265 and 498 Christmas bus services
The 265 Christmas timetable can be seen here.
The 498 Christmas services will be as follows:
Sat 24 Dec Normal Saturday service
Sun 25 Dec No service
Mon 26 Dec Sunday service but with slightly later start. First buses 0800
from Romford and 0830 from Brentwood (so the 0700 from Romford and 0730
from Brentwood do not run)
Tue 27 dec Sunday service
Wed 28 Dec Saturday service
Thu 29 Dec Saturday service
Fri 30 Dec Saturday service
Sat 31 Dec Normal Saturday service
Sun 1 Jan Normal Sunday service
Mon 2 Jan Sunday service
73 - last evening bus could be cut
At a consultation meeting run by Essex County Council attended by Brentwood Bus and Rail Users' Association, it was stated because the 73 evening service was not meeting the numbers of passengers required , the last bus could be cut to make the service viable if there continue to be too few passengers. There is a shortfall of just 6 passengers, so just a few extra passengers could make all the difference and keep the service going. The details of the evening service can be found here.
898 Queens shopper new timetable
The 898 is running to a new timetable as from 28 November 2011 The revised timetable can be seen here
Regal taking over from Imperial
The following routes, currently operated by Imperial will be run by Regal Busways from 28 November 2011:
71/72 – Warley to Stondon Massey
261 - Blackmore to Brentwood
268/269 - Brentwood to Grays
Ensign buses Christmas special trips
Ensign buses will be running vintage bus trips to Lakeside and Bluewater on Saturday 3 December 2011. Bus stops will include Shenfield Station, Brentwood High Street and Brentwood Station.
Details of the trips can be found on the Ensign bus site at www.ensignbus.com
21 route going to Harlow again
The 21 route had been cut, going to Epping only.
It has now been reinstated as a route going all the way to Harlow.
This will be a relief to passengers whose journey was made intolerable by having to wait at Epping Station for a connecting bus to Harlow.
First Buses have new tracking system
The new tracking system shows where a bus is on its route via GPS satellite tracking and is viewed on a Google map.
This will show if a bus is not on the correct route.
Changes to 351 route
The 16.00 from Chelmsford to Brentwood will leave 10 minutes later, at 16.10
The 15.11 from Brentwood to Chelmsford will leave 10 minutes later, at 15.21
265 bus route to be extended
The 265 bus service that currently runs fom Brentwood to Lakeside is to have its route extended from 2 July 2011. The bus will run from Pilgrims Hatch to Lakeside. The timetable can be seen here. It will also be possible to use return tickets bought on this service for travel between Brentwood and Orsett on the 565 and vice versa.
Transport for London reconsidering 498 route
Our petition asking Transport for London to revise its position on the 498 route and extend it to Queen's Hospital may be bearing fruit. We have received a letter from TfL containing the following:
"I am sorry that you were unhappy with my colleague's (Andrew Ackfords's) response. In the light of your further feedback, I have contacted our network development team. They have confirmed to me that they are reviewing route 498 as part of a comprehensive review of services that run through the Harold Hill area of Havering. We will be considering the suggestion in your petition in detail in that work that is currently underway. Unfortunately there is no time scale for when this review will be completed, however the team are working on it as a priority".
SM coaches have stopped running off peak services to Harlow from Monday to Friday. Instead, these services are terminating at Epping station. Passengers wishing to go to Harlow will need to catch the 19 bus from Epping station.
Here is the timetable (19, 20 and 21)
From 23 April 2011, the Saturday service will be cut to an hourly service, and the Monday to Friday evening services to Shenfield station will be cut. The timetable can be seen here.
The 565 bus route is to be extended to run to Grays from 4 April 2011 .
We have received this information from Essex County Council:The service is currently operated under contract to Essex County Council, however, improvements have been made with additional funding from Thurrock Council. These changes include:-
-
Hourly off-peak service beyond Bulphan to Grays from 0915-1615 and return buses from Grays 0945-1645
-
The service will serve Orsett Hospital directly and provide connections for Lakeside and other destinations within Thurrock from Grays, as well as linking to the c2c railway at Grays.
