On Wednesday 5th I helped to arrange a meeting between Wherstead Road residents and Malcolm Robson, managing director of Ipswich Buses, and Tanya De Hoedt, the new portfolio holder for transport.
One unexpected product is that we had a better understanding of what constraints the bus operators have. For example, under European Union law they are not allowed to talk to each other to regulate service unless there’s an “independent third party” constantly monitoring it. This means that you can have four buses within twenty minutes while later in the day you don’t have a bus for two hours during prime commuter time. And the European Union wonders why people think it meddles where it doesn’t belong.
We have asked Suffolk County Council, Ipswich buses and the other bus operators to look at the following issues:
1. The two hour early evening gap. This starts with the Ipswich station service 98 that leaves at 19.14 and ends with the 202 service that leaves Ipswich station at 21.14. As it is peak commuter time (6 O’Clock to 8 O’Clock services from Liverpool Street) then it’s badly joined up transport policy.
2. Generally a more regular service through better spacing of buses.
3. We would be interested in how to approach the county to ask them to subsidise any service that can’t be co-ordinated.
4. We would like to know whether some of the First Great Eastern buses that go to Bourne Bridge could stop at some of the more sparsely served times.
5. Bus numbers not showing is particularly annoying to Wherstead Road residents with the variety and of routes.
6. The diference in departure times between school and non-school buses causes confusion.
There are a couple of things that Wherstead Road residents need to do, and that will come in later posts.
No related posts.
