|
Post by zenfootball2 on Jul 31, 2020 11:55:16 GMT 1
www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2020/07/31/transport-boss-defends-aspiration-of-getting-rid-of-shrewsbury-bus-station/"A transport boss who faced criticism over suggesting there is no need for a town centre bus station has laid out his aspirations for "greener" travel in Shrewsbury." "I don't want diesel buses driving into town. My view is we should have three bus stations out of town and have park and ride services using electric buses going into town. We would have coloured routes going round the estates. "We need to do something better than what's been done before. The whole idea of the North West Relief Road and expanding the park and ride is to provide a better service and keep the traffic out of the town centre." "Councillor Davenport's comments came after Green party member Professor John Whitelegg, who is editor of the World Transport Policy and Practice journal, said “The deletion of a bus station is contrary to public transport best practice in the UK, Europe and globally. "It deprives bus users of convenient interchange between buses and will make any intervention to deal with climate change by switching car trips to bus much more difficult." Fellow Green Councillor Julian Dean, added: “We need to see leadership and imagination. A great transport hub close to shops could be a proper town centre alternative to car-dependant out of town shopping. Imagine a great bus station, plus supermarket, plus river view, plus elevator to the Pride Hill." i can see both points of view the council have been trialing an electric bus for the town and on routes to local villages. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49374665"Newport's first electric bus is three years old and cost £250,000 compared with the £340,000 cost of buying the vehicles new. The buses' batteries need to be replaced every six years and cost £150,000 but Newport Transport has a deal with the energy company Zenobe. The company continues to own and maintain the batteries and charging systems, and Newport Transport effectively buys the energy off them. The bus can travel 116 miles (187km) in one charge which the company says will be more than enough for a day's driving. It will then be charged overnight at its Newport depot." which works out t £25,000 a year it would be intresting to compare that to the running costs for a year of a diesel bus( i know they have a lease deal but the running costs of an electric bus will be factored in. it would be intresting to look at costings of a hybrid or hydrogen bus
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Jul 31, 2020 11:56:18 GMT 1
the council have made it very clear they are anti car so they will continue to chip away at it untill they get a car free town center.
|
|
|
Post by staffordshrew on Jul 31, 2020 13:14:22 GMT 1
Seems mainly they want to get the diesel out of town, which is fine, apart from commuters who don't want a delay in having to change buses at an out of town hub. Shoppers is sort of ok timewise, but a bit of a palarver for the disabled.
|
|
|
Post by armchairfan on Jul 31, 2020 14:27:56 GMT 1
I can understand Cllr Davenport's thoughts..... indeed, the pedestrian of Pride Hill resulted largely from concerns about vehicle emissions, but on the assumption that we want the Town Centre to thrive, it seems to me that a focal transport location should be a pre-requisite; as to where exactly it should be is another matter. Another issue is HOW such a hub should be utilised: the current system of ALL routes going into the the bus station leads to wasteful duplication in some places, whilst at the same time causing inconvenience to bus users. I have for years been mystified by the requirement to use two buses to travel between the edges of town (say Bayston Hill, Meole Brace or Sundorne/Harlescott) and RSH. Is it not possible to plan a suitable circular route, thus avoiding the Town Centre entirely? If passengers then wished to go into town, a shuttle (electric-, battery-, or hydrogen-powered would be an option.
|
|
|
Post by Pilch on Jul 31, 2020 15:01:28 GMT 1
I gave up on buses years ago
decided to walk to town with the missus but it started to rain, waited ages for a bus , then it came and they wanted correct money or no change, and it cost more than a taxi
I also tried the park and ride once, according to google earth my house is approx 200 metres from the park and ride, I can walk there and back probably quicker than I could drive as driving is about 3 times as far, I walked there and was turned away as the driver saw me walk there, I walked back home and drove to town ;-)
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Jul 31, 2020 15:08:03 GMT 1
I can understand Cllr Davenport's thoughts..... indeed, the pedestrian of Pride Hill resulted largely from concerns about vehicle emissions, but on the assumption that we want the Town Centre to thrive, it seems to me that a focal transport location should be a pre-requisite; as to where exactly it should be is another matter. Another issue is HOW such a hub should be utilised: the current system of ALL routes going into the the bus station leads to wasteful duplication in some places, whilst at the same time causing inconvenience to bus users. I have for years been mystified by the requirement to use two buses to travel between the edges of town (say Bayston Hill, Meole Brace or Sundorne/Harlescott) and RSH. Is it not possible to plan a suitable circular route, thus avoiding the Town Centre entirely? If passengers then wished to go into town, a shuttle (electric-, battery-, or hydrogen-powered would be an option. the curcular route seems a logical one , it depends on what is feasable. prior to covid-19 i used to use the buses a lot.
