What do people use the bus for in Wiltshire - survey interim results.
At the end of "Catch the Bus" week, I promised an update on how our survey's going. With people still completing the survey by the day, I don't want to give away very early data on their opinions on whats important on bus journeys as it might influence others yet to complete the survey. However, I don't see such an issue if I tell you about the use of the bus made by the respondents so far. From answers to "how often do yo use the bus", I estimate that we've got repsonses from people making a total of around 36,000 individual bus journeys per annum so far.
How often do you use the bus ... weighted to give journey reasons
21.7% ... to travel to and from a workplace?
17.9% ... to go shopping?
11.9% ... to go to school or college?
10.8% ... to visit friends and family?
8.8% ... to go to health or medical facilities?
8.4% ... to go to leisure facilities?
8.0% ... for other reasons? (please tell us what those reasons are at the end of the survey!)
7.3% ... just to enjoy the journey and see the area?
5.1% ... to meet people as I travel?
So over a fifth of journeys are to / from a workplace. That doens't mean it's a fifth of individuals using the bus are doing so for work, as those travelling to and from work are making far more journeys than - for example - those visiting leisure facillities. Counting journeys not people is important, as it helps to describe bus loading and revenue far better that looking at numbers of people.
Do you consider yourself disabled?
81.9% ... No
13.8% ... Yes, but it does not affect my bus use
3.2% ... No answer
1.1% ... Yes, and it affects my bus use
Should Wiltshire Council engage with the Department for Transport as an interested authority so that they can make use of these additional options if (after evaluation) they are the best way forward for Wiltshire?
Well over 90% ... Yes - Wiltshire Council should evaluate all options before cutting bus funding
A huge THANK YOU if you've already contributed to this survey. A significant proportion of people have written in comments too and those are hugely appreciated; I will answer / comment on a few over coming days and weeks, as there are some excellent suggestions and questions - but again taking care not to publish anything yet that will influence further survey completions.
If you have NOT completes the survey yes, it remains open and our cutoff for further analysis is 31st July.
Please Complete it at
[here]. And please pass on the URL - http://option247.uk/survey .
(written 2016-07-11)
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)
[4660] What is happening on the 231 bus? What are you going to do about it? - (2016-03-04)
[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)
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)
Some other Articles
Some gems from an introduction to PythonMelksham trial train service is to be made permanentCourse dates - from October 2016 to December 2017Three months in community rail picturesWhat do people use the bus for in Wiltshire - survey interim results.Up and down TransWilts - some pictures off the rails!Pretty at the station tooObfurscated code - it might work, but is it maintainable?Melksham Rail Development Group - a celebration of 20 yearsLisa writes - on the referendum vote today