Welsh Government - Rail Matters

[Bletchleyite]

Something I've been saying for some time. Lee Waters was quoted in Modern Railways as saying buses give more 'bang per buck' than trains in environmental benefits.

I still think they should investigate a fully integrated bus and network (one fares system, one journey planner, same rights on both) given their bitty rail network, which could also mean using buses (or even bookable shared taxis or Fflecsi - bookable via the normal rail reservations system with the compulsory reservation flag set) at quieter times on rural routes as the French do.

 

[Envoy]

Some bus routes have already been lost no doubt due to the crazy 20mph speed limits imposed by the Welsh Government in urban areas. Even the Museum of Welsh History at St.Fagans is no longer served by Cardiff Bus 32. (Adventure Bus service 320 still go to St. Fagans village every other hour with no service on Sundays).

At least the trains don't get stuck in traffic jams or have to go miles at 20mph.

Wales' 20mph speed limit: Bus route cuts considered

Arriva Buses Wales says lowering the default speed limit has led to an "impact on punctuality".

www.bbc.co.uk

Some bus routes could be cut or altered as a result of the introduction of Wales' 20mph speed limit.
Arriva Buses Wales said the new limit had led to an "impact on punctuality", with other possible changes including cutting some stops from certain routes.
Arriva said it was undertaking a "large scale review of the network" and was "discussing the implications”.

 

[anthony263]

Surely someone in government/ tfw must realise that with the amount of bus replacement going on in the south and general poor service elsewhere that once the transformation is complete, revenue (you would hope) will increase significantly .
To go through all the pain and then face cutbacks of services & staff towards the end is no better than what’s just been done with HS2 .

The rail replacement is a joke supposed to be a bus every 20-30 minutes however we waited over 40 minutes at Taff's well last night. Earlier local trains on the swml into Cardiff and Swansea before 0915 on Sunday morning would be nice

 

[Dai Corner]

Some bus routes have already been lost no doubt due to the crazy 20mph speed limits imposed by the Welsh Government in urban areas. Even the Museum of Welsh History at St.Fagans is no longer served by Cardiff Bus 32. (Adventure Bus service 320 still go to St. Fagans village every other hour with no service on Sundays).

At least the trains don't get stuck in traffic jams or have to go miles at 20mph.

Wales' 20mph speed limit: Bus route cuts considered

Arriva Buses Wales says lowering the default speed limit has led to an "impact on punctuality".

www.bbc.co.uk

Not just the 20moh limit but also reductions in ridership and Government support

September Service Changes

We will be making some timetable and route changes from Sunday 3 September

www.cardiffbus.com

For the last few months all bus operators across Wales have been working with Welsh Government, Regional Authorities and Local Authorities to work through the funding challenges that are coming to the fore as Pandemic support is being withdrawn. There have been many news stories reflecting these discussions, and the funding challenges ahead for buses; the mode of transport that carries almost 80% of all public transport journeys in Wales.

These funding challenges mean the current levels of support being made to all bus operators cannot be maintained. All bus operators have been working collaboratively with all levels of government to amend networks to work within the fixed funding allocation that has been made available.

In our case, which is not the case for all operators, during pre-pandemic times more than 90% of our revenue came from customers making journeys with us. However, like all bus operators in Wales, and across the UK, when the pandemic struck we had to quickly change service levels to reflect government directions. We received new subsidies to maintain the existing network and the capacity as we moved out of those levels of restrictions. It is this support that is now coming to an end.

At present we are seeing just over 80% of pre-pandemic customers returning to our services. This is now the new base level that we must work from as we move back to operating with reducing support. These are hard decisions, but we must make changes to maintain a sustainable network in Cardiff and eastern Vale of Glamorgan.

The changes are set out below. For new timetables we have had to factor in additional journey time as we try and make sure these are robust to navigate the worsened levels of traffic congestion we face. We also need to fully consider the changes that have been made to road layouts, loss of highway and junction capacity for bus movements, as well as preparation for new speed limits that affect journey times.

 

[Bletchleyite]

20mph is a slowdown, but it's not much of a slowdown because of the stop-start nature of urban traffic. It could be more than offset by acting to reduce stop dwells by moving more ticketing off the bus London style, with most people just tapping a card as they board without breaking stride rather than the present situation of having a chat about where you're going, what the weather is etc.

 

[Dai Corner]

20mph is a slowdown, but it's not much of a slowdown because of the stop-start nature of urban traffic. It could be more than offset by acting to reduce stop dwells by moving more ticketing off the bus London style, with most people just tapping a card as they board without breaking stride rather than the present situation of having a chat about where you're going, what the weather is etc.

Some operators are offering tap on tap off, though I've yet to see anyone use it.

 

[Krokodil]

It has been suggested above that maybe they would remove the Liverpool service but I contend that this will be one of the most popular and that a 2 coach 197 operating from Cardiff will not have enough capacity.

Having a consistent half-hourly service north and south of Shrewsbury would be ideal, but I'm not sure if signalling work would be needed to accommodate it alongside freight paths.

Are Cross Country getting a cut of this revenue that should be going to TfW even though people are not even on their trains?

If a ticket is marked "via Hereford" then TfW will get the whole cut north of Newport.

It could be more than offset by acting to reduce stop dwells by moving more ticketing off the bus London style, with most people just tapping a card as they board without breaking stride rather than the present situation of having a chat about where you're going, what the weather is etc.

Arriva have tap-on, tap-off, as do some of the minor operators in the north. I believe that the WG is working on integration so that daily caps will apply across operators.

 

[Parham Wood]

20mph is a slowdown, but it's not much of a slowdown because of the stop-start nature of urban traffic. It could be more than offset by acting to reduce stop dwells by moving more ticketing off the bus London style, with most people just tapping a card as they board without breaking stride rather than the present situation of having a chat about where you're going, what the weather is etc.

I think the issue is not in urban areas but more in rural areas where there are long 20mph limits in villages where congestion is rare.

 

[Mag_seven]

Can we try to stick to Welsh Government Rail Matters in this thread please. Discussion about 20mph speed limits on the roads is not a rail matter.