Latest news with #public transport
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Campaigners rally together in bid to save 'vital' bus service
Campaigners in Chandler's Ford are pushing to save a vital bus service that is due to be cut by Hampshire County Council. Residents in Knightwood and Valley Park are fighting to prevent the loss of the 46 bus, the last remaining public transport link in their area, which is set to be withdrawn on Friday, August 29. The campaign follows a successful deputation by Hampshire resident Susan Dorsett to a full county council meeting in May, where she presented a petition with 1,676 signatures calling for the restoration of multiple cut routes. Ms Dorsett said: "Fellow campaigners and I say they will not rest until the councils and transport providers have included us in extensive consultations and put in place both emergency and long-term, regular, reliable, frequent public transport reconnecting our communities with the daily services, people, and destinations we would like to access. "Failure is not an option. "Public transport is a necessity for daily life and ought not to only be accessible to town and city dwellers on profit-making bus routes. "We need to reduce the number of cars on our roads; the congestion in our town and city centres, and the environmental damage. "We are aware of the Bus Service Improvement Plan monies and other funding which the government has allocated to HCC specifically to prevent the loss of routes such as ours. "We trust that HCC will now reprioritise some of these monies as the government intended, to help fund our vital bus services." READ MORE: Itchen Bridge lined with suicide prevention campaigners Councillor Lulu Bowerman, Hampshire County Council's head of passenger transport, agreed to meet with Ms Dorsett in Knightwood and Valley Park after the May deputation. Susan Dorsett (Image: Submitted) The meeting will take place on Wednesday, with campaigners set to present four key proposals and additional solutions developed over the summer. A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: 'The council continues to face significant and well documented financial pressures. "In autumn 2024, we reviewed savings proposals across 13 service areas, including passenger transport, to help balance our 2025/26 budget. "Following public consultation, the Authority agreed to withdraw discretionary funding for local bus services that are not commercially viable, including the no. 46 service from North Baddesley to Winchester. "We recognise the importance of local bus services to communities such as Knightwood and Valley Park which is why we continue to explore and promote alternative transport options that may be available.'
RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Wellington train satisfaction falls, record-high bus passengers
Passenger satisfaction for Wellington's rail services has fallen for the third year in a row. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens Passenger satisfaction for Wellington's rail services has slumped for the third year in a row, while bus patronage is increasing. Metlink's annual passenger satisfaction survey shows 89 percent of all rail passengers surveyed were happy, down from 92 percent last year and 94 percent the year before. Just 58 percent of rail passengers on the Wairarapa line - which runs between Masterton and Wellington - reported being satisfied with services. Greater Wellington Regional Council's Thomas Nash said trains were not as reliable or punctual as they should be, due to significant maintenance and upgrades on the network. That, along with staff shortages on the Wairarapa line had caused train cancellations, and bus replacement services had been offered instead. Nash said it was clear passengers were frustrated. "It's not rocket science, we need to get the reliability up and for rail that means getting the assets in a condition where they will allow for reliable passenger services to be run by us on those tracks." Temporary speed limit restrictions on sections of lines were also causing delays. "They do mean that the timetable isn't as efficient as it could be, isn't as frequent as it could be. That kind of punctuality does matter to people." "I think if we can start clearing out the speed restrictions that are in place because of aging assets in the government's rail network, then we as the public transport authority running the trains will be able to provide a much more reliable and punctual service for people." He expected maintenance work to continue for years, but said the regional council was focused on improving reliability at peak times. "What we need to focus on is really making sure we protect those peak times - those morning and evening peak times - on the rail network and then we can say to people, hand on heart, if you turn up in the morning to get to work, and you're coming home in the evening we will make sure your train is running." Greater Wellington Regional Council's Thomas Nash says trains are not as reliable or punctual as they should be. Photo: Thomas Nash Greater Wellington regional councillor for Wairarapa Adrienne Staples said the council was committed to working with KiwiRail to improve reliability and prepare the line for new hybrid trains, arriving in 2029. "These upgrades are extensive, but they're essential to delivering the kind of service our passengers deserve. "Wairarapa passengers