Saturday, 14th January 2006
When I travel to Swindon on a Saturday, my first choice is to go be train is the timing is convenient. If there isn't a train within an hour or so of when I want to travel, I'll drive. If there's a substitute bus service running, I'll still drive; the bus via Chippenham is even slower than the car.
How many other potential public transport users are put off by having to use a substitute bus? Am I unusual, or is significant revenue lost by the railways when they run buses? I thought I would find out, so today I took the 17:15 bus from Melksham to Chippenham, and returned on the 23:41 bus that gets in to Melksham at 00:01
LOADINGSThere were 7 passengers on the 17:15 bus when it arrived at Melksham from Westbury and Trowbridge, and a further 4 joined at Melksham. 4 passengers left the bus at Chippenham before it left for Swindon.
On the 17:15 bus from Melksham
I hung around at Chippenham station for a few minutes when I got there as there was bus back to Melksham and beyond due. It turned up about quarter of an hour late and left with just 3 people on board - 2 for Melksham and 1 for beyond.
The 23:41 bus arrived on empty from Swindon and I was the only passenger on to Melksham, where I left it empty for its onward journey. I understand that on its way up to Swindon earlier in the evening it had been used by four people from Westbury to Trowbridge and by five from Chippenham to Swindon, and it was empty in between.
Awaiting the 23:41 bus at Chippeham
Those figures are dreadful loadings. I've travelled on weekend trains in the past (and that was before I started counting passengers) - but I notice enough to know that there would have been several times that number of people on board. It appears that I'm NOT alone in taking to my car if the train is off.
FARE COLLECTIONIt gets worse. How can that be? Our line is under threat because of "low passenger numbers" and the measure used is ticket sales. So that's 11 tickets for the journey to Chippenham? No - there's no ticket office at Melksham and the driver didn't have facilities to issue tickets. I sought out a booking agent at Chippenham (the ticket office was closed) and paid, but I would be surprised, frankly, if everyone else was as honest.
I had paid single as I wasn't sure when I would be returning and I knew there's a ticket machine at Chippenham. That turned out to be a problem as the ticket machine was inside the locked office and I had no choice but to take a free ride. Sound like that's par for the course according to the driver - "certain services such as [names other line] get very busy when the rail replacement bus is on".
Does it really matter? Yes, it does. With 30 out of 50 weekend days bus substituted between September and February, the lost revenue and lost traffic figures will lead to a misleadingly low traffic measure. An all-too-easy fraud of unpaid fares (and the impossibility to pay even when you want to at times) could be the straw that broken the camel's back and lost us the weekend trains.
INFORMATIONI had been up in Chippenham last Saturday too and been disappointed at the lack of any sign what so ever about (bus substitute) services to Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury. Plenty of information about Bath and Bristol, and Swindon services. So I had "had a go" at Wessex and First who, of course, pointed at each other. But Wessex DID say they would ensure that First got the notices to pick up and First DID say they would put them up.
It hadn't happened ... I dunno why, but the Westbury bus was still like a "ghost" bus that you had to know about. Even asking a member of the staff on duty (in the early eveing) didn't lead to any more information, but I did manage to walk up to a bus and get the driver to admit to being Westbury bound. Later in the evening the place was deserted; I nearly got on the Bath bus that was due five minutes after the Westbury, but turned up five minutes earlier. But a great ride in my private bus, and a great chance to have a chat with the driver.
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