-
There will be an hourly clock face timetable throughout the day along the route,
-
There will be significantly more buses for West Horndon and Bulphan. All journeys now serve these points.
-
Evening departures from Brentwood slightly later
-
Journeys to/from Sawyers Hall College have been retained with some minor timing changes.
Service 374 – Bulphan to West Horndon
-
This Thurrock Council Contract will be withdrawn. Last day of operation will be 2nd April 2011.
-
Service 565 offers replacement service throughout the day.
The timetable for the new service can be seen here.
New 898 bus service to Queen's Hospital
The Queens Shopper Service
Essex County Council, the Rural Community Council and Brentwood Community Transport working in partnership with Blackmore, Wyatts Green, Doddinghurst, Pilgrims Hatch parishes are pleased to announce The Queens Shopper Bus, commencing on May 3rd 2011. The service will operate every weekday to Brentwood and Romford Town Centres and Queens Hospital, Romford.
This service will not operate on a bank holiday.
Personal Service
This service has timed stops in the villages and in Brentwood but can be adapted to meet the needs of the passenger. As long as it is safe to do so, the bus will stop within the village. If you would like help boarding or leaving the vehicle, or with shopping bags, please speak to the driver.
Cost
|
Single |
Return |
Blackmore, Wyatts Green, Doddinghurst, Pilgrims Hatch to Brentwood |
£2.50 |
£3.50 |
Blackmore, Wyatts Green, Doddinghurst, Pilgrims Hatch to Romford |
£5.00 |
£7.00 |
Brentwood to Romford |
£2.50 |
£3.50 |
-
Any person wishing to travel on The Queens Shopper Bus will be able to pay for their fare on the bus.
-
Children aged 5 to 16 travel half price.
-
Children under 5 travel for free
-
If you hold a concessionary bus pass you will need to show your pass to receive free transport.
Concessionary passes
-
If you need to apply for a concessionary bus pass please contact Brentwood District Council 01277 312817
Lost Property
If you leave something on the bus contact Brentwood Community Transport on 01277 228080
The timetable can be seen here .
 |
OVER 1300 SIGN 498 BUS PETITION
Members of the Brentwood Bus & Rail Users Association (BBRUA) have been overwhelmed by the level of support they have received from Brentwood residents for their petition to get the 498 Bus Service to go into the grounds of Queens Hospital in Romford. The petition that was started in January now has 1300 signatures from bus users all over Brentwood and the villages and more are coming in all the time. The BBRUA have been calling for Transport for London (TFL) to provide the direct service into the hospital grounds for many years because elderly residents have had to get off at Romford Station and either walk to the hospital or wait for another bus.This has led to some Brentwood bus users having to catch three buses for a hospital appointment causing a great deal of anxiety and stress. Up until now TFL have said that it would not be commercially viable to extend the service and have refused to take any action. However the BBRUA are now hoping that when TFL see the strong level of support the petition has received they will think again.
Speaking about support for the petition the Associations Secretary, David Kendall said “We would like to say a very big thank you to everyone who has signed the petition and who helped us collect the signatures from all over the Borough. The level of support has been tremendous and should leave TFL in no doubt that there definitely is a demand for a direct 498 service into the grounds of Queens Hospital. We believe the needs of Brentwood’s bus users have been ignored for too long and we will now be calling on TFL to make this much needed change as soon as possible”.
The petition reads:
We, the undersigned Brentwood residents, call upon Transport for London to re-route their 498 Brentwood - Romford Bus service into the grounds of Queens Hospital, Romford, as soon as possible. At present elderly passengers using the 498 are having to walk from Romford Station to Queens Hospital and for many this is causing a great deal of hardship and distress.
The petition can also be signed online at:
http://www.petition.co.uk/we-want-a-direct-service-to-queens-hospital-now
or contact Cllr David Kendall on 07768 667824.
