
  [4152] Why are bus fares so high? - (2013-08-18)
  [4171] Mapping road accidents in Melksham and elsewhere too - (2013-09-12)
  [4179] Changing transport and destinations - looking forward to a good future - (2013-09-19)
  [4181] Grumbling about trains? Buses can be far worse! - (2013-09-29)
  [4186] Melksham to Bath and Zigzag buses - at a turning point? - (2013-10-06)
  [4190] A radical proposal - a cheap and effective way to provide home to city commuter transport - (2013-10-11)
  [4191] Getting people to and from Melksham Station - not 20 but 700 times a day - (2013-10-12)
  [4192] A positive progress behind the scenes - (2013-10-14)
  [4194] TransWilts Link - meeting notes from 19th October - (2013-10-20)
  [4228] Mallory Place, The Spa, Wellington Drive, Melksham - a Christmas present for you - (2013-12-26)
  [4240] Melksham Rail Link - (2014-01-27)
  [4247] You wait a long time - then buses come in threes. It's timetabled that way! - (2014-03-09)
  [4257] Over a pound a kilometre - my bus in Weston-super-mare - (2014-04-06)
  [4263] Chippenham - Melksham - Trowbridge, public transport over Easter (2014) - (2014-04-12)
  [4286] Reaction in Radstock to new First bus prices - (2014-07-12)
  [4290] National Express replaced by train and by Megabus from Chippenham to London - (2014-07-16)
  [4425] A Welsh valley - what the transport looks like in 2015 - (2015-02-14)
  [4500] The TransWilts Community Intergrated Transport Corridor - (2015-05-29)
  [4546] Is the RUH hopper a limited, duplicate service running unnecessarily and at high cost? - (2015-10-18)
  [4547] RUH Hopper - experience and thoughts forward - (2015-10-20)
  [4592] A comparison of the public transport alternatives to the Royal United Hospital, Bath - from Melksham. - (2015-12-06)
  [4615] Questions for First (West of England) - (2016-01-05)
  [4629] Making travel time useful time on public transport - (2016-01-22)
  [4639] Working out the costs of running a bus service through the day - (2016-02-06)
  [4664] Mallory Place bus stop - services to Bath - (2016-03-25)
  [4670] The end, or the start? - (2016-04-05)
  [4683] Saudi Arabia or Weymouth? - (2016-05-22)


Back to
Prining a pound sign from Python AND running from the command line at the same time
Previous and next
or
Horse's mouth home
Forward to
Unique word locator - Python dict example
Some other Articles
Easy data to object mapping (csv and Python)
Recursion in Python - the classic example
Unique word locator - Python dict example
What is happening on the 231 bus? What are you going to do about it?
Prining a pound sign from Python AND running from the command line at the same time
Identifying the first and last records in a sequence
Image indexer / thumbnail display scripts in PHP
4759 posts, page by page
Link to page ... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 at 50 posts per page


This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

Link to Ezine home page (for reading).
Link to Blogging home page (to add comments).

You can Add a comment or ranking to this page

© WELL HOUSE CONSULTANTS LTD., 2024: 48 Spa Road • Melksham, Wiltshire • United Kingdom • SN12 7NY
PH: 01144 1225 708225 • EMAIL: info@wellho.net • WEB: http://www.wellho.net • SKYPE: wellho

PAGE: http://www.wellho.net/mouth/4660_Wha ... t-it-.html • PAGE BUILT: Sun Oct 11 16:07:41 2020 • BUILD SYSTEM: JelliaJamb