Liberal Democrat campaigners call for action on New Year’s buses to Southmead Hospital

The Leader of South Gloucestershire’s Liberal Democrat councillors, Claire Young, has written to local First Bus managing director James Freeman calling on him to review his decision not to lay on any buses to Southmead from Yate or Thornbury on New Year’s Day. A decision that could leave hospital staff and those visiting patients high and dry.

Claire Young said: “Initially First said that they were not going to run any Yate or Thornbury buses at all on New Year’s Day, which would have been a ludicrous situation. Thankfully First relented after we and others wrote to express our concern. There is now at least a basic service with a few buses running to Bristol and back but it is still far from adequate. The lack of a direct service to Southmead is a real worry. This will mean that residents will struggle to visit sick loved ones on New Year’s Day, and hospital staff who usually take the bus will be left out of pocket. I wrote again to James Freeman asking him to address this problem.”   

North Yate Lib Dem councillor Ian Blair said: “I raised this issue with the Conservative Executive Member for Transport Cllr Colin Hunt at last week’s meeting of Council. He said that his hands are tied because he has no control over the level of service provided by operators. This is untrue. First is subsidised by the council to provide bus services on bank holidays, with the level of service expected being set out in the contract. It is ridiculous if the council has neglected to make New Year’s Day subject to that contract. Once again the Conservatives have shown that they don’t care about Yate residents or bus users.”

Local resident Paul Hulbert said:  "I was astonished to hear that there weren't going to be any local buses on New Year's Day. I am pleased that there will now be a basic service into Bristol, but it's very disappointing that there still won't be any direct buses from Yate to Southmead Hospital for staff or visitors. Let's hope that First Bus and South Glos Council get their act together for future bank holidays."

New timetable for 82 Southmead bus - your views please

The new timetable for the 82 bus has now been in place for a few weeks. Although the route has been extended to Chipping Sodbury, we've heard that from time to time late-running buses have turned round at Yate and left out the Sodbury part of the route.

Has this happened to you? How good have the buses been at keeping to time?

Also what do you feel about the Sunday service, which runs every two hours, and only comes as far as Yate?

If you're a staff member, how does the new timetable suit you?

 

You can check out the new timetables on the Traveline South West site

Please let Claire Young have your feedback.

Carillion collapse has effects close to home

The Carillion site at Westerleigh Road near Chedworth

The collapse of the massive company Carillion is having an effect on a wide range of local facilities and projects. These range from services they run at Southmead Hospital for North Bristol NHS Trust to local construction projects like the Carillion site at Westerleigh Road, Yate near Chedworth - the project to stabilise the bankment on the railway line that runs from Bristol Parkway north towards Yate and Gloucester.

All of the hospital facilities are open as normal and patient appointments are not affected, but the effect on the target date for the rail embankment works is not yet known.

As far as we know the electrification of the main GWR line is not affected, as this is being run by another main contractor.

Update 19/01/2018 - Regarding Westerleigh Rd, Network Rail say: "As far as we’ve been told, Carillion’s work for Network Rail continues for the time being as we work with the official receiver to ensure the continuity of its project work. Our aim is to ensure, as far as possible, that this news won’t impact our projects"

82 bus service problems continue - but new evening journey promised

Local resident Ian Muirhead with
Cllrs Claire Young and Paul Hulbert

Your local Focus team has been campaigning for a more reliable Southmead Hospital 82 bus service with a later bus back. Some buses have been manned by drivers who don't know the route and rely on passengers' directions - one tried to drive into the Ministry of Defence by mistake. Many of the buses on this route are old and leak water onto passengers when it rains.

Sadly, we are still regularly receiving complaints about late running and cancelled buses, as covered by the Gazette newspaper this week. However there is some good news - from 30th April there will be a later journey for people returning from Southmead Hospital and the Mall at 8.30 pm.

82 bus campaign continues

Your Focus Team is continuing to fight for a better 82 bus service, after the last bus of the day was cut in January. On Monday, local councillor Claire Young spoke out again at the South Gloucestershire Council Public Transport Forum.

Losing the last bus of the day is a blow not just to those visiting relatives in hospital but also to workers at the Mall, Cribbs Causeway. They are having to catch buses into the centre of Bristol and back out to places like Yate and Coalpit Heath, getting home very late at night. Your Focus Team is pushing not only for the last service to be restored but also for a later service that would come back from Cribbs after the shops have closed at 9pm.