501 route replaced by SM Coaches 21
From the 7th February 2011 Arriva withdrew the 501 route Monday to Saturday -Warley to Harlow. SM Coaches No.21 has taken over.
Here is the timetable (19, 20and 21)
Bus passes to stay at 9am start time
Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA has contacted Richard Gravatt, the Essex County Council Passenger
He replied:"Yes, I can confirm that a Cabinet Member Action (CMA) has been issued confirming the Essex offer as 09:00 start 24:00 finish and companion passes in addition to the statutory minimum. We do not intend to run taxi token or reduced cost rail passes. If possible we intend to use the current local council structure for delivery at least in the first year, so residents should be able to use their local council to apply as now. We will be reviewing service delivery mechanisms over the next year with an open mind, but will go with the best way of delivering the service. there are no intentions at this point to change the ‘offer’".
The Saturday 4th December Vintage bus Special service that was due to run to Lakeside and Bluewater every half hour has been cancelled due to the bad weather. The 81 bus route will still run as normal.
Paul Dickson of Ensignbuses has advised that due to the continuing adverse weather and road conditions some of the roads the special X81 would have to travel down are likely to be quite treacherous and unsuitable for a vintage bus.
First Buses have told BBARUA that the 351and 551 bus routes will soon have low floor buses, although they will not be new. This will be of benefit to users with disabilities as it has been difficult, if not impossible, for some to climb the steps on many of the existing buses.
Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA has written to First Group expressing her concern that from 4 October the bus after 10.00am from Brentwood High Street to Chelmsford will not be until 26 minutes past the hour. She asked: "why it will be 20 minutes later than it does now- that is a big difference. Also the bus is leaving Chelmsford 10minutes later than it does now and residents on route who have to get to Queens Hospital in Romford will get into Brentwood and just miss the 498 and have a half an hour wait for the next bus. This puts on extra pressure for residents and we cannot see why you have had to change this time table it is only every hour. Is it possible for you to liaise with Basildon and get this changed.
We hope too that Basildon will give this route a regular service as we have had so many problems with vehicles breaking down and lack of drivers on the 551 route. We are still waiting for LOW floor vehicles to be introduced on both the 551 and the 351 routes."
Wendy Way is pursuing this with First Group.
The 3.40pm 551 bus from Brentwood Station to Hutton Village is no longer running.
The current timetables can be found at
351 Route
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southeast/essex/timetables/index.php?operator=8&service=351&page=1&redirect=no
Members of BBARUA were out and about on Brentwood High Street on 11 September publicising the organisation. As a result, eight more people joined.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|
There is a new bus service running between Warley and Blackmore. It runs via Brentwood Station, Brentwood High Street, Pilgrims Hatch, Kelvedon Hatch, Ongar and High Ongar. The timetable can be found on the Traveline website
Threats to bus services - use them or lose them
The 81 bus service could be reduced
to an hourly service causing particular inconvenience to Hutton passengers. Ensignbuses will be reviewing the service in December and if the number of users has not increased then the income would not justify the current frequency of service.
The 80A and 80C Sunday services could also be under threat as
few Hutton residents are using them. Wendy Way again stresses that passengers should use the buses or lose them.
Cllr David Kendall, our Secretary, has just been sent a letter outlining the details of a major consultation Essex County Council are undertaking regarding bus passes. They say the purpose is for Essex to understand how people value the various elements of their pass or alternative concessions when they are provided. The consultation is running from the 1st July to 30th September 2010. The questionaire can be obtained by calling Essex County Council on 08457 430 430 or from libraries across the County or online at www.essex.gov.uk/buspass/. BBARUA asks that you state that you want the passes to start at 9 am, not at 9.30 am.
Excel Coaches will be ending the X3 bus route from Grays to Stansted on the 1st August 2010.
Contrary to what passengers on the 80A and 80C have been told, Sunday Savers are being sold on those buses.
