Edition 8

Summer 2014

Chairman’s Message A striking feature of our great little organisation, Bus Users , is how much effort we squeeze from a relatively small group of people! You have only to read our Annual Report to see how much has gone on in the space of a single year. Our committee – just six people strong - meet every six weeks and between times are organising, responding, urging, publicising, trying to enhance the experiences of our bus travelling public. Recent developments have included a public meeting in Bridgnorth attended by thirty people. Our committee is continuing to look for ways to turn the aspirations of those thirty people (and the many more who couldn’t get to the meeting or who didn’t know about it) into reality. This is ongoing work - in Bridgnorth as in every other part of Shropshire. We believe BUS needs a bigger team of committed activists if we are going to continue to be effective. We are therefore calling for more Members to step forward to offer yourself to help, or to invite other well organised people to join our cause. So if you, or your friend, would like to get more involved in helping bus users please contact me using any of the contact methods listed on the back page of this newsletter. We need your help. BUS has also been busy getting posters onto buses. But we don’t want to stop at that. If you have a public place suitable for displaying a BUS poster or leaflets please ask Bus Users Shropshire Drop-In us for some. We want to get them into all types of public buildings around the county. We would like to hear your views And lastly, we are aware that there seem to be more and more on bus services in the bus stops displaying out of date information. We need your Bishops Castle area help to know where these are so we can take it up with Come and talk to us or Arriva (it depends on the stop’s location as to who is responsible). With this Newsletter there is a form Saturday 9th August to complete. Send it to us with details of all the bus stops 11.20am—12noon you’ve seen recently with wrong bus service information.

Enterprise House, Station Street, Thanks! And happy travelling! Bishops Castle Peter Gilbert, Chair of Bus Users Shropshire

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Meeting Notes  Media Monitor Service Changes  Route Focus  News & Photos

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Meeting Notes

A group of members is elected to the Executive Committee, which meets bi- monthly to deal with the main business of BUS. There is a General Meeting for all members which meets twice a year, one of which is followed by the AGM. All meetings are held in town centre, with the Executive Committee meeting at The Coffeehouse close to the Bus and Rail Stations.

This is a summary of the General Meeting, AGM and Executive Committee meeting held since the last newsletter.

General Meeting 5 April 2014

5 members attended

Matters arising The Bus Users UK logo and brand guidelines had been published and used in Bus Users Shropshire’s new promotional materials The Executive Committee had decided not to proceed with a survey of school students owing to lack of time and other priorities, but this will considered for the future The briefing paper about the economics of bus services has still to be done. Bus Users UK had been unable to analyse the comments sheets from the Your Bus Matters event in Shrewsbury, so committee member Llew Guest had done so for them, and his analysis has been published in the March 2014 edition of the BUS Newsletter. The analysis will be passed to Bus Users UK for them to take up issues with the relevant bus operator We have requested feedback from Shropshire Council on the Park & Ride survey

Chair’s report Peter drew attention to the Annual Report 2014 which included the key activities of the last six months. He drew attention to the difficulty in regaining contact with Arriva in Shrewsbury since Gordon Frost’s de- parture, and he will attempt to contact or visit the depot manager. Peter exhibited our new leaflets and posters. We have 7000 leaflets to help us gain members and we need everyone to get them to all corners of the county. We also have 500 posters for display on buses, with spares available for public buildings, supermarkets, cafes etc. We need to contact each bus operator to ask them to accept and display our new posters, and members of the committee agreed to contact most of Shropshire’s operators. Peter said he is hopeful that this year, with our new materials and a programme of public meetings, that we can expand our membership and attract more people to be active on the Executive Committee. He said he believes BUS needs a media and publicity person.

Finance report Les Bell reported that BUS currently has £50.81 at bank or Forthcoming Meetings in cash, with some members’ subscriptions due to be received. Executive Committee Meetings open to all Members as observers Campaigns Enterprise House, Station Street, Bishops Peter said that he had written to Shropshire Council’s Castle on Saturday 9 August 2014 at 12noon. portfolio holder for transport about extending Sunday services to routes 70 and 64 and about evening services The Coffeehouse, Castle Gates, Shrewsbury but had not had a reply. on Saturday 20 September at 10am. In southern Shropshire BUS had campaigned since Jan-

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Meeting Notes (continued) uary to get additional services on route 141 between and Bridgnorth to serve intervening villages. We had distributed leaflets and had publicity for this on Radio Shropshire, in the press, and at a public meeting in Ludlow. We will be holding a public meeting in Bridgnorth on 26 April, the format of which was discussed and agreed. We can expect people to come and go during the meeting depending on their transport arrangements, so we shall try to capture their concerns on comments sheets. Posters will be put up in prominent locations within the town, the bus companies will be asked to display them on their buses, and vicars and parish clerks to display them on their notice boards. Peter will write to Shropshire Council, local councillors and bus operators inviting them to the meeting; and to the Bridgnorth Journal, and Radio Shropshire.

