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Public views sought on
proposals for a modern Sefton bus network
PEOPLE in Sefton have the opportunity
to comment on proposals to make the Town's bus network simpler and clearer from,
Thursday, 3 November 2016.
Proposals are available for view and comment online at
MerseyTravel.Gov.UK/BusReview, from 5pm,
on Thursday, 3 November 2016 until 9am on, Friday, 11 November 2016.
There will be 2 drop in events where members of the public can speak to
Merseytravel staff about the proposals and give their feedback. These will take
place on the following days:-
►
Monday, 7 November, 9am to 5pm, Bootle Strand
Shopping Centre.
► Thursday, 10 November, 10am to 3pm, Southport Railway
Station.
This follows events across Sefton in September
and October which saw over 1200 people attend and more than 800 offer their
feedback on their frequency and pattern of bus use, including those services
publically funded by Merseytravel, and what might make them use buses more.
A Merseytravel spokesperson said:-
"Following feedback from the public at the initial consultation stage and
further discussions with councillors and bus operators, a decision has been
taken to delay the implementation of the Sefton Bus Network Review. This will
allow for further time to assess the consultation findings. The proposals will
now be published at a later date for people to be able to give their views. As a
result the original start date for the changes to be implemented has been moved
from January 2017 to April 2017. The 2 planned drop in events are still taking
place and members of the public will be able to speak to Merseytravel staff
about how they use the bus network and what might encourage them to use the
buses more."
Sefton is the third area to be reviewed as part of a wider review of the whole
Liverpool City Region bus network which began in May this year.
Historically bus routes have been considered on a piecemeal basis and the idea
is to consider the commercial network and the supported network; that which
relies on public subsidy via Merseytravel; as a whole for the first time to
ensure it best reflects current working and living patterns, new developments
and how they are served.
This is 1 of the 1st undertakings of the Bus Alliance, a formal partnership
with operators Arriva and Stagecoach, with the aim of transforming bus services
to encourage more people to take the bus. However, bus reviews involve all bus
operators.
Part of the review has been looking at the current supported bus network and
considering how increasingly limited public resources can be focussed where
there is most need.
Impacts of changes have been mitigated by re-routing or extending existing
commercial services where possible to negate the need for a service supported by
public funding.
To make the network easier to understand there are also plans to make the
evening network to reflect the daytime services both in route and number. The
proposals endeavour to ensure that everyone is within reasonable distance of a
bus service.
The proposed changes would come into effect in January 2017.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel said:- "The input we had from
Sefton residents on their patterns of bus use and what would get them to use it
more has been extremely helpful and insightful. We now want comments on these
detailed proposals before we finalise the plans.
Through these bus network reviews, we've worked hard with bus operators in
re-scoping the network and believe the proposals will offer a network that is
clearer, simpler and with some real benefits for the people of Sefton.
We recognise that there may be some proposed changes that don't suit everybody
with some people having to walk further to catch a bus, but we've been looking
at how we can best meet people's needs within budget constraints due to
government spending cuts.
This is us continuing to work innovatively through the Bus Alliance when other
areas outside the Liverpool City Region, due to budget pressures, are seeing
some communities left without any Bus Services."
The Bus Alliance is an agreement between Merseytravel, Arriva and Stagecoach to
improve bus travel for people across the Liverpool City Region. In time, it is
hoped that other bus operators will join the Alliance.
The Alliance's ambition is for a thriving, affordable and sustainable bus
network that offers the customer a value for money and hassle free journey
experience; leading to an increase in fare paying passengers. It will look at
creating simpler networks and fare structures to more investment in the buses
themselves. Encouraging more people to travel by bus drives investment and means
less reliance on the public purse.
Key work areas include:-
► A review of the City Region bus network.
► Investment in new and greener vehicles.
► On board Wi-Fi and at seat USB charging points on all new vehicles.
► Improved bus links to and from John Lennon Airport.
► Streamlined service changes to make bus services more stable.
► Simpler ticketing and a review of zonal structures and pricing.
► Review of all customer information including more accurate Real Time
Information.
► Better integration of bus and rail services.
► Improved Customer Service training for all bus drivers.
So what are your views on this? Please also let us know via
emailing our newsroom via:-
News24@SouthportReporter.Com. |
