A survey has launched to find out how local bus services can be improved and what would make more people use them.
Dorset Council is working in partnership with bus operators, and other transport providers, to deliver improved services in response to Government’s Bus Back Better – A National Bus Strategy for England. A critical part of this response is the development and submission of a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), and input from bus users is an important part of the plan.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for highways, travel and environment, said:
‘We are putting current and potential bus users at the heart of this improvement plan. We want to design a future bus network that is attractive for passengers, more affordable, simple to use, faster and more reliable, and greener. Your views will help us shape the future vision and priorities for the bus network in Dorset, so please take the time to complete the survey.’
Dorset Council want to hear from both people who already use buses, and from those who currently do not to understand why they don’t. They also want to hear from public, private and voluntary organisations who have an interest in making our bus services work better.
Give your comments, suggestions and ideas.
Comments, suggestions, and ideas can also be emailed to busbackbetter@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
At this stage the council are looking for any feedback, comments, problems, potential solutions, and ideas that you have about local bus services, both across Dorset and more locally in your area. The information that you provide will help them understand the main priorities to tackle in delivering ‘Bus Back Better’ across the council area and in partnership with other organisations.
The council want you to be as detailed and specific as possible. For example, if you feel that there should be better rural transport provision please identify the area, times of day, locations to serve, and likely profile of people using any such services.
The Bus Service Improvement Plan will be published by 31 October. It will be further developed and updated annually.
Our local bus service through Ashley Heath does not go directly to where I would like to travel e.g. Castlepoint, Bournemouth Hospital and Verwood. It is necessary to go into Ringwood and change buses.
1. Divert services running between two towns so that they serve smaller villages, instead of running direct along main roads.
2. In Bournemouth, delete competition between Yellow Buses and Morebus.
Suggest one operator services Charminster Road to Castlepoint etc. and
the other operator services Southbourne and Christchurch etc. This would
reduce the number of buses which is far too many, whilst other routes have
poor frequencies
Competition between Yellow Buses and Morebus in Bournemouth results in too many buses through Charminster, Boscombe and Southbourne. If one operator ran one route and the other operator ran the other route, this would free up buses and drivers to improve other services or introduce new routes
Dereg was a disaster. Governments don’t learn mainly because of ‘influences’. We’ve lost our service to the village (Bradford Abbas)
We caught a train to Bristol where there were buses with barely a handful of people aboard racing each other around the city(!) It was a joke! Some stopped where we wanted others didn’t, you couldn’t find the right ones, we watched loads sail by sometimes even though they had the right destination. You couldn’t make it up.
Would like to use buses, but we only have a small green bus that runs at odd times. Would be useful if the X3 from Salisbury to Bournemouth every half hour changed, with one running through Alderholt and then on to Ringwood andn Bournemouth, with the other using the normal route. As pensioners we would use regularly, and probably lots of kids and other people relying on lifts into any town. Totally cut off here.
This would be an excellent solution, the bus company has to trial run for a couple of months before they can say that it will not be cost effective.
It must be publicised, to enable residents to become aware of the change.
I’m sure Alderholt residents would welcome this service.
We would
Gillingham in Dorset, the bus service is shocking! In the past five years we have gone from an hourly bus where we live to one bus A WEEK! We are in the edge of town, mainly OAP bungalows and on the edge of a large family estate, to add insult we are also at the top of a hill so many pensioners can just about get down to town but not back!! We are isolated from the shops, doctors and the Station!
Swanage bus services too expensive. One an hour is a joke. They don’t connect with Weymouth to Waterloo train times, and are constantly stuck in traffic especially the 50 over the ferry. That bus needs its own bus lane.
It would be nice if we had a bus along Boundary lane a couple of times a week coming from Bournemouth to Ringwood .
I live in Yetminster – it would be really wonderful to have a bus service, any bus service. At all.
Plenty of buses go to Bournemouth University if you live in Bournemouth.
Why cannot services from Ferndown Wimborne etc also go direct so that students have better access without having to change
I agree there are too many buses on some routes and none at all on others. Can anyone explain the absurd situation which exists between Wimborne and Blandford; in order to get to the latter by bus you would have to catch a bus from Wimborne to Poole, and from there another bus from Poole to Blandford! I live on the B3082 Blandford Road and I can’t get anywhere by bus, not even Wimborne!
Some of the (limited) bus services in Sturminster Newton are illogical, ie the service that runs from Mere goes several times in one direction, only once in return. One of the services from Dorchester only returns as far as Kings Stag.
It would help to have a proper timetable available and on display.
My wife and I are pensioners and on moving to Southill 2 years ago, I had assumed from several bus-stops and a purpose built shelter in the area, that there was an existing bus service – not so, nor has there been apparently for some years. A ludicrous situation considering we are 2+ miles from Weymouth Town Centre and there is a high proportion of elderly residents in the area needing public transport. I am sure it would be possible to organise a route which encompassed several of the surrounding districts to make it financially viable and provide a valuable service to the communities.
This is a comment from my Dad. I understand what the point is, but why not research the bus services properly before moving to Southill? Existing bus shelters is not indicative of an existing bus service. Pensioners in the area need public transport, because they’d rather travel for free with their ECNT passes at tax payers’ expense, rather than paying the extortionate car parking charges in Weymouth, despite having a ’70 plate Nissan parked on the drive way.
A bus service through Yetminster to YEOVIL would be a great help as everyone has not got a car a bus service to Dorchester on market day would also be great