Yellow lines for High Street bus stops
Yellow lines have now been painted at the bus stop bays in Brentwood High Street. There had been several instances of cars parking in the bus stop bays near Wilsons Corner, forcing the buses to stop away from the bus stops. Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA, reported this to Essex County Council. They should now be enforcing the parking ban, but cars are still parking at the stops.
Passengers had suddenly found that the bus stops in Brentwood High Street had their numbers removed,causing confusion amongst bus users, many unsure where their bus should be stopping. Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA expressed her outrage to the County Council. As a result, the bus stops now now have the numbers restored. The County Council, despite a flurry of disruptive road works shoehorned into the end of the financial year, initially failed to reinstate the bus stop outside Brentwood Town Hall. We were told that a temporary bus stop cannot be used as it would be "prone to removal by unauthorised persons". The bus stop flag has now been installed on an existing lamp post, not on its own pole - so why the delay?
81 bus to continue but with shortened route
We have spoken to a representative from the company that is hoping to take over from First Buses, Ensignbus. The 82 route is would be discontinued, but the 81 route would run every 20 minutes in the rush hours and otherwise every half hour. The bus company promises that all the buses will be low floor, which would be of benefit to many users. However, we now hear that the Kavanaghs Road - Crescent Road - London Road section is to be discontinued as the company believes that this section would be uneconomic. The website for Ensignbus is www.ensignbus.com. The buses should be running from May 4.
80a and 80c to stay for another year
We have heard that Essex County Council is recommending that this Sunday service is to be kept for another year. It is up to passengers to keep using the service as they are basing their support on an increase in use of the buses.
The 498 bus service has a revised timetable. The TfL times from Brentwood (Sainsbury's) are here and from Romford Station are here. Further details can be accessed on the TfL website here (Adobe Reader needed for the timetables)
New bus stop map at Romford rail station
Peter Smith, the Patient and Public Involvement Officer at Queens Hospital, has, together with the Local Map Company, drawn up a map showing the location of the bus stops near Romford Station that serve Queens Hospital. The Station Manager, Bill Arrabis, has agreed that the A2 sized map will be on display at the station by the end of October 2009.
New night bus service to Basildon
There is a new bus service to Basildon Leisure Cerntre. This N2 service is a Regal Busways route and runs on Friday and Saturday nights. A copy of the leaflet announcing the service is here and the timetable is here.
498 will not go to Queen's Hospital
We have heard from Transport for London that the 498 bus will not be going to Queen's Hospital in Romford. TfL had intended terminating the route in the Borough of Barking and Dagenham, claiming that this was the only way to make it viable. Barking and Dagenham Council have blocked the route extension, although local consultation in 2006 showed that out of 266 responses, 211 were in favour of the extension and only 21 were against. At the time, TfL was optimistic that the service would go ahead but subsequently Barking and Dagenham Council considered that those against were at a key part of the route and took their side and asked for alternative routeing. TfL investigated alternative routes but these were turned down on grounds of cost, and did not go back to public consultation.
Needless to say , we feel that this is an insult to the people of Brentwood, who had been assured that the new hospital would be easily accessible. Wendy Way, Chair of BBARUA, has written to Essex County Council to see if they can intervene, and to the local press. We will campaign to get this service which is now being denied to Brentwood patients by Barking and Dagenham Council and TfL.
New Sunday bus route - use it or lose it!
|
|---|
Archived News
Due to the works being carried out in Brentwood High Street, the 501 Harlow bus was picking up and dropping off passengers in Queens Road rather than the High Street. We are now informed that all buses that normally stop in the High Street should still be stopping there. However, the works have led to delays and cancellation of buses. There are now no pedestrian crossings in the High Street and we are concerned at this dangerous turn of events.
Brentwood Bus and Rail Users' Association shall continue to monitor developments.
A member informed the BBARUA Committee that there was to be a "Try a Bus Day" on 21st May in Basildon for local disabled people to "try a bus , in a safe environment, to see if they can or cannot use public transport". They would have "the opportunity to ask any questions of staff (bus company and ECC including trainers)".
