Tyne & Wear votes to de-deregulate

The North East Combined Authority has voted for Nexus to be given TfL-style powers over the buses in Tyne & Wear. The matter now passes to an independent review board.

The county's main commercial bus operators, Stagecoach, Arriva and Go North East, had campaigned tirelessly against the move. They will probably soon have to submit bids to Nexus on a route-by-route basis in order to continue operating in Tyne & Wear.

So what's actually going to change for the passenger? Currently, the bus network, timetables and fares are set by the private bus companies, who are answerable primarily to their shareholders. Nexus may fund additional services to fill in the gaps in that commercial network. This is how buses are run across the UK, with the exception of Greater London and Northern Ireland.

Tyne & Wear's local authorities have now voted to move to a system like that used in Greater London, where a public body accountable to the whole of society decides where the buses should run and sets the timetables and fares. It then franchises out the actual running of each route to a private company, but for passengers it won't matter which company runs which bus.

It's still not quite a done deal yet, but the county's elected representatives have voted unanimously and it'll be a bold review board that chooses to overturn that.

More details in The Journal, Shields Gazette and The Guardian. Nick Forbes, the leader of Newcastle City Council, states his case here.

Council check: Warwickshire County Council

Let's take a look at how well Warwickshire County Council promotes the bus services in its area.

Where do the buses go?

There's a full range of maps covering the whole county, including enlarged versions for the major towns. Very useful. 5 out of 5.

Timetables

You can search for timetables by route number or location here, but what you are taken to is not the timetable itself, but rather a link to the timetable on the operator's website. It's still fairly easy to use though. 4 out of 5.

Fares

Oh dear. No information on travel costs at all. Nothing on single or return tickets, no mention of operator-specific day or season tickets and there is no multi-operator ticket. Plusbus, available in Warwick & Leamington Spa, Rugby and Nuneaton, isn't mentioned. 0 out of 5.

Summary

Excellent and comprehensive maps, well linked and easily searchable timetables are let down by an assumption that no-one wants to know how much it will cost them to use the bus. Warwickshire County Council scores a total of 9 out of 15.

Council check: Worcestershire County Council

Each Sunday, we look at how well one of our local transport authorities makes it easy to find out about bus services on its patch. This week, it's the turn of Worcestershire County Council.

Where do the buses go?

Not good enough. The council was aware of these route changes at least 2 months before they were implemented and therefore chose not to have the maps ready in time. There is a list of all bus routes in the county here, but that's not much help if you're a tourist or are new to the area and would rather have the overview that a map provides. 2 out of 5.

Timetables

Timetables for all routes in the county can be found here. 5 out of 5.

Fares

An overview of available ticket types is here, however you can't find out the price for a specific journey. There are a range of multi-operator tickets, called Connecta, which cover Worcester, Kidderminster, Redditch or the entire county.

Plusbus is mentioned, which is available in Worcester, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove, Redditch and Great Malvern. 3 out of 5.

Summary

A map is needed, but at least we have easy access to a list of routes and their timetables. Good promotion of a multi-operator ticket, but as always, people will be put off by the lack of information about single and return fares. Worcestershire County Council scores a total of 10 out of 15.

Council check: Gloucestershire County Council

This week, it's the turn of Gloucestershire County Council to tell us about the bus services on their patch.

Where do the buses go?

If we click through to Thinktravel.info, there are two bus maps, one each for Gloucester and Cheltenham, but they aren't the easiest to read and there is no map for the rest of the county. What we do have is this list of all bus routes in Gloucestershire, confusingly hosted on yet another third-party site we need to click through to, with direct links to Traveline's timetables and individual route maps. 2 out of 5.

Timetables

This page lists all bus routes in the county together with direct links to the timetable over on Traveline. 4 out of 5.

Fares

Nothing on single and return fares. The bus operators get a brief mention over on the Thinktravel.info site, but there is no clear information on ticket prices. There is no multi-operator ticket. Plusbus, available in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Stroud, gets a passing mention. 1 out of 5.

Summary

So, there are no maps to help people navigate their way around the county by public transport. The list of bus routes is not really an adequate replacement and will deter some tourists from visiting Gloucestershire. The timetables are easy to find but that's down to Traveline rather than the council. The lack of information regarding bus fares and tickets is shameful. Gloucestershire County Council scores a total of 7 out of 15.

Council check: North Yorkshire County Council

Each week, we look at how well one of our local transport authorities promotes the bus services on its patch. This week, it's the turn of North Yorkshire County Council.

Where do the buses go?

There are no maps of any description, but this page lets you search by location for a list of all routes serving it. The results are rather cumbersome however, as only 5 results are shown per page, meaning you have to scroll through several pages to see all bus services in some locations. You can also search by route number, but that's assuming you already know which route you need. The lack of a map will ensure that many people will never find out. 1 out of 5.

Timetables

Timetables can be searched by location or route number, but be prepared to click through pages of results if you search by location. 3 out of 5.

Fares

No information is provided whatsoever, not even for Plusbus, which is available in Scarborough and Harrogate. 0 out of 5.

Summary

This really is quite poor all round. Definitely one of the worst regions of the country in which to find out about bus services. North Yorkshire County Council only manages a pitiful 4 out of 15.

Council check: Leicestershire County Council

This week, let's see how Leicestershire County Council promote the bus services in their region.

Their remit excludes the city of Leicester, which is administered separately and will be covered in a future post.

Where do the buses go?

We have a series of town maps and county-wide network diagram, plus a link to Leicester City Council's Greater Leicester Bus Map. Excellent. 5 out of 5.

Timetables

Timetables are provided, but only for those routes that are subsidised by the county council. Passengers are unlikely to know whether their route is subsidised or not, so this is far from ideal. For commercial routes, we are referred over to Traveline, which actually has timetables for all bus routes in Leicestershire and beyond. Would it have hurt the county council to include timetables for all routes? I think not. 2 out of 5.

Fares

The only fares information is a link to the Leicester Flexi multi-operator ticket, which covers the city of Leicester plus neighbouring parts of the county. There is no information on single fares, single-operator day tickets or any other type of ticket. Plusbus, available in Hinckley and Loughborough, is ignored. 1 out of 5.

Summary

Great maps, patchy timetable provision and no information on fares. Leicestershire County Council scores a total of 8 out of 15.

Council check: Oxfordshire County Council

Each Sunday, we look at how well one of our local transport authorities promoted the bus services on its patch. This week: Oxfordshire County Council.

Where do the buses go?

No maps are provided, just a link to Traveline, on which you can search for all bus services serving a particular location. 1 out of 5.

Timetables

Nothing more than a link to Traveline. 2 out of 5.

Fares

Oxford's Smart Zone range of multi-operator tickets are mentioned, but that's it. No indication of travel costs if you're travelling outside of Oxford. Nothing at all on single and return fares or operators' own day tickets. Plusbus is available in Oxford, Banbury and Didcot but gets no mention from the council. 1 out of 5.

Summary

For an area of the country that is generally well regarded for the quality of its bus services, the performance of the county council is very poor. They've left as much to Traveline as possible, which is cost-effective, but also makes it more difficult for passengers to get an overview of the public transport network locally. Oxfordshire County Council really have done just the bare minimum and this is recognised in their overall score of 4 out of 15.