Newcastleton YBM Report Sept 2019

Newcastleton Passenger Survey Report

Data collection Methods

46% YBM On bus 52% Over the phone

Passenger surveys were carried out Monday to Saturday during w/c 26/08/19 and a subsequent Your Bus Matters event was held on the 03/09/19 in order to capture feedback from as many passengers as possible. In total, we spoke with 67 passengers. The vast majority of those during the YBM held in the village. This survey work was carried out in partnership with Scottish Borders Council to explore bus patronage in the rural community of Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders, a few miles from the border with England, on the Liddel Water. Newcastleton is 10 miles east of Langholm, 17 miles south of Hawick, 24 miles north of Carlisle and 74 miles south of Edinburgh. The village has no rail access and depends largely on supported local bus services operated by an operator called Telford’s Coaches Ltd which is also based in Newcastleton.

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Bus Services Used

Service 127 Langholm 47% Service 127A Carlisle 45% Service 128 Hawick

As can be seen in the chart above over 90% of the respondents travel between Carlisle and Hawick.

Service Analysis

Service 127 Langholm

13% 12% Once a week 50% Less than once a week 25% 4 days a week 2 days a week

Service 127A Carlisle

7% 9% Once a week 12% 43% Less than once a week 2 days a week 29% 4 days a week 3 days a week

Service 128 Hawick

7% 7%

7% Once a week 39% 2 days a week 3 days a week 19% 5 or 6 days a week 4 days a week 21% Less than once a week

Once Per Week Journeys

4% 4%

8% 24% Saturday 8% Vary/Different days Friday Monday 12% 20% Wednesday Thursday Tuesday 20% Depends on appointments

Of the three services, travel patterns are quite sporadic and these are not journey’s which passengers make on a daily basis. It appears that most passengers tend to travel at the end of the week Fri/Sat more than they do earlier in the week.

Average Bus Use Patterns

18% 46% 2-3 times a month Once a month Infrequently 27% 3 times a year

As shown above, the non-regular bus passengers only use the service 2-3 times within a month.

Saturday use of service 127 Langholm

25%

No 75% Yes

Saturday service to Langholm was not used by many passengers that we spoke to.

Saturday use of service 127A Carlisle

39% Yes 61% No

Whereas Carlisle is a destination that passengers do use the bus for on a regular basis.

Saturday use of service 128 Hawick

49% 51% No Yes

Of the respondents we spoke to, over half of them did not use the Saturday service to Hawick.

Route Analysis

3% 1% 3% 1%

Newcastleton Hawick

Newcastleton Carlisle 48% Newcastleton Langholm

Rowanburn Carlisle

Hermitage Hawick 44% Newcastleton Rowanburn

Newcastleton to Hawick and Newcastleton to Carlisle were the main routes which passengers used.

Traveling times for Newcastleton to Carlisle

3% 3% 3% 6% Various Times 6% 31% 9 A.M. 5 P.M. 6% P.M A.M. 8% 1 P.M. 2 P.M

11% 23% Depends on appointments 9.45 A.M. 7 A.M.

Travel times for the 9am-5pm journeys represented most passengers at 34% with others travelling at various times.

Traveling times for Newcastleton to Hawick

2% 2% 5% 2% Various Times 39% 7% 9.50 A.M 5.20 P.M. 11% 7 A.M. 9 A.M. 1.30 P.M. 14% P.M 18% 12 P.M. Depends on appointments

As per the Carlisle service, various times are the norm with 39% and 32% for those travelling at key work commute times.

Reason for Bus Travel

6% 9% 32% Shopping 8% Visit friends/relatives Other 12% Medical Appointments School/College 13% 20% Connections with other Bus Services Work

Shopping and visiting family/friends were the primary reasons for bus travel 52%.

Does present timetable meet main travel needs?

34% Yes 64% Partly No

The vast majority of passenger we spoke to were happy with the current timetable and were very apprehensive about any reduction of the services that they have as the vast majority of passengers did not have car or were unable to drive and the bus was their lifeline for travel.

What Passengers Would like

17% 33% Later buses to and from Newcastleton The Hawick Bus - Later than 1.30 25% P.M required More frequent bus services 25% Later buses from Carlisle

When asked, what enhancements could be made to the services that they have just now, over a third of respondents would like to see more later buses to and from the village. This was of particular importance to younger passengers i.e. college students.

Difficulties in Accessing The Vehicle

No Yes 98%

It was positive to note that virtually all passengers stated that the buses operated by Telford’s Coaches Ltd were accessible.

Postcodes of Respondents

2% 2% 2% 10% 2%

Newcastleton Hawick Canonbie Edinburgh 82% North Berwick Rowanburn Village

The vast majority of passengers that we surveyed were residents of the village – 82%.

Age of Respondents

5% 10%

43% 60+ 19% 46-59 Under 18 18-24 35-45 23%

Registered Disabled

10%

No Yes 90%

Nearly half of the passengers we spoke to were concession card holders and 10% of the total were registered as disabled. This highlights how crucial rural bus services are for these small communities in Scotland, which tend to have an older population. Without bus services such as these, people not would be able to live independently and for younger people the desire to either own a car or even move away from these smaller communities is further exacerbated.

Summary:

The passengers that we spoke to are very concerned about the long-term viability of the bus services which serve their village. Many did not drive or had access to a car, so the bus was their only mode of travel. Also, many cited the social benefits of the bus service, in that, when they used them, they spoke with other passengers from the village and the drivers also knew them. This social interaction was a key benefit, as a lot of the elderly lived on their own and may not interact with a great deal of people on a weekly basis other than when they used the bus. Furthermore, by having a concession card, those on low incomes who used the bus to access chiropody services for example would not be able to afford to do this had they not had a concession card. After school bus services were a key factor for many of the younger passengers, because if they had clubs or any after school activities, they required a parent or other family member to collect them due to no bus services.

Greig Mackay Acting Director Bus Users Scotland Office Hopetoun Gate, 8b McDonald Road, Edinburgh EH7 4LZ

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