First Bus said that they had changed the timetable to improve reliability. By reducing the frequency and not having drivers changing mid-route, they said it gave more time to recoup delays, especially at peak times. They admitted that due to roadworks, including the temporary traffic lights in Winterbourne, there had been problems in the first couple of weeks of the new timetable, but they claimed that reliability had improved since, though there was still work to do.

The poor reliabilty is having a knock-on effect on our highly valued Community Transport services. Because people don't feel they can rely on the 82 bus to get them to their hospital appointments, they are turning to Community Transport, while others are being referred by their GPs because they don't meet the strict criteria for the Patient Transport Service. Claire met Green Community Travel representatives on Wednesday to discuss this and other issues.

Save Our Buses petition launched

The Liberal Democrat Focus Team has launched a petition to get South Glos to work with First Bus to save our bus services from the major cuts planned for early September.

• If you live in Chipping Sodbury or northwards, you'll lose your direct link to Southmead Hospital and Parkway station.
• If you use the Yate buses to get to Parkway, you'll only have half as many buses.
• If you use the Yate buses to get to Southmead, although the hourly direct service will stay, you'll lose many of the quicker options that involve changing buses on the way - so the service is effectively halved.
• If you travel to UWE's Frenchay Campus, you'll lose ALL your direct buses except at "school start and finish times".

Please join our campaign and sign our petition here.

You can see the full details of the changes on the South Glos Council website here - please comment on this post if there's another service change that affects you.

Major cuts for buses to Southmead, Parkway, UWE

First Bus has announced major cuts to bus services from Yate and Chipping Sodbury to Southmead Hospital, Parkway Station and the University of the West of England Frenchay Campus, starting 4th September.

You can see the full details of the changes on the South Glos Council website here - you need to look at the sections about services 81, 82 and 16 in particular.

The changes will cause major difficulties for local people. The frequency of the buses from Yate to Southmead Hospital and Parkway Station will be halved, and Chipping Sodbury, Wotton under Edge and the villages in between will lose their direct link to Southmead Hospital and Parkway Station altogether.

In addition almost all the direct buses from Yate to the University of the West of England will be cut, leaving just one "school time" direct service per day in each direction, and that will only run only on school days. Otherwise passengers from Yate will need to change buses at Downend, and passengers from Chipping Sodbury will need to change twice.

These bus cuts are going to cause local people a lot of problems. Halving the buses from Yate to Southmead and Parkway will deter people from using public transport. It will make the parking and traffic situation worse at both destinations. Life will become even more difficult for people who have regular treatment at Southmead, and it will waste a lot of time for people whose trains do not coincide with the bus schedule. This change will also restrict employment opportunities.

Things will be even worse for people who live in Chipping Sodbury, Wotton Under Edge and the villages in between. They will have to change buses in Yate as well, taking longer and pushing up travel costs. People in our area fought long and hard to get decent buses to Southmead when Frenchay Hospital closed, and now many of these services are being taken away.

The savage cuts to the bus services from Yate to UWE will be a major deterrent for students going to their local university. People seem to have assumed that UWE students work school hours and days, which just isn't so. Many students have to juggle lectures with jobs, just to be able to survive. What is more, these changes will affect areas that include Priority Neighbourhoods, where far fewer young people carry on in education after 18.

UWE does not allow students to bring cars to the Frenchay Campus for environmental reasons. The least we can do is make sure that students have decent bus services instead. UWE's Frenchay bus station is also a major interchange used by many people who are not students or staff, often travelling to work.

Bus services in our area are already not as good as much of Bristol, and these changes will make things even worse.

Let's hope that South Glos is willing do something to alleviate the impacts of these changes.

Southmead hospital buses - first sight of new timetables

As we reported recently, First Bus are planning to change the timetables on the 81, 82, and 83 routes with effect from 29th March. You can now search for journeys after that date on the Traveline South West website, and the correct details will show up.

In case you want to compare the old and new timetables - for example if you want to find out the effect of the changes on your journey to work - we've captured the current and future timetables as they stand now.

Important - these versions will not be updated if First Bus make any later changes, so please check the Traveline site before you actually intend to travel.

Click here for a PDF copy of the new timetable from 29 March
Click here for a PDF copy of the current timetable until 28 March

Southmead bus service timetables to change, but services safe

There was concern locally when some eagle-eyed people spotted that First Bus were deregistering the 81, 82 and 83 bus services. However, Pat Hockey, the Lib Dem Transport lead member, has investigated and all is well.

