Essex County Council – Review of Supported Route 9

Route 9 number Places Braintree, Panfield, Shalford, Wethersfield, to Great served Bardfield (via Panfield Lane)

Nos. of 4 return journeys on Saturdays: journeys Braintree – Great Bardfield (via Panfield Lane) Saturdays

Braintree Train Centre, Bus Park (stand D) 0830 1230 1545 1740 Braintree, Aetheric (N bound) 0835 1235 1550 1745 Bocking, opp Post Office 0837 1237 1552 1747 Bocking, o/s Towerlands Leisure Centre 0839 1239 1554 1749 Panfield, opp Bell Lane 0843 1243 1558 1753 Shalford, opp Village Hall 0848 1248 1603 1758 Wethersfield, opp The Green 0854 1254 1609 1804 Finchingfield, opp The Fox 0859 1259 1614 1809 Great Bardfield, adj Alienor Avenue 0906 1306 1621 1816

Great Bardfield, opp Alienor Avenue 0750 0915 1310 1625 Finchingfield, o/s The Fox 0755 0920 1315 1630 Wethersfield, adj The Green 0801 0927 1322 1637 Shalford, o/s Village Hall 0808 0933 1328 1643 Panfield, adj Bell Lane 0813 0938 1333 1648 Bocking, adj Towerlands Leisure Centre 0817 0942 1337 1652 Bocking, o/s Post Office 0819 0944 1339 1654 Braintree, Aetheric Road (S bound) 0821 0946 1341 1656 Braintree Town Centre, opp Blyth's Meadow 0823 0948 1343 1658 Braintree Town Centre, Bus Park (Stand 0826 0951 1348 1701 D)

Is this service to No. The journeys are not considered commercially viable. provide un- economic journeys on an otherwise commerci al route? Descriptio The Proposals: County Council (ECC) is considering n changes withdrawing support for this Saturday service with effect from August 26th 2017.

Number of Annual passenger numbers 3,529. passenger s Cost per Cost per passenger journey (the cost to ECC of carrying each passenger passenger after all revenue is taken into account): £5.25 journey Name of Regal Busways Current operator

Consultation period 31 May 2017 to 03 July 2017 Number of There were 124 Responses responses Any particular Frequency for use impact on equality Of those people who responded groups identified 61 (87%) use the service from consultation or 9 (13%) do not use the service other information. 34 (54%) use the service each week 14 (22%) use the service less than once a month 15 (24%) monthly

Reason for use Of those people who responded 38 (38%) use the service for shopping 26 (26%) use the service for leisure 18 (18%) use the service to access employment 10 (10%) use the service for education or to access medical appointments 8 (8%) other

Gender split 44 (70%) Female 14 (22%) Male 5 (8%) did not wish to say

Age profile 3 (5%) under 18 5 (8%) 18-24 5 (8%) 25-34 6 (10%) 35-44 15 (24%) 45-54 12 (19%) 55-64 8 (13%) 65-74 8 (13%) over 75

Disability 50 (80%) preferred not to say 1 (2%) visually impaired 4 (6%) hearing impaired 5 (8%) physically impaired 3 (4%) with other long term debility

Employment Status 35 (56%) working full or part time 17 (27%) retired 2 (3%) full or part time study 9 (14%) preferring not to say

