Public transport seems to be back in the lime light in Bristol again. There is talk of introducing an 'Oyster' style pre-payment card to try and speed things up. On top of this there has been an enormous amount of money spend by Bristol City Council to introduce 'Showcase' routes.
What this says to me is that public transport in Bristol is such a joke that the only way it can even begin to get close to being just poor instead of abysmal is to have millions spent building new bus lanes and new bus stops.
There are many reasons for this dire state of affairs; bad transport policy from the local council, high car ownership which leads to congestion and no effective competition to First Group's near monopoly.
As a result we have been left with a public transport systems that is disjointed, unreliable, sub-standard and grossly over priced.
I live in the south of Bristol and work in the north. I start work at 07:00 and finish about 16:00. Currently I commute the 8.5 miles each way by motorcycle. It takes me about 25 minutes regardless of traffic.
So lets compare this to the public transport option.
By public transport this trip would require one bus and one train journey (best option based on the Transport Direct travel website) and would take about 1 hour.
If I got prepaid monthly tickets this would cost:
First Bus zone 2 only month travel card: £52.80
Train pass one month (BTM to Filton Abbey Wood): £61.00
Total cost per month comes to £113.80
What does the bike cost to run per month?
Road Tax (£50 year*): £4.16
Insurance(£120 year**): £10.00
Tyres(£200 set***): £17.00
Maintenance **** : £5.00
Fuel ***** : £26.40
My total cost (assuming I ONLY use the bike to go to work) = £62.56/month
Why not take the bus? It costs 80% more, it takes over twice as long.
It's a no brainer really. Then when you take into account the reliability (or lack of) and punctuality (again or lack of) of the buses in Bristol it's a double no brainer. I'd be a fool to try and use public transport. Not to mention I'd probably always be at least half an hour late every day.
What I think we need is an independent panel to oversee the transport in Bristol. They should have the power to define routes and timetables, impose limits on fares and ensure that there is decent competition and real value for the people of Bristol.
Just been thinking about a comment on another blog regarding travel off-peak. A few times I've tried to catch the bus into Bristol Centre for an evening out. Of the 3 times in the last year the bus has been over 20 mins late on two occasions. On top of that it's hideously expensive (about £2.40 IIRC) and the last bus back is at 11pm which means leaving the pub about 10.30 just in case it's early. The only other option is to get a taxi which works out at £9 (£3 a mile!).
* actually was £48 in 2008
** 2008 3rd party F&T was £84.00
*** got to give bus a chance so say I wear them out each year (which I don't)
**** oil & filter etc each year, I do all the work.
***** I average 60mpg to and from work. The journey is 8.5 miles each way. 21 working days a month (assume I never take a holiday) gives 357 miles/month, which needs 6 gallons. Fuel at £4.40/gallon.
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Very true
ReplyDeleteI thought I was supposed to get notification of comments posted - but didn't, so sorry for the delay in releasing it.
ReplyDeleteFrom 'MG' via email:
ReplyDeleteI agree. The quicker we can dissolve First Buses's monopoly, the quicker competition can get in and hopefully the quicker the service will improve.
I work in Aztec West and have been taking advantage of the employee bus scheme. It's provided by a pool of the larger companies in Aztec, and sure it takes slightly longer to get home, but it saves all the stress of beating the Aztec traffic and best of all it's FREE to employees.
I just wish more companies would do it - then perhaps when all First Buses are driving around empty they will pick up their game a little...