Since this edition of the Foxwood Focus went to print, First have announced the details of their proposed changes to the number 4 (and 5) bus service.

See details at http://stevegalloway.mycouncillor.org.uk/2012/09/13/first-announce-new-bus-routes/

The changes will be implemented on 7th October.

First have also now announced that the new 4/5 route will be operated by single deck vehicles.

In itself that is not a problem and might marginally reduce the time spent at bus stops (the driver would not have to wait until passengers climb the stairs as sometimes happens in a double decker).

But the single deck vehicles on the number 5 service (necessary because of low bridges on the route) are getting on in years, while the 6 year old double deckers on the 4 route were described at their launch in January as “a modern fleet of easily accessible double-decker buses, with lower carbon emissions than the ftr’s that they replaced”.

The Press newspaper, which had fuelled the anti ftr campaign, described them in an editorial as “a modern fleet of low-carbon, accessible double-deckers” and said “sounds just the thing to us”.

Experience demonstrated that the B9 Volvo double deckers, with a passenger capacity of 90 compared to the ftrs 100, had their own problems with long delays at bus stops, a lack of space for wheelchair users and those with buggies, complaints about poor air conditioning and lack of journey information.

They are now being moved onto the number 1 Chapelfields service.

Passengers had hoped that the new 4/5 service would use a fleet of modern low emission buses, with improved capacity, easier access and adequate space for all users.

Sadly, with relations between bus companies and the York Council at record low ebb, it appears that some of the replacement single deckers could be as much as 10 years old, with outdated passenger facilities (and inevitable reliability issues).

Not good enough for what is one of the busiest bus services in the region.

First and the York Council need to make a clear commitment to get together and restart the bus modernisation programme in the City. A major Council report on the bus service is promised for discussion on Thursday 27th September.

Hopefully it will pave the way for a more open and co-operative approach putting passenger needs back at the heart of public transport policy in the City.

First have confirmed that the number 4 and 5 services are to be combined from 7th October. The result will be a 7 minute frequency with residents having the option of which direction they take to get into the City.

Details of this and other bus changes are now displayed on the First web site. http://tinyurl.com/Bus-changes-York-7th-Oct-12

On the face of it the service should increase capacity on the number 4 route through Westfield and may reduce the danger of people being left at bus stops at busy times. How popular the change will prove to be in the Acomb area remains to be seen.

In future the number 4 will not penetrate the new University campus but will turn at Heslington Hall (as it used to) which may also improve reliability.

Also affected are the number 12, which is now confirmed as routing to Monks Cross, and the 16 which will link Green Lane to the City via Hamilton Drive (and combines with a new number 14).

The full statement from First reads: (more…)

We’ve had further correspondence with First regarding the reliability of the number 4 service. They say that the service achieved over 90% reliability between May and July. We are unclear how the reliability of a service which is supposed to run at “frequent intervals”, according to the timetable, is assessed.

First are expecting to make timetable changes in October to co-include with the arrival of additional students at York University. They will be “delivering a frequency and resource increase which should drive up performance”.

The delays and “bunching” on the route, over the last week or so, are blamed on road works in Heslington Road. These were due to be completed on 24th August, so we will be checking whether things have improved.

We are less convinced that the “bunching” on the inward leg (from Acomb to the city centre) can be attributed to road works (there haven’t been any on that section of the route, yet tandem working is frequent).

One resident reported to us that no less than 4 buses were heading into the City on 22nd August – all within sight of each other.

There are a range of issues that need to be addressed. These include the use of GPS systems to regulate the separation of individual services, bus design (to allow for easier access and egress for buses) and ways to reduce the time taken for fare collection.

The issue has attracted media attention with some correspondents pointing to similar historic problems. Convoy working wasn’t nearly as big an issue with the ftr in our view …but there you go.

They claim also that there are similar issues on other services in the City.

The Council has run a “Quality Bus Partnership” for a number of years. It holds quarterly meetings. These meetings (which are held in private) bring together passenger representatives, bus operators and the Council. The minutes of the last meeting can be found here http://tinyurl.com/York-QBP-18th-June-2012.

