Transport User Voice – October 2021 – Around Great Britain

28 September 2021

London, Wales and Scotland

London

This month, London TravelWatch launched its Don’t cut the bus campaign to prevent London’s buses from being prematurely cut. While Covid-19 has meant quieter services it’s important this is seen as temporary and that buses are still very much needed, especially as we recover from the pandemic.

The launch event took place on Wednesday 15 September at both City Hall and the Houses of Parliament with support from London Assembly Members, MPs and a range of organisations. Take a look this video for more information.

London TravelWatch is now gearing up for an event on why London’s transport system needs to be properly funded. Transport for London’s funding deal will be renewed this winter. The event will be run in partnership with business organisation London First. There will be a short film featuring key workers who have relied on public transport over the last 18 months.

If you are a key worker and would like to feature in the video do get in touch by emailing info@londontravelwatch.org.uk and a member of the London TravelWatch team will get back to you.

 

Wales

Making capacity checkers accessible

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that knowing how much space there is on board has become even more important to passengers. It empowers them to make their own decisions about when is the best time to travel to ensure they can maintain social distancing and feel safe.

Many operators have provided tools to help with this. However, our report Will there be space on board? highlighted feedback from passengers that tools that use red/amber/green codes to show how busy services are, are not accessible to all. As a result, we pressed Transport for Wales to change the way it presents the information on its capacity checker. Transport for Wales has now added additional text to accompany the colour coding so that the tool is more accessible.

Senedd priorities

The Senedd Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee will be setting its priorities for the Sixth Senedd (2021-2026) early in the autumn term. It made a call for views inviting people to give input on what the main priorities should be. The consultation ran between 30 July and 10 September 2021.

Our response was based on our in-depth transport user research. We said that transport can enable wider economic growth and should be positioned as the sustainable choice giving people access to education, work and leisure opportunities across Wales. The response also highlights priorities for getting passengers back on board as well as reform and investment in the railway and bus strategy.

Passengers feedback on service design

We are pleased to be part of Transport for Wales’ service design panel. This will give feedback on the Cardiff to Holyhead service which will be using newly refurbished carriages.

The panel is made up of a diverse group of people and we’ll be there to ensure our passenger research is fed into the process.

It’s good to see Transport for Wales is investing in engaging passengers so that services meet the needs of those who use them. The feedback from the panel will help inform the way Transport for Wales delivers services in the future across the whole network.

 

Scotland

ScotRail is currently consulting on the proposals for the May 2022 timetable ‘Fit for Future’.

There has been a gradual increase in the number of passengers returning to the railway due to the easing, and now ending, of most restrictions. Passenger journeys have risen to around 50 per cent of pre-Covid levels. However, we know that passengers have changed their use of the railway and now travel at different times and for different purposes.

ScotRail has reviewed the timetable across the whole network to ensure that the service meets the needs of passengers.

The proposals would mean a significant overhaul of the timetable. ScotRail plans to operate around 2100 services per day which is an increase of around 100 daily services from today’s timetable. However, it’s still around 300 less daily services in comparison to the pre-Covid-19 timetable.

The proposed new timetable focuses on improved punctuality and reliability, building on the record punctuality that has been delivered during the pandemic.

The consultation will be open until 1 October 2021 to get contributions on the proposed timetables. It is important that passengers and stakeholders take this opportunity to comment to help shape the timetable. You can contribute by going to the ScotRail website.

 

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