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Ministers are keen to get more Scots out of their cars and use buses to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Yousaf insisted yesterday that the new approach will address this.
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CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
“This government will not stand by as bus passenger numbers decline”
(6 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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Good that they are finally doing something about this after only 11 years in government. During which time standing by is more or less exactly what they have been doing, while encouraging more car use by building massive new roads.
Posted 5 years ago # -
That article is mince! There weren't 524 million bus journeys in 2016/17, there were 393 million (table 2.2a Scottish Transport Statistics 2017).
The Bill effectively re-brands the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 "bus quality partnerships" as "bus service improvement partnerships" and "bus quality contracts" as "local service franchises". Local authorities do get to run bus services, but "...if commercially operated services are operating without subsidy, the council cannot compete with them" (Explanatory Notes, para 86).
The Financial Memorandum is clear - no extra cash for bus services. Unless Alexander Dennis are working on a bus driven by hot air then I don't really see much changing.
Documents: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/108683.aspx
Posted 5 years ago # -
Want more people to take the bus? Make taking the bus the best option. Simple as that.
If taking the bus is slow, inconvenient and expensive, while driving is fast, cheap and convenient, then it's hardly surprising bus use is dropping.
There are a bunch of simple actions:
* Fully-subsidise buses so they're "free."
* More bus lanes, operating all day.
* Congestion charges.
* Greatly reduce the number of free parking spaces.
None of these are part of Scot Gov's plans. All they're offering is tinkering.
Posted 5 years ago # -
They could also look at single tickets for a journey; if I want to get the bus to my mums it takes three bus journeys, exacerbated by the fact that no bus turns left at the bottom of Lothian Road. I can drive there (if taking kids) or cycle (if its just me, or going from work) in a fraction of the time.
Posted 5 years ago # -
* Fully-subsidise buses so they're "free."
They've done this in Tallinn (for local residents only - tourists and visitors still have to pay). They've seen no real drop in car use, but a significant drop in people walking. Folk get the bus or tram now instead. So, not really a good idea to make buses free without measures to restrict car use in some way.
Through bus/tram ticketing is a good idea though, makes it all a bit more convenient.
Tallinn has a contactless card thing like an Oyster card, which you can prepay at any kiosk in the city. LB have something similar, but can only be topped up at an LB shop. If you could do it at newsagents or post offices that would be more convenient.Posted 5 years ago #
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