Passenger Voice January 2016: Bus and community transport services in Wales
21 December 2015
When is my bus going to arrive? Will I be able to get into town on the bus? What’s happening to the number 7 bus?
These are some of passengers’ priorities which have informed our response to a Welsh Assembly inquiry into bus and community transport services in Wales.
Our response highlights that passengers’ priorities need to be placed at the heart of decisions about bus services in Wales. In order to do this we have called for:
- A commitment to measuring passenger satisfaction in the future, both at national and regional level.
- Ring-fenced transport funding to be retained in order to continue to deliver passenger priorities. Without any protection of this funding, there is the potential for councils deciding to spend the money on services other than buses.
- Opportunities to be given for passengers to find out and comment on forthcoming changes. Passengers should also be informed what has been decided, including the impact of cuts and feedback about the services should be encouraged on an on-going basis.
- More accurate, timely and relevant information to tackle the powerlessness currently felt. Passengers want to know that their bus is just around the corner – or to make an informed decision about what they do if it is not.
- Better passenger information and ticketing across modes of transport, operators and services that will create attractive and easier door-to-door journeys for passengers.
Bus operators and community transport services need to work together in a way that is complementary to make journeys as seamless as possible for passengers.
Our full response can be found here.