Pat said, "I spoke to First’s Managing Director, James Freeman. In order to make bus services more reliable the timetables have been investigated and some of them found to be totally unrealistic in view of the traffic congestion. This has resulted in changes to timetables. The new timetables have to be registered with the Traffic Commissioners and will start on March 29th. The existing services have to be deregistered to accommodate this."

"There is absolutely no intention to stop the Southmead services. The aim is to make them reliable.
Before the changes come in I am assured there will be full publicity."

We'll tell you about the new timetables when we hear more news.

Healthwatch issues report on Southmead Hospital

Healthwatch, the consumer group concentrating on health and social care, has been consulting patients and the public about their experiences at Southmead Hospital - their report is available here.

North Bristol NHS Trust has responded in fairly general terms - for example, they say "Parking is an area of continuous improvement for us whilst waiting for the completion of the phase 2 development in spring 2016"

The report concentrates on matters within the hospital, so it doesn't really touch on issues such as bus services. Please let Pat Hockey pat.hockey@southglos.gov.uk know about any excessive delays or missing services on the Southmead routes.

Reminder - major bus changes from Sunday 13 April

As we told you recently, bus services in the Yate and Chipping Sodbury area will change appreciably from this coming Sunday, 13 April.

This post amended 20 April - please see changes highlighted in yellow.

Click here to see the new timetables on the South Glos website, but both versions are showing until the changeover - please make sure that you look at the versions marked "From 13 April 2014" to see the new services.

For more detailed journey planning you can contact Traveline online or call them on 0871 200 2233.

For your convenience, our previous summary of the new services is repeated below (including some later clarifications now that we've seen the timetables)

Service 46 (replaces 327) Yate – Bristol
-    Will now serve Cranleigh Court Road, Greenways Road and Church Road instead of part of Station Rd.
-    Increased evening services, net result with Service 47 will be 30 minute frequency Yate – Bristol.
-    Also replaces 329, so Sunday services lost to Iron Acton, North Yate and Heron Way

Service X46 (replaces some of the X27 service) Yate – Bristol
-    First taking over from Wessex Connect
-    Together with 46 and 47, will provide 15 minute frequency Yate – Bristol
-    Will not go beyond Bristol Bus Station to Anchor Road
-    But will start from Chipping Sodbury (unlike the 46 service, which starts from Yate)

Service X27 Yate - North Yate - Bristol
-    Reduced service running Mon-Sat only
-    Continues to Anchor Road

Service 47/X47 (replacing 342/X42) Chipping Sodbury – Bristol
-    Increased Sunday frequency, later last journey home.

Service N47 (replaces N50 night bus) Bristol - Yate - Chipping Sodbury
-    Same service, different number.

Service X49 (replaces 689) Yate - Westerleigh - Pucklechurch - Bristol City Centre
-    Will now stop at Bristol Bus Station, not Colston Avenue
-    Faster journeys and tops up Bristol – Yate service.

Service 81 (replacing 581) Kingswood – Bristol Parkway – Yate
-    Replacing 581 Hanham - UWE - Bristol Parkway - Yate - Chipping Sodbury
-    But Chipping Sodbury service lost

Service 82 (replacing 482/483)  Southmead Hospital – Yate
-    Replacing 482/483 Chipping Sodbury – Yate – Cribbs Causeway.
-    Extended to Southmead Hospital
-    But Chipping Sodbury, Heron Way, Shire Way service lost.

Passengers for Southmead Hospital from Yate will be able to travel directly on the new Service 82; however, passengers will also have the option to travel on the 81 and then transfer to Service 18 at Bristol Parkway.

Even more bus changes on the way?

South Glos Council is consulting about changes to subsidised bus services. The consultation is available here - it closes on 31 March. Local impacts are as follows:

Service 222 Chipping Sodbury - Yate – Kingswood – Longwell Green (Aspects cinema)
-    Experimental service with low usage, to be discontinued
-    Brimsham Park and Iron Acton lose services

Service 622 Chipping Sodbury – Yate – Thornbury - Cribbs Causeway
-    removing journeys before 9am with a view to thereby reducing the subsidy the council pays for this service

Service 967 South Yate – Chipping Sodbury Secondary School – Brimsham Green School (schools service)
-    Actually Westerleigh – Shire Way – Chipping Sodbury – Yate, one journey each way.
-    The council is proposing to cease operating these services and to instead support schools and parent groups in setting up their own transport service if required.
-    This route is used by an average of 35 passengers with a subsidy of £1.98. There currently is no alternative route available.