|
|
|
Post by shrewder on Jul 31, 2020 16:41:47 GMT 1
I gave up on buses years ago decided to walk to town with the missus but it started to rain, waited ages for a bus , then it came and they wanted correct money or no change, and it cost more than a taxi I also tried the park and ride once, according to google earth my house is approx 200 metres from the park and ride, I can walk there and back probably quicker than I could drive as driving is about 3 times as far, I walked there and was turned away as the driver saw me walk there, I walked back home and drove to town ;-) The powers that be don't want to make it too easy for us. So many hoops to jump through.
|
|
|
Post by davycrockett on Jul 31, 2020 16:50:21 GMT 1
the council have made it very clear they are anti car so they will continue to chip away at it untill they get a car free town center. Seems to make a lot of sense 👍 unless your suggesting more cars? no cars is the way forward....
|
|
|
Post by callum on Jul 31, 2020 21:02:02 GMT 1
www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2020/07/31/transport-boss-defends-aspiration-of-getting-rid-of-shrewsbury-bus-station/"A transport boss who faced criticism over suggesting there is no need for a town centre bus station has laid out his aspirations for "greener" travel in Shrewsbury." "I don't want diesel buses driving into town. My view is we should have three bus stations out of town and have park and ride services using electric buses going into town. We would have coloured routes going round the estates. "We need to do something better than what's been done before. The whole idea of the North West Relief Road and expanding the park and ride is to provide a better service and keep the traffic out of the town centre." "Councillor Davenport's comments came after Green party member Professor John Whitelegg, who is editor of the World Transport Policy and Practice journal, said “The deletion of a bus station is contrary to public transport best practice in the UK, Europe and globally. "It deprives bus users of convenient interchange between buses and will make any intervention to deal with climate change by switching car trips to bus much more difficult." Fellow Green Councillor Julian Dean, added: “We need to see leadership and imagination. A great transport hub close to shops could be a proper town centre alternative to car-dependant out of town shopping. Imagine a great bus station, plus supermarket, plus river view, plus elevator to the Pride Hill." i can see both points of view the council have been trialing an electric bus for the town and on routes to local villages. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49374665"Newport's first electric bus is three years old and cost £250,000 compared with the £340,000 cost of buying the vehicles new. The buses' batteries need to be replaced every six years and cost £150,000 but Newport Transport has a deal with the energy company Zenobe. The company continues to own and maintain the batteries and charging systems, and Newport Transport effectively buys the energy off them. The bus can travel 116 miles (187km) in one charge which the company says will be more than enough for a day's driving. It will then be charged overnight at its Newport depot." which works out t £25,000 a year it would be intresting to compare that to the running costs for a year of a diesel bus( i know they have a lease deal but the running costs of an electric bus will be factored in. it would be intresting to look at costings of a hybrid or hydrogen bus The batteries on electric buses last far longer than 6 years, yutong carried out a trial on their buses and the batteries were found to have 75% of life left in them after 8 years! The technology is also moving along so quickly that an Optare electric vehicle will reach upwards of 195 miles on a charge. Diesel service vehicles would be looking at between £80-£130 per day for fuel so electric would deliver massive savings over the life of the bus.