Reports from around the county. Harold said he had heard a rumour that Dial A Ride funding was in jeopardy. No one else had heard this and we thought it most unlikely Dial A Ride would be done away with, though, like all other services, it may receive less funding than now.

Annual General Meeting 5 April 2014

10 members attended

Matters arising Peter reported that during the past year one of the Members of the Youth Parliament, David Parton, had completed a blog of his travels in and out of Shrewsbury by bus, and had posted this on Facebook. His find- ings had been very positive.

Annual Report 2014 Peter drew attention to the Annual Report and its record of activities which were illustrated on screen by a photo montage of the year. He welcomed the return of Sunday bus services to Shrewsbury, but was disappointed that Shropshire Council’s portfolio holder for transport, Councillor Wild, had not replied to requests that route 70 and 64 also be considered for Sunday services. He noted that County Council had withdrawn its plans to axe many bus services following contact from BUS (among others). Peter mentioned that BUS has been busy in recent months campaigning for improved service for residents along or near the 141 route between Ludlow and Bridgnorth and BUS had distributed a leaflet in these villages and at a public meeting in Ludlow. BUS will hold a public meeting in Bridgnorth on 26 April to garner more support for this campaign. Peter drew attention to welcome but modest growth in our membership during the year to 46 Members and Supporters and aims to get this into triple figures during the coming year.

Finance Report 2014 Les Bell distributed the Finance Report which showed the Co-op grant of £500 as fully spent on promotional materials. BUS has £51.81 in cash or at bank, with some subscriptions due to be received. Les said this will be sufficient to see us through the next year if we keep our expenditure to modest levels.

Election of Executive Committee and Officers 2014-15 Peter reported that the current committee, apart from Norman Griffin who was standing down, are willing to stand for re-election, and Peter asked if anyone else would like to stand as our constitution allows up to 11 committee members. With no other candidates, the current committee excepting Norman Griffin was elect- ed for the year 2014-15. The executive committee for the coming year consists of Neil Smith, Llew Guest, Les Lumsdon, Les Bell, Keith Gallop and Peter Gilbert. The current officers were re-elected to their previous positions. For 2014-15 they are Peter Gilbert (chair and secretary), Keith Gallop (vice chair) and Les Bell (treasurer).

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Meeting Notes (continued)

Shropshire Hills Shuttles Stephanie Hayes, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Promotion Officer at the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership described the history of the Shuttle buses over the years. The current shuttles comprise two services, the and Stiperstones shuttle which uses two 16 seat mini buses to provide access for walkers and sightseers on an hourly schedule linking and and via Bridges. This year there is no direct service from Shrewsbury. The second service is Castle Connect which runs a 33 seat coach several times a day between Bishops Castle, Clun, Knighton and Ludlow. This service is aimed more at visitors to those towns. The services run from Easter to late September during 2014. Steph- anie acknowledged the support and contribution from BUS member Les Lumsdon. She said there is to be a planning workshop at Craven Arms on 9 May if BUS members would like to attend.

Executive Committee 26 April 2014

6 members attended, plus one guest for the first item only.

Route 141 Bridgnorth - Ludlow Peter distributed a briefing sheet written by Frank Taylor, a resident of Chetton, whose paper made proposals to resolve the transport deficit in villages along or near the B4364 corridor between Ludlow and Bridgnorth. The committee thought Frank was right in his analysis of the problem and his joined up solution is what is probably needed but will not be easy to achieve as it would require managed co- ordination of different transport ‘owners’. Frank Taylor informed us that he is taking Shropshire Council to court over an alleged failure to consult former Link passengers on their transport needs in accordance with Equal- ities Act. He expects the case to be heard in Birmingham in May, and he said he would let BUS know when it is. The committee wished to express some support and agreed that we will send a letter which mentions needs not being met (Ditton Priors had access to Link five days a week, and now has a community bus one morning a week only) and socially necessary services.

Review of Bridgnorth Public Meeting About 25 members of the public attended at different times between 1100 and 1230, plus 3 Shropshire councillors, 1 operator, and 6 committee members of BUS. Membership forms were received for 1 new Member and 3 Supporters. 7 Comments Sheets were completed (see separate report). While we may yet receive more membership forms through the post we agreedto focus next time on getting people to join BUS if we are to become a significant force with a committee big enough to undertake the work. It was unclear how far and wide knowledge of the meeting had extended. It was suggested that for future public meetings a headline that questions what would happen if a bus service ended might generate a greater sense of urgency to attend. It was noted that Alastair Timmis from Arriva was a very useful and positive aspect of the meeting, and two of the councillors (Shineton and Boddington) were clearly interested in bus services. It was agreed to hold a public meeting in Oswestry in November, and perhaps one in March 2015 in Whitchurch or Market Drayton. It was suggested the hour long meeting should be advertised with a start and finish time.

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Meeting Notes (continued)

Outcomes of public meeting It was agreed to draft a report, to go to local councillors, Cllr Wild, Matt Johnson, Arriva, and Whittle, on the issues raised. It was also agreed to call for a review of the 141 route and of services for Claverley (890 and 114), to raise the issue of traffic congestion delaying buses and causing drivers to speed or omit stops and the inadequacy of community transport in frequency, lack of through routes, and time spent at destination, and to note developments of the Ceredigion fixed route and bookable taxi bus system.