Summary of bus changes from 13 April 2014

As we told you recently, there will now be a direct bus from Yate to Southmead Hospital. But this is just one of the changes to come - here is a summary:

Click here for an updated version of the text in green

Service 46 (replaces 327) Yate – Bristol
-    Will now serve Cranleigh Court Road, Greenways Road and Church Road instead of part of Station Rd.
-    Increased evening services, net result with Service 47 will be 30 minute frequency Yate – Bristol.
-    Also replaces 329, so Sunday services lost to Iron Acton, North Yate and Heron Way

Service X46 (replaces X27) Yate – Bristol
-    First taking over from Wessex Connect
-    Together with 46 and 47, will provide 15 minute frequency Yate – Bristol
-    Will not go beyond Bristol Bus Station to Anchor Road
-    But will start from Chipping Sodbury
-    Some Wessex X27 services possibly to continue on this route

Service 47/X47 (replacing 342/X42) Chipping Sodbury – Bristol
-    Increased Sunday frequency, later last journey home.

Service N47 (replaces N50 night bus)
-    Same service, different number.

Service X49 (replaces 689)
-    Will now stop at Bristol Bus Station, not Colston Avenue
-    Faster journeys and tops up Bristol – Yate service.

Service 81 (replacing 581) Kingswood – Bristol Parkway – Yate
-    Replacing 581 Hanham - UWE - Bristol Parkway - Yate - Chipping Sodbury
-    81 appears not to continue to Chipping Sodbury (not entirely clear)

Service 82 (replacing 482/483)  Southmead Hospital – Yate
-    Replacing 482/483 Chipping Sodbury – Yate – Cribbs Causeway.
-    Extended to Southmead Hospital
-    But Chipping Sodbury, Heron Way, Shire Way service lost.

Passengers for Southmead Hospital from Yate will be able to travel directly on the new Service 82; however, passengers will also have the option to travel on the 81 and then transfer to Service 18 at Bristol Parkway.

Here's a snag, though - there are hidden costs to some of these changes. Some people will now have to change buses at Yate, which will cost more unless they have season tickets.  What's more some routes are being taken over by First from Wessex, so they will no longer offer the £1 single / £1.50 return Hopper tickets within Yate and Chipping Sodbury.

Southmead Hospital - a bus ride in the right direction?

First Bus have announced proposals for a direct bus service from Yate to Southmead Hospital from 13 April, together with changes to other services. While the direct link will very welcome, it falls short of the desire for a service from Chipping Sodbury as well.

Other consequences appear to be that certain services will be lost from parts of North Yate, and Chipping Sodbury and South Yate look likely to lose their existing direct service to Cribbs Causeway.

So all in all, a mixed bag. One upside is that most of these services will be run on a commercial basis, rather than being council-subsidised, so they should be less vulnerable to council cutbacks.

We'll only really know the detailed impact when timetables are published online in mid March. Meanwhile you can read more on the First Bus website.

Have you signed Steve Webb's petition for decent buses to Southmead Hospital?

When Frenchay Hospital closes most of its services, most patients from our area will need to find their way to Southmead Hospital instead, through some of the worst traffic in Bristol. There are plans to improve some of the bus services to Southmead, but all our area is being offered is a bus to parkway Station, then you would have to wait for another bus to Southmead.

Imagine trying to get there for an appointment, if you haven't got a car or you acn't drive at the moment, especially if you're feeling unwell. And what about visitors and staff who live in our area? We think this just isn't good enough.

Steve Webb and the Focus Team have already gathered hundreds of signatures on the "We need a bus to Southmead" petition. Steve says

A big thank you to everyone who has responded to the petition already. The Council has a meeting of its PTSE committee (planning, transportation and strategic environment!) in the first week in September and will be looking at options for transport to Southmead, so we'll be sending them the petition before that meeting. If anyone hasn't signed yet, there is still time to sign the online petition at:


http://southmeadbuspetition.wordpress.com/signthepetition/

We need a direct bus to Southmead Hospital!

The main NHS acute hospital for people in and around Yate is moving from Frenchay to Southmead next year. So how would YOU get from Yate or Chipping Sodbury to Southmead, without a car?

Steve Webb asked the question, and the best they could come up with was to catch a bus to Bristol Parkway and then change and get another bus to Southmead. Imagine - it's cold, it's wet, and you're already not feeling very well.

According to the North Bristol NHS Trust "whilst a direct service from Southmead to Yate was considered early on in discussions it would be unaffordable as a new service" - it's just not good enough.

You can join Steve Webb's new Facebook group "We need a bus to Southmead", and we'll keep you posted here as well.