It does not appear, however, that the same kind of event is due to happen in Brentwood. Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA, wants to know why we do not get low floor buses on the 81, 82 and 551 routes for disabled people and wheelchair users in Brentwood.
The bus stop outside Lloyds Bank has been removed. The 551 is now stopping at stand B and the 565 is finally stopping at stand C after a great deal of confusion. The 81 and 82 should now stop at stand A (the 351 bus stop). Our hope was that there would not be the chaos that occurred with the last bus stop shuffle. However, Essex County Council and the bus companies managed to make a mess of it yet again. ECC initially claimed that the Lloyds Bank bus stop had not been moved (though it had). After it was moved, the drivers of the 551, the 81 and the 82 did not know where to stop. The new bus sign at stand B was blank, and passengers did not know where to catch their buses.
The works on the High Street are not due to affect the bus routes until July (hopefully). We will publish any route changes when we get the information.
Hanging Hill Lane is now open to traffic and the 551 bus route is back to normal.
521 to North Weald Market on Saturdays cut
From April 1st the 521 from Brentwood to North Weald Market on Saturdays is no longer runnning.
Passengers on the 498 bus have been told that the bus is to go to Queen's Hospital. Wendy Way, the Chair of the Brentwood Bus and Rail Users' Association contacted Transport for London and was told that this has not been agreed .
Wendy Way phoned in to the Sadie on Sunday show on BBC Essex on Sunday 22 February 2009, in response to a quote that Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader had said that bus companies could be forced by law to remove routes from more affluent areas and open new services in poorer districts. Wendy explained that there were no evening or Sunday bus services for large parts of Brentwood. She would be writing to Harriet Harman, with a plea for help to get these services, and agreed to let BBC Essex know what the reply was.
Dirty buses caused by bus wash freeze-up
Wendy Way wrote to First Buses as buses were so dirty that the drivers had to open the side doors to see left. In reply, the Operations Manager stated that the bus wash had stopped working due to the water freezing, and that when the cleaners tried to use a mop and bucket, the windows froze over.
The new 265 bus service runs from Brentwood to Lakeside stopping at East Ham Estate, Herongate, West Horndon, Bulphan and Orsett see the Traveline timetable
The previous concessionary inconsistencies between boroughs in Essex (some starting at 9am, some at 9.30am) have been resolved and now all cards are valid from 9am.
After a long campaign, Oyster cards are now available in Brentwood. They are on sale at Nisa Metro, 96a Brentwood High Street. Oyster cards can also be topped up at the shop.
Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA, phoned First Buses when
the 10.15 am 551 bus was cancelled on the 18th of September.
Wendy was told that First are 10 drivers short as 7 have left and 3 have
come from another depot and are still being trained. The disruption will
carry on for a few weeks. The cuts are being spread over different services.
The 73 bus will be changing from a 20 minute service to a 15 minute service. The 73 is also to have an hourly evening service. These changes are due to take place in October. BBARUA have also been campaigning for evening and Sunday services on all routes. Our campaign for a Sunday service for East Ham estate continues.
The 73 and 351 routes will get low floor buses by April 2009. According to Bob Dore, Chelmsford manager of "First" buses, there are not enough fare-paying passengers on the 551, 81 or 82 routes to get low floor buses - we dispute this.
The 351 will extend to Clements Park from October to the doctors' surgery at Beechwood.
The 71, 72 and 261 services are now run by Imperial Buses.
The free bus to the new "Community Hospital" will be stopping outside Marks and Spencer in Brentwood High Street. We have not yet been told at what time it starts or how often it will run from Brentwood or Shenfield stations.
People receiving their concessionary bus passes were concerned that the promised 9.00 am start has changed to 9.30 am, according to the accompanying letter. This, we hear from Brentwood Council, was due to the letter being sent out by the card suppliers before being seen by the Council. There was also a great deal of annoyance that passes arrived after their starting date of April 1st and it took two weeks for some people to get their cards.