Publicising BUS Progress had been made on getting posters to operators: Arriva Telford & Bridgnorth depots, Bryn Melyn, and Whittle. It was agreed that Peter would contact Arriva Shrewsbury & Oswestry depots, Les Bell to con- tact Celtic Travel, Lugg Valley Motors, Lakeside and Bennetts, and Keith to contact Minsterley Motors, Boul- tons and Tanat Valley, to get posters on their buses. Peter had provided leaflets to Matt Johnson for the travel section, and would remind Matt of the commitment to distribute leaflets and posters to libraries. Keith will arrange displays in shop.

Executive Committee 21 June 2014

6 members attended plus one as observer.

Matters arising BUS posters (and some leaflets) had been accepted by all bus operators in the area and had been seen extensively on board. Not all Arriva buses have them displayed, but they may be using the space to promote special events. There is a need to get more leaflets into libraries. Peter agreed to contact Arriva to check their plans for distributing posters and also mention that BUS would like to meet Arriva Shrewsbury, and to take more leaflets to Shropshire Council for distribution.

Finance and membership report Les Bell reported we have £66.05 in the bank and £107.74 held in cash. We have had several new members join (and some previous members not renew). The current strength is 52 (7 Full, 13 Concession, 1 Joint Membership, 30 Supporters).

Bridgnorth public meeting Ludlow councillor Viv Parry had suggested BUS might meet with her and with the Ludlow Traveller community bus’ Linda Cox about enhancing services to villages en route to Bridgnorth. However it was instead agreed that we will propose to Arriva Telford that Peter and Keith meet with General Manager Jamie Crowsley to get their input into the feasibility of enhancing the existing Arriva 141 service, and to seek answers to other points raised at the meeting (unreliability of some services notably 436, and including Claverley in the network). Keith will contact schools transport operators to obtain rough figure for providing twice daily off peak service. BUS can then meet with Ludlow councillor Andy Boddington to challenge Shropshire Council figure of £100k to support a service. Regarding Frank Taylor’s legal challenge and his suggestion that BUS attend a meeting he has with Shropshire Council, we agreed to inform him that we do not have a committee member available but that BUS supports the need for better consultation and the importance of BUS being consulted in future on

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Meeting Notes (continued) changes to the route network or public transport provision.

Ludlow area services Philip Dunne MP for Ludlow had been heard on the radio saying that route 292 Ludlow-Kidderminster had been secured; however Matt Johnson is reported as saying he knows nothing of this. It was agreed that Peter should write to Philip Dunne welcoming his comment, questioning the Shropshire Council angle, and stressing the importance also of continuing support for route 297. Les Lumsden reported that he has heard rumours that County Council may discontinue support of 492 into Ludlow as Shropshire Council do not contribute and are unwilling to do so.

Future meetings It was agreed to hold the next executive meeting in Bishops Castle on 9 August and to combine it with a public meeting. A discussion took place around times, venue and publicity for the meeting. We discussed the possibility of holding the next general meeting in Oswestry combined with a public meeting and agreed on a date of 29 November based on the availability of the Memorial Hall (which had been suggested by BUS member Joan).

Various contacts and suggested initiatives  Shropshire Seniors’ Eric Davis of Market Drayton wrote a Vision statement on transport. Peter agreed to respond positively, to request dates of meetings and suggest a bus theme with BUS speaker, and to ask for a BUS entry to go into their newsletter  John Mattocks of Weston Rhyn is a new member interested in improving train/bus links at Gobowen, who chairs the Shrewsbury-Wrexham train committee. Peter agreed to respond positively and to suggest Arriva Trains Wales information room should include bus information.  Professor John Whitelegg of Church Stretton has joined recently and we hope he may become involved with BUS.  Celia of Dudleston Heath is a recently joined member with background in committee work and parish councils.  The Campaign for Better Transport’s research into ‘transport deserts’ has suggested that the Tenbury Wells area is becoming one.  Friends of the Earth are promoting a car free town centre in Shrewsbury and it was agreed that Peter would confirm that BUS would be interested to attend a meeting.

Any other business  Les Bell had received a letter from a bus user in Arddlin welcoming an improvement in bus services between Oswestry and Welshpool, and requesting an earlier service. He agreed to respond to author of the letter, and to contact Powys County Council to introduce them to BUS and to put across the points made by the bus user.  It was noted that Shropshire Council are no longer updating the public with changes to bus services, and many bus stops display out of date information. Keith suggested that if Matt Johnson sent details of changes that the Council receive from the Traffic Commissioner, he would produce a monthly summary of them on behalf of BUS and could email this to people registered with Shropshire Council as well as BUS members. Peter agreed to email Matt Johnson with Keith’s proposal.  Les Lumsdon circulated a proposal for Ludlow to become a town that welcomes walkers, and it was agreed that he would draft letter from BUS expressing support  Peter expressed concern about the small size of the committee and his workload in particular. It was agreed to combine one public meeting with a General Meeting each year to alleviate this.  Harold mentioned the regular Shropshire Council retired members’ meetings as a possible recruitment ground for more committee members. As Keith is attending in a different capacity he will take some BUS leaflets to display. 6

Media Monitor

This is the section where we feature articles or letters from local newspapers or other media about bus services in Shropshire. If you see anything about buses in your local paper, cut it out and send it in to the address at the bottom of the back page.