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Aug 1, 2020 10:54:18 GMT 1
www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2020/07/31/transport-boss-defends-aspiration-of-getting-rid-of-shrewsbury-bus-station/"A transport boss who faced criticism over suggesting there is no need for a town centre bus station has laid out his aspirations for "greener" travel in Shrewsbury." "I don't want diesel buses driving into town. My view is we should have three bus stations out of town and have park and ride services using electric buses going into town. We would have coloured routes going round the estates. "We need to do something better than what's been done before. The whole idea of the North West Relief Road and expanding the park and ride is to provide a better service and keep the traffic out of the town centre." "Councillor Davenport's comments came after Green party member Professor John Whitelegg, who is editor of the World Transport Policy and Practice journal, said “The deletion of a bus station is contrary to public transport best practice in the UK, Europe and globally. "It deprives bus users of convenient interchange between buses and will make any intervention to deal with climate change by switching car trips to bus much more difficult." Fellow Green Councillor Julian Dean, added: “We need to see leadership and imagination. A great transport hub close to shops could be a proper town centre alternative to car-dependant out of town shopping. Imagine a great bus station, plus supermarket, plus river view, plus elevator to the Pride Hill." i can see both points of view the council have been trialing an electric bus for the town and on routes to local villages. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49374665"Newport's first electric bus is three years old and cost £250,000 compared with the £340,000 cost of buying the vehicles new. The buses' batteries need to be replaced every six years and cost £150,000 but Newport Transport has a deal with the energy company Zenobe. The company continues to own and maintain the batteries and charging systems, and Newport Transport effectively buys the energy off them. The bus can travel 116 miles (187km) in one charge which the company says will be more than enough for a day's driving. It will then be charged overnight at its Newport depot." which works out t £25,000 a year it would be intresting to compare that to the running costs for a year of a diesel bus( i know they have a lease deal but the running costs of an electric bus will be factored in. it would be intresting to look at costings of a hybrid or hydrogen bus The batteries on electric buses last far longer than 6 years, yutong carried out a trial on their buses and the batteries were found to have 75% of life left in them after 8 years! The technology is also moving along so quickly that an Optare electric vehicle will reach upwards of 195 miles on a charge. Diesel service vehicles would be looking at between £80-£130 per day for fuel so electric would deliver massive savings over the life of the bus. thanks for that
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Aug 5, 2020 6:49:44 GMT 1
www.shropshirestar.com/news/voices/readers-letters/2020/08/04/letter-please-reconsider-bus-station-plans/"I live in Whittington. If I want to go by bus from home to Bridgnorth I can catch the Shrewsbury bus to Shrewsbury Bus Station and transfer to the Bridgnorth bus. Two buses each way, total four. If Councillor Davenport has his way I will have to travel by bus to, presumably, Oxon Park & Ride and catch another bus into town, then another one to, presumably, Meole Brace Park & Ride where I could catch the Bridgnorth bus. Four buses each way making a total of eight. Madness! And what about the accumulated bus fares? I quote from the Shropshire Star of 29 July 'But Councillor Davenport insists that leaving passengers with fewer options is the exact opposite of what he would like to see' what nonsense! I write as a retired bus and coach driver and, between 1997 and 2002 as Rural Transport Development Officer with the Community Council of Shropshire, working with the Public Transport section of Shropshire County Council. We worked for transport integration, not separation."
|
|
|
Post by frankwellshrews on Aug 5, 2020 8:25:41 GMT 1
www.shropshirestar.com/news/voices/readers-letters/2020/08/04/letter-please-reconsider-bus-station-plans/"I live in Whittington. If I want to go by bus from home to Bridgnorth I can catch the Shrewsbury bus to Shrewsbury Bus Station and transfer to the Bridgnorth bus. Two buses each way, total four. If Councillor Davenport has his way I will have to travel by bus to, presumably, Oxon Park & Ride and catch another bus into town, then another one to, presumably, Meole Brace Park & Ride where I could catch the Bridgnorth bus. Four buses each way making a total of eight. Madness! And what about the accumulated bus fares? I quote from the Shropshire Star of 29 July 'But Councillor Davenport insists that leaving passengers with fewer options is the exact opposite of what he would like to see' what nonsense! I write as a retired bus and coach driver and, between 1997 and 2002 as Rural Transport Development Officer with the Community Council of Shropshire, working with the Public Transport section of Shropshire County Council. We worked for transport integration, not separation." Translation; "Shrewsbury transport policy should be based around the incredibly niche journey I specifically want to do (which must already take an absolute age as it is) which just treats Shrewsbury as a hub. Never mind the people who live there who might want to rearrange services for their own purposes." Can't they just make the interchange point somewhere else out of town? Somewhere on the inner ring road where there's already a tonne of parking like, say, I dunno, the Park and Ride at Oxon or Meole? Also, if this guy is a regular bus user, surely he's aware there's a day ticket option? I take about 1 bus a year and even I know that.
|
|