relbus – Page 6

New Firstbus Timetables

I got an email yesterday complaining that Firstbus timetables had changed suddenly. Passengers were not given any forewarning it seems, and neither had Relbus. While there were rumours that changes were afoot, we assumed that we’d find out through the usual channels.

It turns out the usual channels means “a disgruntled passenger” complaint letter.

It seems to us that better regulation of the buses should include a wider public consultation stage, which could be added to the currently statutory consultation with the Local Authority, so that there are no surprises. And, whilst we are at it, the travelling public has a chance to put in their twopenceworth.
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RELBUS AGM 2013

Early warning that the Relbus AGM is going to be held in Haddington in August.

We’ve penciled in Barry Hutton, local resident and bus user, but also expert on public transport policy. Barry Hutton, now retired, was the founding Head of the Department of Town and Country Planning at the University of the West of England. In parallel with his academic work, primarily in transport planning, Barry was a consultant appearing as a professional witness at many local planning inquiries. As a member of the design team for Mosborough New Town, near Sheffield, he wrote a computer simulation of gridded road and public transport networks that was to be selectively adapted for Milton Keynes. He went on join the Overseas Development Agency and, living and working in Cairo, he helped establish the Egyptian National Institute of Transport. He later joined a team working for the Department of Transport creating a computer prediction of the speed-sensitive fuel consumption rates of cars, and then accepted an invitation from the United Nations to prepare a ‘Sustainable, Multi-Modal Transport Plan’ for Kosovo.

Hutton B. Planning Sustainable Transport. Routledge 978-1-84971-931-7 (Paperback £34.99)

Good public transport is a hallmark of a modern forward-looking society

Good public transport – effective, reliable, safe, and affordable – is a hallmark of a modern, forward-looking society. It liberates people who cannot drive and provides a practical alternative to those who choose not to.

This week Iain Gray MSP published his proposals for a Bill to provide transport authorities with greater powers to among other things:

set service levels for local bus services,
group profitable routes with non-profitable routes before they are put out to tender with operators.

While legislation exists that allows local authorities to influence the provision of bus services in their area, Iain Gray asserts these powers are scarcely used, so ineffective. So much so, that the body that oversees public transport issues, Transport Scotland is interested in the proposals for change that are going to help improve bus services.

Here at Relbus we’re pretty interested too, and it will be a topic for discussion over the weeks and months ahead.

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Highlights Of Relbus Meeting: Guest Iain Gray

Thursday, 21st February 2013, 7pm, Town House, Haddington; Apologies to item 1, last.

Item 2 – Presentation by Iain Gray MSP

IG introduced his proposal bring forward a Private Member’s Bill to strengthen regulation of the bus industry.

Timescale/Procedure – The proposed bill is currently at an early stage and is due to be launched next week. The process involves launching a consultation document (12 week period), preparing a response to the consultation and a draft bill, seeking signatures (18 MSP’s have to sign with cross party support). The proposed bill can be stopped by Ministers if they already have planned legislation which deals with the proposals. If Ministers do have planned legislation, it will be subject to consultation and its content can be influenced at this stage.

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