Students face huge hike in cost of their travel

Proposals put forward by Shropshire Council could see the cost of travel for students aged 16 and over increase from £550 to £876 per academic year.

In a letter sent out to parents and other interested parties Andy Evans, principal network solutions officer at the council said: “Shropshire Council provides help with transport assistance to college and sixth form for entitled students under the terms of the council’s policy. There is a need to address the disparity between the cost of a bus pass to the council and the income it receives from students/parents, to continue to provide assistance in this area. The price was set after collating cost figures and had established that the average annual cost of a bus season ticket was £876. This proposed increase is still under consultation which ends on 12 May.”

A parent who did not wish to be named but whose son attends Shrewsbury Sixth Form College, said: “If a student lives within three miles of their study centre or college they get nothing. If they live outside that they are entitled to help from the state. Free education was brought to us by the Victorians but now in 2014 they are charging to educate children further. It’s mad.”

Shrewsbury Chronicle, May 2014 ______

Students’ bus cost hike is delayed

Controversial plans to charge college and sixth form students nearly £900 a year for bus travel from September have been scrapped in favour of a staggered increase to be carried out over three years. The proposed 60% hike in fees for travel passes was due to come into force from the start of September. Council chiefs said it was needed to cut the £550,000 per year subsidy currently paid by the local authority towards post-16 transport costs in the county.

Education chiefs now plan to phase the increase over three years to lesson the immediate blow on hard- pressed families. Under the new proposals, from September it will cost £658 per academic year instead of the proposed £876. The travel costs will increase to £765 per year from September 2015, and again to £876 from September 2016.

Shrewsbury Chronicle, May 2014 ______

Mystery of what happens to bus

So where does the number 25 bus from Arriva go to when it disappears beyond Mount Pleasant Road? Is there a bus black hole which sucks them in and from which they are never seen again?

Three times a week I try to use this service on my way to my gym in the town centre. Once again I arrived this morning at 10.40am for the 10.45am service into town. A number 25 passed me and disappeared to- wards Harlescott never to be seen again! Fifteen minutes later, at 10.55am yet another bus passed the

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Media Monitor (continued) Mount Pleasant shops with the driver happily driving on. I have lost count of the number of times this 10.45am service seems to have been killed off. I guess I will just have to make an adjustment and catch an earlier or later bus and hope against hope that maybe its just the 10.45am service that has such a rogue element to it.

Maybe others can relate similar instances on other services and if so, it’s no wonder that there are so many cars going into and out of the town centre daily.

Shrewsbury Chronicle, May 2014 ______

We should all have the same services

Are you 60-64 years old, if so you should be wondering why yet again you are losing out to Londoners, while most probably funding their privilege.

We in Shropshire have to pay for our bus services until we are 65, and our trains for ever. Boris has managed to get all his over-60s free off-peak bus and over-ground rail travel in Greater London, only 47% of which is paid for by revenue from the normal services. The rest comes from various sources including central government grants, that’s code for you and me by the way. What’s more our bus services often finish very early in the day, unlike London. Just another confirmation that ‘we’re all in it together’ is pure propaganda.

Shrewsbury Chronicle, June 2014 ______

Bus Shelters

The Unst Bus Shelter, also known as Bobby's Bus Shelter, is a famous bus shelter and bus stop near the village of Baltasound, on Unst, Shetland. It is maintained by the Shetland Islands Council. It has had a long and highly decorated history including winning the award of Best Bus Shelter in Britain (Buses Monthly Magazine), being the Community Website of the Year 2003 (Yahoo! Finds of the Year) and becoming one of the most visited tourist attractions in Shetland, recording thousands of names in the visitors book every year. The website (www.unstbusshelter.shetland.co.uk) tells the story of the Bus Shelter and how it became what it is today.

We may not have a bus shelter like this in Shropshire, but if you know of an unusual one in the county take a photo and send it with a note of the location to the address below. We will feature it in the next newsletter

NEXT EDITION (Published beginning of October 2014)

Please submit your contributions no later than 7th September 2014

It would be really helpful to receive information electronically in Word or plain text format, and digital photos, which should be sent to: [email protected] Alternatively, you can send written information, or photo prints which will be returned, to: Bus Users Shropshire, c/o Shrewsbury Coffeehouse, 5 Castle Gates, Shrewsbury SY1 2AE

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Service Changes

Details of recent and forthcoming changes to bus services in Shropshire

1 April 2014

X5 Shrewsbury to Telford Centre. New journeys at 1705 from Telford and 1740 from Shrewsbury.