This is one forum at which issues can be raised. The next meeting is being held on 17th September.

The demise of the ftr – although welcomed by some – has proved to be bad news for the Number 4 bus service. The old style double deckers, pushed into use on the service, have proved to be unsuitable for what is the busiest route in the City.
Gone is the air conditioning while space for wheelchairs and pushchairs is often cronically inadequate.

Some advertising paint jobs (such as “Chocolate York”) completely obscure the vehicles. So if a bus painted like this leapfrogs a stop, waiting passengers can only guess whether there were any empty seats.

The higher double deckers bang against overhanging tree branches frightening children and prompting fears that windows will shatter.

But it is reliability that has suffered most. All too frequently these days two number 4’s will follow within a few yards of each other. This effectively reduces what should be a 10 minute frequency service to a 20 minute one.

On Thursday this week buses had been running in tandem all day. A check on reliability at teatime revealed only 1 bus ran from Foxwood to Acomb between 4:10pm and 5:25pm (there should have been 7).

Then something large came into sight (for what happened next see the video at http://youtu.be/-myCQ-BiOwQ).

One passenger reported that it had taken 90 minutes to get from the University to Foxwood. (It should have taken 45 minutes maximum)

The cause is easy to see. The ftr had a conductor (host) who took fares when the vehicle was between stops. Now, in common with most other York services, the driver takes the fares. At a busy bus stop – and the are many on the number 4 route – this can take around 3 minutes. Inevitably the bus behind will catch up and run in tandem at least until the next timing point.

The ftr had the advantage of a GPS management system which gave an accurate indication of where individual buses were on the loop. A nominated route manager could then intervene to realign the services. The technology is still available but does not seem to be used proactively.

The Labour run Council is largely to blame for the decline in service standards. It supported a populist “ftr out” campaign without ensuring that there was an adequate replacement.

Over £200,000 has been spent on an abortive attempt to introduce a new bus contract. An option which was never likely to be available in a City where bus usage remains relatively high.
So what should happen now?

The ftrs are unlikely to return to the City but the congestion and reliability problems could be addressed, in the short term, by reintroducing the use of conductors to take “on board” ticket sales.

In the longer term, cashless ticketing should improve boarding times and this needs to be built into the specification for the next fleet of buses planned for key routes in the City.

In the meantime more cooperation between the Council and bus operators is urgently required.

We have raised passenger concerns with both First York and the Council.

City of York Council, York Pullman and East Coast Mainline are working in partnership to open a new bus and information point in York Railway Station.

The new information desk is located in the station’s Travel Centre and will be officially opened on Tuesday 14 August.

Commuters and visitors will get access to up to date and accurate answers to their queries about local bus services as well as general visitor information.

The customer-facing counter will be operated by York Pullman and has been developed with thanks to £30,000 funding from the Better Bus Area Fund – a grant provided by the Government. (more…)

First are expected to move quickly to register revisions to local bus services, following the announcement by Labour Councillors made earlier in the week about cuts.

Details will shortly be available here. http://tinyurl.com/bus-service-registrations

There are a number of changes to frequencies and several major re-routings.

The most significant is probably for the Number 12 which will now run from Foxwood/Woodthorpe to Monks Cross (not Haxby). This is a shorter journey and will, claim First, improve reliability. The Foxwood loop is retained and there are no plans to change the route through Woodthorpe.

Haxby will be serviced by the number 13 running from Copmanthorpe via Tadcaster Road. This frequency on this service will be cut to hourly.

Other service changes affect the Hollybank link to Acomb and the station, the Dodsworth service to the City Centre and Monks Cross, Bishopthorpe to York and Skelton to York.

A new service to the Sports Village on Hull Road will be started. The new swimming pool there opens on Tuesday.

Many areas will lose out under the new arrangements but the main concern is the continued reluctance of the York Council to publish route by route reliability figures on a regular basis.