have been incredibly patient, and I want to acknowledge that it's not just closures affecting the line. Vibrations, speed restrictions, and most recently staffing shortages have all contributed to services falling short of expectations." The survey shows 94 percent of bus users are satisfied, an increase from last year. Metlink group manager Samantha Gain said the reliability of bus services had exceeded 99 percent this year. Bus patronage, too, was on the up, with a record-breaking 2.5 million passengers taking the bus in March, she said. She said she was "pleased to see continued high satisfaction across the network, especially with buses and ferries, and that passengers continue to report feeling safe both onboard and while waiting at stops and stations". The independent survey, involving 2711 respondents, showed overall satisfaction with Wellington's public transport network was at 93 percent. Nash said reliability was the key to determining satisfaction in public transport and in improving rail passenger numbers. "With bus we are at record-high reliability, and consequently record-high levels of patronage on the bus network. "Conversely, satisfaction with rail is down, because reliability on rail is down, and fewer people are now using the rail service." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
'Vital' bus route to Yate returns after community campaign
Residents of a town that lost a key bus service due to funding problems have won their campaign to reinstate in Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire, previously said the Y8 route to and from Yate, which allows them to travel on to Bristol, was "essential" for their have campaigned for the route since it was cut in August last year, arguing that it was vital for access to work, college, shops and medical appointments, and allowed them to Linda Cohen, from Gloucestershire County Council, said the reinstatment of the route, beginning on 1 September, was a "fantastic outcome for our communities". The service will run 15 times on weekdays and 12 times on Saturdays. Gloucestershire County Council, South Gloucestershire Council, the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) and the local community worked together to bring the route holds responsibility for buses in South Gloucestershire as the transport full timetable will be released in the coming weeks.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Work to start on new £3.6m transport hub in Grimsby
Work will start next week on building a transport hub in the centre of shop units on the 1.6-acre site in Osborne Street will be cleared to make way for the new structure which will link to the town's railway station.A design for the new facility will be developed during a public consultation, North East Lincolnshire Council council has already secured £3.6m towards the cost of the hub which aims to encourage increased use of public transport. Work on demolishing the site is expected to take eight weeks and part of the nearby Garden Street Car Park will be on Osborne Street will remain open during the works, although a section of pathway will be to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices.
BBC News
03-08-2025
- BBC News
Dagenham boy wins fight to bring back 'vital' Essex bus service
A 15-year-old boy has won his battle to bring back a seasonal bus service after locals told him they had "been chopped off the map".Jack and his family used the number seven bus, running between St Osyth and Clacton seafront in Essex, during their own holidays until it was axed in the teenager, from Dagenham, east London, began engaging with local councillors, gathering almost 900 signatures on a petition and meeting representatives of bus company Konectbuses to get the service reinstated."This bus route meant so much to me, as well as everyone else. There's just no words to really describe it," said Jack. Jack said people had been telling him how isolated they felt without the service. "They can't go anywhere... all of a sudden, where this vital bus has gone, you can't connect with communities further out," he said."It's such an isolated area in St Osyth, where it's just country lanes, trees and that's it. There's no major roads."Now, after Jack's campaign, the new number 10 bus will take an extended route to Clacton Shopping Village, and will return in 2026 if popular, according to Go East Anglia, parent company of Konectbuses. Tracy Tilson, 59, from the Tudor Bar on St Osyth Beach, said she was "super proud" of Jack for his efforts to bring back the bus."Jack has gone above and beyond for a teenager of his age," she said."The walk to Jaywick is barely manageable for some, let alone the walk to Clacton, so the bus is essential for some; for doctors, banks, hospital, shopping and generally meeting people." Konectbuses said the Sunny Hopper Beach Bus would operate on route 10, connecting Clacton Pier Avenue and St Osyth Beach, up to every 60 minutes."If it proves to be successful, we will consider bringing it back in 2026, so we encourage as many residents and holidaymakers to use the services during the next six weeks to secure its future," said a Go East Anglia has also reintroduced the open-top Clacton Breeze back on route 6A, running every 30 minutes between Point Clear, Haven, Orchards Holiday Park, St Osyth and Clacton town services will run until 31 August. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