96 Telford Centre to Ironbridge to Shrewsbury. Previously operated by Arriva, this route is now run by Bryn Melyn. There is no change to the timetable.

X96 Shrewsbury to Telford Centre. New service on Mondays to Saturdays run by Bryn Melyn following the same route as Arriva’s X5. There are journeys at 0655 & 1545 from Shrewsbury and 1810 & 1910 from Telford.

205 Whitchurch Bus Stn to Chemistry to Queensway to Whitchurch Bus Stn. Previously operated by Bennetts Travel, this route is now run by Bryn Melyn with little change to the timetable. Diverted via Brownlow Street and Church Street instead for Green End and High Street, with alternate journeys serving Whitchurch Hospital. On Tuesdays and Fridays five journeys operate via the old 206 route instead of the usual route.

206 Whitchurch Bus Station to The Grove to Whitchurch Bus Station. Renumbered 205G and now run by Bryn Melyn.

501 Ellesmere to Shrewsbury. New journeys at 0625 from Ellesmere and 1840 & 1940 from Shrewsbury, all of which start from or continue to Ruabon, and omit Myddle and Battlefield Enterprise Park.

6 April 2014

85 Hanley to Bridgemere Garden Centre. New Monday to Friday service via Newcastle, Keele, Madeley and Woore, giving four journeys each way, operated by D & G Bus. Bennetts Travel also provide a service to Newcastle (routes 51 & 52).

22 April 2014

2/2A Oswestry to Wrexham. Rerouted in Cefn Mawr.

10 May 2014

705 Ludlow: Eco Park to Town Centre. Special park & ride service for Ludlow Food Festivals on 10 & 11 May and 12-14 September. Every 15 minutes from 0930 to 1700, operated by Mawley Oak Travel.

18 May 2014

2/2A Oswestry to Wrexham. New hourly evening and Sunday service on route 2 via Gobowen and St Martins. Evenings 1845-2200 and Sundays 0830-1630.

60 Llanarmon DC to Oswestry. Withdrawn.

146 Whitchurch to Wrexham. Evening and Sunday services withdrawn

Continued overleaf

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Service Changes (continued)

1 June 2014

449 Oswestry to Ellesmere. Journeys operated by Tanat Valley are diverted between Oswestry and Whittington via the Orthopaedic Hospital and Park Hall instead of Whittington Road.

15 June 2014

751 Hopton Bank to Kidderminster. Withdrawn.

760 Tenbury Wells to Kidderminster. Withdrawn, but community transport operator Tenbury Transport Trust are providing a pre-bookable replacement.

1 July 2014

722 Ludlow Town Service. Revised timetable to improve reliability. Alternate journeys serve either Rocks Green Estate and Old Street, or Parrys Road, Vashon Road and Steventon New Road, giving these area a reduction in frequency from 30 minutes to hourly.

3 August 2014

738/740 Knighton to Ludlow. The journey at 1345 from Knighton to Ludlow will run 15 minutes later, leav- ing at 1400, for the benefit of workers at a local recycling plant.

31 August 2014

492 Ludlow to Leominster to Hereford. This daily service is withdrawn, and only a partial replacement is provided for Ludlow on Mondays to Fridays by 490.

490 Ludlow to Leominster. New service on Mondays to Saturdays mainly between Orleton and Leominster, with just four journeys on Mondays to Fridays only extending to and from Ludlow. ______Route Focus

Shrewsbury route 1: Gains Park to Bus Station to Telford Estate

This is my nearest high frequency bus route, which runs every 15 minutes on Monday to Saturday from 0615 (0715 Saturdays) to 1830 then hourly until 2100, operated commercially by Arriva. It also has a Sunday daytime service every 30 minutes from 0930 to 1700, which is subsidised by Shropshire Council. It is the only route which now runs from one side of Shrewsbury to the other via the Bus Station.

It serves the large housing areas of Gains Park and Monkmoor, the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, the Barracks (now a shadow of its

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Route Focus (continued) former self), and the older housing of Copthorne and Abbey Foregate. As a result the route carries a wide variety and age group of passengers and, although most travel to the town centre for work, college, shop- ping and other social activities, a significant number travel to the hospital for work, appointments or to visit patients. There is also a small number of people travelling from Gains Park and Copthorne to Monkmoor for school or work.

For the future the aim is to hold on to daytime frequencies and the Sunday service, vital for access to the hospital, improve reliability, and get the evening service extended to 2300.

The corridor from the hospital to the bus station is a longstanding route dating back to the days of Red (the predecessor to Arriva) in the 1960s (and probably before that), although in those days the bus station was in Barker Street. Its history is interesting as a microcosm of the Shrewsbury town network and an illustration of the increasing instability of services in the last 10-15 years.

