overthewater
Established Member
- Joined
- 16 Apr 2012
- Messages
- 9,152
Well, it had to happen didn't? Actually this would be the third council to clean up its services, I know a few other council areas have needed to clean shop but this time West Lothian council takes the biscuit at how much its planning on save and the reasons behide it.
If your wondering who was the first two councils to cut back? Stirling come First in 2013, it terminated 12 local bus service contracts, some of them were schools, some were evening, some where Sunday and two were oap services really. First took on some of the work, and still operates them to this day, while some others were lost. Note: Stirling council still pays for other routes.
Falkirk was the second one, who have scaled back a number of routes back around 2014/15 this was mainly a tidying up as some routes were really carrying no one. To be fair the council has been slowly cutting back on certain late evening town journeys before this IE 10pm.
West Lothian council: http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/10526/Bus-service-changes-are-announced
Mind you some of the cuts are not the best and people are not given them up without a fright.
* http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/health/st-john-s-hospital-bus-link-to-be-axed-1-4086756 This route cost £2.51 per passenger
* http://www.linlithgowgazette.co.uk/...o-sign-petition-to-help-save-l1-bus-1-4061149 This route cost only £1.03 per passenger
What is strange about these cuts? Part of the reason is to cut out the dead wood, and what is even worse is the costly tenders, which in part operate on top of commercial routes for years. I dread to think would these costly route still operate if the council never had to make cuts?
* One route actually made a profit. making £23,349 a year.
* One evening route from Bathgate had just over 1000 per year = £34.29 per passenger, IE 4 passenger each night. It would be cheaper to use taxi.
* Peak time service which carried only 600 people per year = £27.81 per passenger
* Two weekday early morning runs carry approx 1000 passenger per year= £21.40 per passenger
* No19 cost £14.94 per passenger YET there was a commercial service within mins of it.
* Another early morning service which operates to places outside the WL council area? £13.62 per passenger. This service is staying yet contribution paid to Falkirk Council for x-boundary contracts = £1.33 per passenger so why not use these service to cover the above contract and save even more money.
There is another 7 contracts with cost higher than £5 per passenger, How on earth can any council justify spending such money? One of them is peak journey to Edinburgh which competes with the train. In a number of case taxis would have been cheaper. I dont like seeing bus route being cuts but this is a joke.
What made matters worse, isWest Lothian council made no attempts in some of the case to even tell the public certain routes operated or even produce timetables even for its website. You would have never known some of the route operate unless you were really looking, Its like Lothian buses No109, its so well hidden http://lothianbuses.com/assets/timetables/r109.pdf
With some of the cuts to subsidised services, it does beggars belief at what has been allowed to be spent of bad ideas, or lack of information to the public.
This service used to operates with a taxibus on request cost? £33.78 per passenger, now it using a proper bus..
http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media...spital-Edinburgh/pdf/Service-16-Timetable.pdf I bet if there added in morning journey and extended to the big collage just up the road it might pick up extra passengers.
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Another piece has appeared in the papers about another cut:
http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...hian-express-bus-service-facing-axe-1-4093219
Silly Councillor of course some of the cuts have been decided on a purely cost-per-passenger basis, because its not cost effective. He clearly failed to even understand is there is still alot of money being badly spent, even with these changes.
If your wondering who was the first two councils to cut back? Stirling come First in 2013, it terminated 12 local bus service contracts, some of them were schools, some were evening, some where Sunday and two were oap services really. First took on some of the work, and still operates them to this day, while some others were lost. Note: Stirling council still pays for other routes.
Falkirk was the second one, who have scaled back a number of routes back around 2014/15 this was mainly a tidying up as some routes were really carrying no one. To be fair the council has been slowly cutting back on certain late evening town journeys before this IE 10pm.
West Lothian council: http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/10526/Bus-service-changes-are-announced
Mind you some of the cuts are not the best and people are not given them up without a fright.
* http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/health/st-john-s-hospital-bus-link-to-be-axed-1-4086756 This route cost £2.51 per passenger
* http://www.linlithgowgazette.co.uk/...o-sign-petition-to-help-save-l1-bus-1-4061149 This route cost only £1.03 per passenger
What is strange about these cuts? Part of the reason is to cut out the dead wood, and what is even worse is the costly tenders, which in part operate on top of commercial routes for years. I dread to think would these costly route still operate if the council never had to make cuts?
* One route actually made a profit. making £23,349 a year.
* One evening route from Bathgate had just over 1000 per year = £34.29 per passenger, IE 4 passenger each night. It would be cheaper to use taxi.
* Peak time service which carried only 600 people per year = £27.81 per passenger
* Two weekday early morning runs carry approx 1000 passenger per year= £21.40 per passenger
* No19 cost £14.94 per passenger YET there was a commercial service within mins of it.
* Another early morning service which operates to places outside the WL council area? £13.62 per passenger. This service is staying yet contribution paid to Falkirk Council for x-boundary contracts = £1.33 per passenger so why not use these service to cover the above contract and save even more money.
There is another 7 contracts with cost higher than £5 per passenger, How on earth can any council justify spending such money? One of them is peak journey to Edinburgh which competes with the train. In a number of case taxis would have been cheaper. I dont like seeing bus route being cuts but this is a joke.
What made matters worse, isWest Lothian council made no attempts in some of the case to even tell the public certain routes operated or even produce timetables even for its website. You would have never known some of the route operate unless you were really looking, Its like Lothian buses No109, its so well hidden http://lothianbuses.com/assets/timetables/r109.pdf
With some of the cuts to subsidised services, it does beggars belief at what has been allowed to be spent of bad ideas, or lack of information to the public.
This service used to operates with a taxibus on request cost? £33.78 per passenger, now it using a proper bus..
http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media...spital-Edinburgh/pdf/Service-16-Timetable.pdf I bet if there added in morning journey and extended to the big collage just up the road it might pick up extra passengers.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
######
Another piece has appeared in the papers about another cut:
http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...hian-express-bus-service-facing-axe-1-4093219
Silly Councillor of course some of the cuts have been decided on a purely cost-per-passenger basis, because its not cost effective. He clearly failed to even understand is there is still alot of money being badly spent, even with these changes.
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