To receive written responses to questions prepared for BUGS and to interview David Martin, Secretary of Bus User Group Stevenage.
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed to the meeting David Martin, Secretary of the Bus User Group Stevenage (BUGS).
The Chair invited Mr Martin to give an overview of the BUGS perception of the bus service across the years which included:
· The issues the bus service experienced in 2017 are not different to the issues experienced today.
· The Bus Service Act enhanced the partnership between Local Councils, County Councils, and operators. The interlink partnership was there before but had no real power with the County Council.
· Lots of issues affect the service such as lack of drivers, seasonal changes, or holidays during the summer.
· The graphs provided from Arriva show operations from Stevenage depot, which included other longer routes out of Stevenage and generally run well. The graphs didn’t represent the shorter Stevenage services and didn’t reflect the complaints from residents about the local bus service.
· The open data allowed anyone to look at specific services.
· There were lots of services being dropped and the real time information wasn’t available to let people know it had been cancelled.
Some Members asked questions in relation to the bus times and scheduling. Mr Martin advised that operators had to register their services with the County Council, and it took, on average, 6 weeks to implement changes. The County Council tends to rely on commercial operators to give information about which routes they want to run, although they do have some control. For example, the SB8 route had been withdrawn, but Arriva ran an evening service under contract with Hertfordshire County Council (HCC).
A Member asked how often operators consult groups within Hertfordshire. Mr Martin advised that they generally didn’t. BUGs were consulted once by HCC once to develop passenger charter and bus service user plan. They didn’t consult on routes and services and any changes that have happened were through grassroots campaigns, For example in Hertsmere a community investment levy fund was used to restore the bus service.
Some Members asked questions relating to the data not comparing to the experience of local passengers, as well as app usage. Mr Martin advised that passengers would rather services that came. There were many issues such as buses breaking down when they overheat, or Arriva having to take on other services and routes which created more issues with lack of drivers. The Arriva app only looks at Arriva services and was useful to see the service generally however isn’t always accurate. There needed to be a multi operator zone ticket to improve service use.
A Member asked whether the improved depot would make a difference to the service and the issues it had. Mr Martin advised that the staff moral had improved with the new depot. The operations would also be better as there was an improvement in the communications and awareness.
A Member asked questions relating to the accessibility of the service. Mr Martin advised that accessibility was improving. All buses were required to have wheelchair access as a minimum. He added that the government had specified new regulations that buses would have audio and visual announcements for the next stop, as well as wheelchair users being able to see stop information. All new vehicles from November would have this built in and older vehicles would have this retrofitted.
A Member asked whether competition could help the service improve. Mr Martin advised that other bus operators did not travel on the same routes. He added that residents were interested to see other operations as they have negative perceptions and experiences with Arriva. During Covid, Centrebus couldn’t manage but worked to capacity unlike Arriva so had a more positive public perception.
Some Members asked whether the interchange had improved the service use and was working efficiently. Mr Martin advised that the interchange was working reasonably well. There were some late buses going into incorrect bays which caused issues, but this was being resolved. The real time information was the real issue and HCC were working on a new display system that would give better information. The original plans for the interchange included a mobility centre however due to Covid and the lack of funding and budgets, the space was leased to a shop. This worked well but the lack of a mobility centre was a disappointment. Mobility issues had reduced the numbers of elderly passengers, as well as Covid.
A Member asked whether bus drivers received abuse from passengers regarding the service. Mr Martin advised that social media had had a positive impact on abuse. Complaints to drivers happened from time to time, but there had been a reduction due to social media. The BUGS social media had national followers and most complaints go there rather than towards drivers.
Another Member asked whether there was any feedback from the reduction of the SB8 service. Mr Martin advised that because the service was so poor, many people hadn’t noticed a difference. There had been some people contacting BUGS through social media asking for alternatives.
The Chair thanked Mr Martin for his contribution to the meeting.
It was recommended that an electric minibus should be considered to be put into place with a service running from the shops/commercial units that will be developed on the ground floor of the Guinness development, or from the Court House to the Mecca Bingo and pedestrianised shops. This would create a link from the new bus interchange to the town centre for people with mobility issues.