It has also been part of a longer service before, and in 1981 the route had the same 15 minute frequency as today, but was made up of a half hourly S13 (Hospital to Bus Station), hourly S10 (Hospital to Bus Station to Harlescott), and hourly 892/893 (Hospital to Bus Station to Wolverhampton). All the services diverted via Crowmeole Drive towards the hospital, and the S13 also diverted in both directions via Shelton Road/Radbrook Road, Woodfield Road and Porthill Drive. An hourly service in the evenings up to 2300 and on Sunday afternoon and evening was also provided by route 892/893. S10 and 892/893 were then withdrawn from this corridor leaving route S13 operating every 30 minutes, before Midland Red introduced minibuses and an increase in frequencies on their town routes in Shrewsbury in 1986 (the year of deregulation). This route had buses every 10 minutes Mondays to Saturdays (hourly evenings) and every 30 minutes on Sundays, and the diversion was reduced to Crowmeole Drive only.

The weekday daytime frequency reduced over the coming years to every 15 minutes Monday to Friday and 20 minutes Saturday before in 2002 it was extended to Gains Park and Shelton Hospital, with the withdrawal of route 15, and renumbered 22. The frequency increased to 12 minutes Monday to Friday and 15 minutes Saturday, and the diversion via Crowmeole Drive was withdrawn. The route was taken out of the hospital (staying on main road) in January 2003 due to problems getting in and out of the site, until in October 2004 when a mini roundabout was constructed at the entrance. Then in 2009 the 22 route was withdrawn, and route 1 Telford Estate to Bus Station was extended to provide the current through route.

The evening service has fluctuated from every 30 minutes to hourly to Friday and Saturday early evenings only, and between 2001 and 2004 it operated through to Bayston Hill as route 29. Until 1997 there was a Sunday service afternoons and evenings, varying from every 30 minutes to hourly, and operated by Boultons for three years. This was replaced by a bus every 2 hours during the day on route 553 Bishops Castle to Shrewsbury, introduced as part of the Stars Sunday network. Then in 2010 Arriva introduced a bus every 30 minutes, only to withdraw it a year later when the 553 Sunday service was withdrawn as pert of major cuts in subsidy by Shropshire Council, until the BUS campaign secured its reinstatement (along with four other town routes) in June last year.

Keith Gallop

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NEWS & PHOTOS

Bridgnorth Public Meeting equate replacement for Shropshire Link. Rec- ommend Community Transport enables users Introduction to have longer in town to complete essential The meeting, which was held on 26 April, had been activities, and to operate 2 times a week to called by Bus Users Shropshire to collect the views each village. of users and residents on the state of bus services in 3. Claverley to be added to the route for service the Bridgnorth area. As well as six members of the 114 Bridgnorth to Telford, or to 890 Bridgnorth BUS committee, the meeting was attended by 30 to Wolverhampton. people including three Shropshire councillors and one bus operator (Arriva). This gave representation from Alveley, Bridgnorth, Burwarton, Chetton, Clav- erley, Cleobury Mortimer, Cleobury North, Ditton Priors, Ludlow and Quatt.

4. Investigate unreliable services (buses not oper- ating at all or omitting certain stops) and take action to address this, particularly on route 436. 5. Continue the current network, including routes 292 and 297 jointly subsidised by Shropshire Background and Worcestershire Councils. A short recent history of bus services in the area ______was provided. This focused on the period from the introduction of Shropshire Link in 2008 and the 492 Leominster to Ludlow bus service consequent withdrawal of many rural bus services, including the link between Bridgnorth and Ludlow, At the end of August 2014 a new service will be to the withdrawal of Shropshire Link in 2013 and introduced by Herefordshire Council which reduces the subsequent loss of rural services. The meeting the number of daily buses between Leominster to was then open to comments and questions from Ludlow from 8 per day (3 on Sundays) to little more anybody present, with the opportunity to complete than a single return trip on Mondays to Fridays a comments sheet. A summary of comments made primarily to serve college/school children. Other in the meeting and on the 11 comments sheets buses will operate north from Leominster but only as returned are included in the full report available far as Orleton where they will be turned round. from BUS. This will be a very poor outcome for south Principal recommendations Shropshire. Both Batchcott and Overton will have no 1. Ensure at least 2 return journeys each day service on any day to Ludlow for shopping and Monday to Saturday to operate between personal business, and Ludlow shops and businesses Bridgnorth and Ludlow calling at all the will lose trade from Herefordshire residents who villages on and off the B4364. currently use the service to visit Ludlow. About 50 2. Community Transport has not been an ad- people use the 492 service between college times on

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NEWS & PHOTOS (continued) weekdays and these cannot possibly be increased significantly since then. But its increased accommodated by demand responsive alternatives. popularity and more passengers has brought delays and problems of reliability. Herefordshire Council advises that the current service receives no financial support from Consequently, following discussions with Minsterley Shropshire Council and that there has been no Motors Shropshire Council asked the operator to discussion between the two councils as to possible introduce an emergency timetable from 1st July to solutions. This is a very unsatisfactory position. address the issue. This removes parts of the town including Rocks Green Estate, Parrys Road, Vashon Road, Steventon New Road and Old Street from alternate journeys (leaving them with an hourly service), giving more time to serve the places on each journey. Although the 722 now runs hourly in many residential area, it still serves the park and ride every half an hour (and even this is less than the 15 minute frequency enjoyed by most Park & Rides).