Issues raised in consultation – what ECC analysis of issue would you do if the service was no longer provided? Use the car as I do now Not relevant Would have to have taxi resulting in more General comment expense, pollution.what will happen to those who use it to get to work. There are no shops in Panfield. I will have to Shopping adjust my routines Have no access to braintree on a sat. The problem is an unreliable service. Why is it you Suggestion - vehicle issues look to companies who use large buses on a route which is rarely full. Other counties use smaller buses on their routes. When you plan to build houses out on the route why is the first thing which disappears the public transport. Be unable to get to Braintree as it takes too Leisure long and the interchange onto other bus133 is in middle of a flyover, and difficult to time when there are so few buses. Not helpful to someone over the age of 70. There are no buses at all on Sundays from Great Bardfield, so that would mean hardly any opportunity to go out at the weekend. At least there are other options e.g. if you can get to Braintree on that first bus. Be stuck in Panfield as I no longer have a car. I Isolation gave up because my eyesight is not so good any more Have to rely on parents to get me to town or Leisure not be able to get to see friends Have to go to not Braintree x2 General be unable to go anywhere on a saturday and as General no bus on sunday would mean isolated for whole weekend. I will have to walk from a Great Notley to General Braintree Struggle to get out of the village ,I live in being Leisure/Shopping shalford , and I speak on behalf of not just the younger generation but older to , The Saturday bus is a great way to get out to go shopping on a Saturday or get to one village to the local drs being finchingfield , this would make it difficult for not just the elderly to get out of the village but those who cannot drive and need the transport to take them into the town. As a none driver this would have a big impact General on me Taxi. No other options as I can't walk far General Be unemployed! Employment Suffer General Not be able to visit relatives! Leisure Lose my job Employment I would lose my job and probably my home Employment would no longer have a job, if i cannot get to Employment work on a Saturday then i would be surplus to requirements Not go out on a saturday General Wouldn't be able to get out General Stay at home General I used to number 34/34A to get to work during General the week and Saturdays. It was withdrawn on a Saturday and the early morning service was terribly unreliable and then then cut! It was taken over by the 9 and the times did not match my needs. I had to change my job due to this! Would not be able to go to town unless General somebody took me or I paid for a taxi Stuck at home.. depressed not being able to get General put I currently don't drive and would therefore find Leisure it very hard to travel to Braintree because of this. I'm 17 and therefore like to socialise with my friends who all live in Braintree, I do not understand why people in a village should be restricted to very few buses a week because they live further out. I do not drive. So this service is very important General to me. Can't afford a car I would have to ask for a lift anytime I want to General get into Braintree which inconviences other people. I'd be stuck in Great Notley...this service is General needed desperately Either use my car, thus adding further pollution, or rely on others/relations Have no access to Braintree on a Saturday. Also General & employment comment concerned about some young residents who have Saturday jobs and rely on the service Become unemployed and a further drain on the Employment councils funds!!! There would be significant additional cost and General time in getting into Braintree (and therefore into London) on Saturdays. There would be increased environmental cost in individual rather than shared journeys and and degradation of quality of life in this rural area. [Disabled] 36. I would have to drive and use already busy car parks in Braintree town centre. This service is vital to rural locations and people who cannot drive. It is the only feasible option to get to Braintree on a weekend for the young and elderly people of this village (using the 16 and 133 bus would take twice as long and probably be even more expensive).

The withdrawal of the no9 service on a Leisure Saturday would further isolate this village from sports and leisure facilities. My daughter uses this services regularly as she does not yet drive and wishes to avail herself of the facilities of Braintree - shops, cinema and meeting friends. The taxi of mum or dad is not always an option. Money is not the only factor that should impact this decision. The vitality of rural communities is also affected. I know people who use this service to visit the village and walk locally, coming from Chelmsford, Braintree and further afield. Not be able to leave the village General Great Bardfield PC has responded on behalf of General residents who have raised concerns about the loss of the service. Not go to Braintree General I have no other means of getting to visit my General family and I collect my granddaughter from school once a week. I do not drive and I am on my own I have no other means of transportation General I would have to drive or not go if unable to General drive I'd be left having to pay for a taxi which I really General couldn't afford!! My children cannot walk as it is not a safe route General or no foot path. They are 13 & 15.,the road is too dangerous to walk., Loose my job Employment Wouldn't be able to get to work Employment Not sure General Have to get a taxi which would be more General expensive. Not good. Have to pay for a taxi General Unable to visit Leisure Be stuck! There is no safe path way. It will be a General matter of time before somebody is in a accident along the Panfield to Braintree road. Walk across the fields to Braintree like my General grandparents did prior to 1920 when the service started. No other way of getting to Braintree, health Health/General/shopping issues, daughter lives in sheltered accommodation in Bocking. Would not be able to have a mother and daughter day out. I have used this bus service for the last 47 Employment years and I will not be able to get to work in Braintree, so I will be unemployed. I would have to drive, which I always try and general avoid doing at weekends (for health and the environment) would have to walk along a busy road which general has no pavement Not get out and about general The Parish Council debated the proposed No objection withdrawal of the No. 9 Service and subsequently raised no objection to its withdrawal as it was thought by Members that the service is no longer justifiable with such low passenger numbers.

Proposed solution Withdrawing support for this Saturday service with effect from August 26th 2017. Reasons The cost per passenger journey is £5.25. Under the County Council’s policy for bus service support, it will not usually support services where the cost per passenger journey exceeds £5.00. If route is to be Alternative transport available: withdrawn then  Service 16 operates between Great Bardfield - please state any Finchingfield -Wethersfield to Chelmsford; Journeys to other public Braintree would need a change of bus onto service transport options 133; available for  Parts of Bocking would have service 21 or 38a. passengers.  Panfield, Shalford and Shalford Green would have no service on a Saturday