| 'Ghost buses' and cut services: Passengers complain as bus cap rises Posted by grahame at 07:48, 9th November 2024 |      |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9g2ple13jo
The 12:40 bus has just driven past Janette Ward’s stop seven minutes early as she watches from the other side of the road, waiting to cross. There won’t be another for two hours.
“It makes it very difficult when you’re going for an appointment or you’re connecting to a rail service or other bus service,” says Ms Ward, 74.
There’s also been further changes to make her journey more complicated, she says. Janette now has to take four buses to see her daughter in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Before, she only needed to change buses once.
Her situation is by no means unique.
The frequency of rural bus services in England has reached a historic low, according to a report by the County Councils Network. They found more than a quarter of rural routes had been lost over the decade to 2023.
“It makes it very difficult when you’re going for an appointment or you’re connecting to a rail service or other bus service,” says Ms Ward, 74.
There’s also been further changes to make her journey more complicated, she says. Janette now has to take four buses to see her daughter in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Before, she only needed to change buses once.
Her situation is by no means unique.
The frequency of rural bus services in England has reached a historic low, according to a report by the County Councils Network. They found more than a quarter of rural routes had been lost over the decade to 2023.
and of particular pain locally
... Since then dozens of people have got in touch with BBC News, many saying that buses remain fundamentally unreliable.
Some passengers say there's a lack of digital screens at bus stops and live app updates for some routes outside of cities, unlike trains and Ubers where many are used to tracking journeys in real time.
Some passengers say there's a lack of digital screens at bus stops and live app updates for some routes outside of cities, unlike trains and Ubers where many are used to tracking journeys in real time.
Now - I want to be very clear that Wiltshire has been exceptionally good in retaining and enhancing bus services in comparison to so many other authorities and the bus team at Wiltshire Council works very hard indeed and does deliver. But there remains work to be done.
This Coffee Shop forum focuses on rail where there's a big problem of cancellations - but at least (these days) we usually know ahead of time and that makes a difference. Personal story from yesterday to follow. And the need to have plenty of time and be robust to the system and delays well illustrated!