When the service started in January numbers were at a low level because of previous passenger experiences, which is why Shropshire Council at that time could only justify a service operated by one vehicle. Due to the success of the new subsidised service and the substantial increase in passenger If Shropshire Council were to agree to contribute numbers, the Council have asked the bus operator towards the subsidy of the existing 492 service for the cost of an additional vehicle to restore the 30 based on the proportion of mileage within minute frequency. However, the cost of this would Shropshire (the usual arrangement for cross have to be found within their public transport budg- boundary services) the service could probably be et, unless passenger numbers continue to grow and saved and it would cost Shropshire Council very their fares could cover the additional cost. little as only a small proportion of the route is with- in Shropshire. Shropshire Council’s Bus Strategy 2011–2016 says that group 2 market towns, including Ludlow, should Shropshire Council’s response was that Hereford have a bus running on primary routes every 30 are cutting £1 million pounds from their bus minutes from Monday to Saturday between the subsidy, the 492 was operated by Hereford and hours of 7.30amand 6.00pm. Hopefully the Council they did not consult Shropshire over the service will adhere to their strategy and restore route 722 to alteration. Student services will be retained, a 30 minute service before it starts losing the however the services falls outside the minimum passenger numbers that Minsterly Motors managed levels within their current bus strategy. Their to build up over the last 6 months. suggestion was for Shropshire residents to contact ______the Ludlow Traveller community transport service. ______Shropshire Hills Shuttle

Ludlow service cut due to increased usage With the withdrawal of Shropshire Link, whose drivers and vehicles used to run the Longmynd & There was much relief in Ludlow when Shropshire Stiperstones Shuttle, a new operator had to be found Council restored town route 722 with a frequency for this year. Shropshire Hills AONB, who have been of 30 minutes from 29 January. Minsterley Motors’ managing the Shropshire Hills Shuttles since 2010, operation of the route has regained the confidence chose local operator Caradoc Coaches. At the launch of Ludlow people and patronage of the service has of the service in Church Stretton in April I caught up

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NEWS & PHOTOS (continued) with Alixe Gough, joint owner of the company with are those either resident or staying en route, or Graham Gough, to ask her about the operation of motorists. Even Saturday connections to and from the service. Shrewsbury are tight and dubious, assuming you are prepared to pay the extra fares as no through tick- She told me: “ We previously ran the service jointly eting is available. It will be interesting to see what with Town & Country Travel (based in Leintwardine) effect this has on the patronage of the service. from 2002 To 2006 until it was taken over by Shropshire Council. We enjoyed being involved with Keith Gallop it then, so when the opportunity arose to take it on ______again we jumped at the chance to provide this val- uable service both for the local community as well Community Transport response to with- as visitors to the area and tourists. Being based in drawal of Shropshire Link Church Stretton we know the area well and see the value of the service in publicising the tourist oppor- I recently met Linda Cox, Chair of the Shropshire tunities in the area as well as promoting our own Community Transport Consortium (SCTC) to find out company and the services that we provide to the how the community transport providers of local community.” Shropshire have managed to respond to the withdrawal of Shropshire Link in October 2013.

She told me that when Shropshire Council took the decision a year ago to withdraw the Shropshire Link network of demand responsive services, it asked the SCTC what its members could provide to mitigate the effects of the withdrawal. The Council was seek- ing provision for the 6,000 registered users of Shropshire Link who lived in the county to have a minimum service of one round trip per week to their nearest service centre. Community Transport providers were asked whether they could meet this provision within their existing resources, or whether they would need funding for additional vehicles or The company have two minibuses dedicated to the drivers to achieve this. The SCTC were given details Shuttle together with four regular drivers, one of of all the people who travelled on Shropshire Link whom (Mervyn) does it every weekend and the oth- during July 2013 and these, together with any reg- er three (Maria and husband & wife team Nor- ular users who did not travel that month, formed man & Alicia) share the weekends. The company the basis of the provision. were well prepared for the operation of this service with three back up minibuses, should they ever need them, plus three relief drivers. All the regular drivers had a briefing session at the launch with Stephanie Hayes from the Shropshire AONB to ensure that they were well versed on all the places served by the Shuttle and equipped to promote the area and walking opportunities to the many tourists who use the service during the year.

The use of a locally based operator this year has led to the loss of the placement journeys from Shrewsbury (the nearest sizable town), which means that the only people who can use the Sunday service Shropshire Council agreed to pay for any additional 14

NEWS & PHOTOS (continued) services needed and fund any difference between The Ludlow Traveller was set up in 2013 with one what Shropshire Link users were paying and the minibus and an accessible car, and funded by community transport charges. They have met the Shropshire Council from their Local Sustainable cost of the set up fee for the community transport Transport Fund; it is now managed by Shrewsbury providers to take the Shropshire Link passengers, Dial-a-Ride. Linda, who is also Chief Executive of and the additional cost of their travel for 12 months Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride, told me that the Ludlow so they are no worse off. Shropshire Council have Traveller service from Clun to Craven Arms uses the also met the cost of the community transport same driver that covered that area for Shropshire providers employing a paid driver to take the Link. Prior to the introduction of Shropshire Link the passengers where they are unable to incorporate driver covered the same area as part of the former them within existing services, again for a period of 49Link service. This was introduced by Linda in 2004 12 months. The SCTC is hopeful that these financial when she was running TESS (Transport for Everyone arrangements will be extended for a further 12 in South Shropshire), which was set up in February months. 1999 to make the best use of existing transport within South Shropshire.. So things have gone full circle in this area and it is very much a case of deja vu!