Reliability on services such as the number 4, has suffered since the Council started to draw up plans for a statutory bus contract system in the City.

A classic case of “taking your eye off the ball”?

Residents and commuters are being invited to join local bus providers and City of York Council transport officials to discuss proposed changes to local bus services.

The changes come at a time when concerns about bus service reliability are growing.

The best performance in York, in recent years, came in 2010/11 when 75% of bus services ran on time. The Council has so far refused to publish the real time reliability stats which are now gathered routinely by bus operators using GPS systems. This process is more accurate that the manual samples on which previous reliability information have been based.

We think that reliability stats should be published routinely as they are for rail services.

The drop-in event is taking place at York Explore Library on Monday 6th August between 10am and 6pm and is apparently aimed at “consulting with residents on proposed bus service changes set to be implemented later this year”.

“ Proposed changes include the Sunday services to Bishopthorpe, South Bank, Dodsworth Avenue and Hamilton Drive, the daytime services to Skelton and Rawcliffe and the daytime week day services to Dodsworth Avenue”.

So little information has been made available so far that we doubt whether there will be much of a turn out.

NB. Usage of buses in York has been fairly stable over the last 5 years and reverses the trend seen in many other parts of the country.

The Council is contribution £20,000 towards the cost of promoting the new “All York” use any operator bus ticket.

The Council revealed at its last meeting that a staff member would be responsible for apportioning any fare income between participating bus companies (50% would be retained by the operator who took the fare).

It remains unclear how much time officers will have to spend administering this ticket scheme or indeed how many passengers are actually using the option.

A couple of years ago it was estimated that only 4% of passenger journeys involved the use of services provided by different bus companies (pass holders excepted).

With thousands of residents and tourists expected to visit York throughout the York Mystery Plays 2012 performances, City of York Council will be providing extra Park & Rides services to allow easier access to the shows.

During the performances that take place between 2 and 27 August, additional services will be provided at the Rawcliffe Park & Ride (route 2) directly outside Museum Gardens (where the performances are taking place).

(more…)

A Council committee will hear today from “Cabinet” member Cllr Tracy Simpson Laing about her “fact finding” trip to Jonkoping in Sweden. The Wallander of the York Council will have to do better than produce a political diatribe to convince residents that care services are under controlled, and fair, supervision.

For an annual report it stands out as a partisan and highly political view of social services. Everyone is to blame (LibDems, Government, etc) for failure…anyone but the Labour administration.

The report pointedly fails to even mention that the service out-turned with a net £1.567 million over spend in the last financial year. As the Cabinet learned a week ago, “In Adult Social Services increasing service demand for Independent Residential & Nursing Care and Direct Payments remains an issue, as well as new pressures in External Homecare and some delays in the Homecare and EPH business change programmes”. There was also an increase in the number of children in the Councils care.

Detailed figures reveal a gross £3 million overspend which was only partially offset by savings elsewhere.
• Independent Residential & Nursing Care (Overspend £1,393k)
• More customers taking up Direct Payments (Overspend £586k)
• External Homecare demand (Overspend £1,245k)
• Respite care (Overspend £187k).

Culpable delays were incurred in the summer and autumn of 2011 when Labour tried to appease its election paymaster (UNISON) by keeping services “in house” and continuing to endorse pay rates which were well above those in the private sector.

Only 7 out of 59 care staff took up a TUPE transfer when a care contract was privatised. The fate of the others remains largely unexplained.

A behind closed doors decision was taken to advertise the contract for the management of the new Lowfields Care Village but, apparently, with the Unions being given advice on how to organise an in house bid for the contract.

No details of the waiting lists for care services are given in the “Cabinet” members report.

Against that background, you would expect detailed scrutiny of a Cabinet member’s performance. Alas the Councils Scrutiny Committees are dominated by inexperienced Labour Councillors who will ensure that the boat is only rocked ever so gently.

…………and, of course, the sacking of another Cabinet member for incompetence is off the agenda with the Leadership having last week exhausted its alternative membership options.