The 9.00 am start still stands for Brentwood residents as decided by Brentwood Council (see article)
Bus rethink after passenger injury
Brentwood passengers on First buses have had to negotiate steps into almost all of the buses. It has been difficult for people with disabilities or pushing prams to use the buses and impossible for people in wheelchairs. Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA, has been campaigning for low floor buses, but has met with intransigence from First Buses so far.
A passenger was recently injured on one of the First buses and this has caused First to think again. They will be putting more low floor buses on the routes. What BBARUA wants is that all buses are low floor as in London, and in the meantime that the timetables show when the low floor buses are turning up so that those who need them do not have to wait for an indeterminate time.
At the Brentwood Council meeting on 26th February 2008, the Council rejected the recommendations that bus passes should only be valid from 9.30 a.m. and voted to continue the 9 a.m. start time. The alternative could have made travel impossible for many people in outlying districts and the decision is a victory for common sense.
It is with some concern that we hear that the bus passes to be offered to over 60's may be identity cards in disguise. It appears that the UK government intends that the passes will contain RFID chips which carry personal information and could be linked to a national database. These cards can be read from a distance and it is claimed that they can be easily copied without the owners knowledge using equipment that is easily obtained on the internet.
We will be asking Essex County Council to ensure that future bus passes are used for concessionary travel purposes only.
For more information on the UK campaign against ID cards, see the NO2ID website
498 to Queen's Hospital - meeting about the delay
First we were told that the 498 would be running to Queen's Hospital at the beginning of October, then from the end of October, then the beginning of next year. Now we are told that it will be in mid 2008. Needless to say, we are furious at this cavalier treatment of Brentwood people and are demanding some answers, also including which bus company will be running the buses and where the bus will be stopping en route. Wendy Way, the Chair of BBARUA, together with Peter Smith, the Queen's Hospital Patient Liaison Officer have met with Transport for London representatives to express their concerns. We understand that Arriva have had their contract extended until June.
351 revised route ( now 73 on Sundays)
The 351 bus is not running to Romford as from 19th August, as the route from Brentwood to Romford is already covered by the 498 bus. On Sundays from 26th August, the 73 bus is running to Brentwood Station via Bishops Hall Estate. Warley residents feel let down, as they had presumed that the bus would run to the full extent of the 73 route.
The Sunday bus service will be from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm.
Hail and Ride Problems
According to the promises made by First and Regal Buses, the 73A and the 565 Buses were supposed to be hail and ride, meaning that they would stop on request. This apparently had not been passed on to the drivers, and some had been refusing to let people on or off except at bus stops. BBARUA has chased this up and has had an apology from customer services at First buses. We now understand that both services are now stopping on request.
Sunday and evening bus service consultation
On 19th January 2007 Essex County Council held a drop-in meeting at Brentwood Town Hall to show their proposals for bus service improvements and find out by consultation the potential use of an extended service.
The County Council proposed starting evening and Sunday bus services for Brentwood. There were displays of the proposed routes and questionnaires for people to fill in.
Wendy Way, the Chairman of the Brentwood Bus & Rail Users Association said that she was hoping that this was a start as the Association had been waiting for over a year since she and David Kendall, the Secretary, had requested such a consultation.
A series of proposals has been put forward by Essex County Council (see the recommendations)
Bus user Jacqueline Dessent fills in a questionnaire.
Bus Routes
498 TFL bus from Brentwood to Romford - we are trying to get TFL to let us sell the Oyster Card at the Information Bureau in the High Street as these can only be purchased in Romford.
551 - We were hoping after a positive report of Essex Council officers to Brentwood Council that there would be an evening and Sunday service. Unfortunately, this was turned down due to the claim of the bus company that it would be unprofitable to run the service, and it would only be reconsidered if the 73 Sunday route proved unpopular.
565 - Regal Busways - a word of praise. The buses are being cleaned regularly, and we have heard from the customers that they are very satisfied with the courteous drivers - well done.