Bridgnorth Community Transport, The Buzzard, Church Stretton Ring & Ride, Ludlow Traveller, North Salop Wheelers, Oswestry Dial-a-Ride and Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride have all received funding under these arrangements to provide the following So what's happened since the community transport new services. changes were introduced? Former Shropshire link Bridgnorth CT - Hampton Loade/Arley to Bridgnorth users have lost their service on at least two days a on Wednesday and Burwarton/DittonPriors to week with a choice of journey times, and had this Bridgnorth on Thursday. replaced with one round trip once a week (not The Buzzard - Corvedale and Ditton Priors to necessarily on the same day). In the Clun Valley Bridgnorth on Monday. there is now one round trip three times a week, Church Stretton R&R - Rushbury/Comley to Church recognising that the former Shropshire Link service Stretton on Thursday ran on five days a week. Inevitably some of the us- Ludlow Traveller - Clun Valley to Craven Arms on ers find that what community transport offers is too Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, east of Ludlow to restrictive and doesn't meet their needs, but then Ludlow on Wednesday, and north east of Ludlow to the community transport services were never meant Ludlow on Friday. to replace Shropshire Link. The aim was to provide a North Salop Wheelers - Market Drayton on safety net, and the Shropshire Link users are no Wednesday, Wem on Thursday, Whitchurch on worse off financially with these arrangements (at Friday, and Ellesmere on alternate Tuesday. least for 12 months). Anyone living in Shropshire Oswestry Dial-a-Ride - Maesbrook to Oswestry on who was not a regular Shropshire Link user, or Wednesday. people who have moved into the area since, are Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride - Shrawardine area to able to use these new services (space permitting) Shrewsbury on Monday. but they are required to pay the standard charges of the individual community transport provider. Apart from Ludlow traveller the rest of the community transport providers are long established. Keith Gallop

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What is BUS?

Bus Users Shropshire is an action group of volunteers formed in 2011 as a response to big cuts in bus services. We are part of Bus Users UK. We don’t support any political party but we do want pol- iticians locally and nationally to take an interest in buses. We are governed by a constitution and managed by an elected committee who implement our plans and report to meetings of all members where we share ideas and news.

Aims of BUS Our vision is for a well publicised comprehensive network of well used bus services that are reliable, affordable, convenient, safe and friendly. Buses should be quiet, clean, comfortable, and non-polluting. Information about bus services should be easy to understand with ‘live’ departure boards that display actual departure times.

We want Bus Users Shropshire:  to be a strong and influential voice for bus users in Shropshire;  to be representative of bus users across the whole of Shropshire;  to achieve a constructive relationship with bus companies, local government and other interested groups.

What BUS does  We campaign for improvements to services and proper funding and development  We talk regularly to Shropshire Council who recognise us as a representative body of bus passengers  We give feedback and ideas for improvement to bus operators as a ‘critical friend’

What you can do Bus services are still under threat. If you are not already part of BUS share your experiences as a bus user with us. A big membership also gives influence.  Become a Supporter. This costs you nothing.  Become a Member. Have your say. Get active! Modest subscription payable.

Contact details Bus Users Shropshire, c/o Shrewsbury Coffeehouse, 5 Castle Gates, Shrewsbury SY1 2AE Email: [email protected] Telephone/text: 07580 564458 Website: www.bususers.org/your-local-group/bus-users-shropshire

Links

Shropshire Public Transport News: http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/traveltransport.nsf/open/55E9DBAC31C79329802573C400554A54

Campaign for Better Transport http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/ http://thebuspeople.co.uk/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75F3CSZcCFs&feature=youtu.be

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Help us know which bus stops have out of date bus timetables Send to Bus Users Shropshire, c/o Shrewsbury Coffeehouse, 5 Castle Gates, Shrewsbury SY1 2AE

Your name and contact details (in case we need to clarify anything with you)

About the bus stop

Bus stop number on the pole or sign

Street address, town, post code if known

Any other description of location

Direction of travel

Which bus routes are affected?

Date when you saw this bus stop

About the bus stop

Bus stop number on the pole or sign

Street address, town, post code if known

Any other description of location

Direction of travel

Which bus routes are affected?

Date when you saw this bus stop

About the bus stop

Bus stop number on the pole or sign

Street address, town, post code if known

Any other description of location

Direction of travel

Which bus routes are affected?

Date when you saw this bus stop

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