Bus passes
The Leader of Brentwood Council has claimed that 7000 free bus passes issued to pensioners were not being used. The Brentwood Bus and Rail Users Association responds.
Unreliable service
Wendy Way, the Chairman of the Brentwood Bus and Rail Users' Association wrote a response to the Brentwood Weekly News:
I read with great interest your article on the cost of the "Free Bus Pass". As I have written before - what good is a "Gold Plated Bus Pass" when we do not receive a decent bus service in Brentwood? No buses after 7pm, only 30 minute and hourly services, no Sunday or bank holiday services except 351, 222 and 498 from the High Street every two hours or hourly for the 498 route to Romford, but we cannot get to the High Street.
I dare say that the extra pensioners who applied for the free pass own cars and, until the free pass was available, have always used their cars. After waiting hours on end for buses that do not turn up or are cancelled, they have gone back to using their cars - and I do not blame them. To live in Brentwood, you need to be able to drive and own a car - you will never get residents to give up their cars when we have such an unreliable service.
Freedom passes in London enable pensioners to use buses, underground and overhead trains free from Zone 1 to Zone 6. Why are we not treated the same in Essex? We are unable to attend the Brentwood Theatre or the Brentwood Centre in the evening unless we pay for taxi fares to get home. We are expecting a new cinema in Brentwood but it will be of no use to pensioners who do not have cars to get to and from the cinema in the High Street - so that will not benefit us.
I would like our council leader, Mr Brandon Lewis, to give up his car for one week and travel by public transport and then let us have his comments.
Having worked all my life and paid my taxes and now a pensioner, I feel I deserve something for free, but I pay full council tax of £114 per month with no rebate so if the "free pass" has to be paid for by council tax payers, then I will be paying for my own pass!
top
Bus nightmare
David Kendall, the Secretary of Brentwood Bus and Rail Users' Association also responded to the Council Leader in the Brentwood Gazette:
While this Government may be wanting to encourage more people to switch from using their cars to using public transport as a part of the fight against climate change, they haven't got a clue just how difficult it is for many people in places like Brentwood to make the change. Local bus services and timetables make getting anywhere by bus for a specific business, leisure or doctor's appointment, a logistical nightmare and the situation doesn't look like improving.
Sadly the plight of Brentwood's bus users only seems to appear on most of our local councillors' radars when they are discussing things like the cost of pensioners' bus passes, so they too need to wake up to the problems faced by people on a day-to-day basis. I would like to see our local councillors try using the local bus services to get them from where they live to the town hall for a specific daytime meeting.
I'd like to suggest that they also try the same exercise in the evening, but as we have only the 498 evening service operating in Brentwood the chances are they would never get home. By using the services themselves to try and get somewhere and on time they would start to understand the misery and frustration felt by so many of our local bus users, particularly in the outlying areas.
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Brentwood has access to a car and many people of all ages, particularly the elderly, rely heavily on the buses as their only means of transport. I would like to see Brentwood Borough Council using its resources and expertise to fight for better bus and rail services in our area and working with other interested groups such as the Brentwood Bus and Rail Users' Association in driving this agenda forward.
I am sorry to say this is not happening at the moment.
While council leader Brandon Lewis might be concerned about the ongoing costs of providing free bus passes for local pensioners, I wish he would look at the wider picture and remember the words of a pensioner who famously said: "You can have a gold-plated bus pass but if you haven't got any buses you aren't going to get far."
The borough council used to liaise with the bus companies on a regular basis via the Bus Task Force, but this was scrapped when the Tories came to power. In fairness they did form a transport group under the Local Strategic Partnership. However, apart from our representative it consisted mainly of people who never used the local bus and rail services and was rarely attended by any of the bus operators such as First. While the group met a few times and made some progress, it hasn't met since April 2006, some six months ago.
I would urge Brentwood Borough Council to start actively working with our association in the fight to get better public transport services in our borough.