A representative from First Buses will be in attendance to give an update and answer questions in relation to the service they provide.
Minutes:
Dave Brotheridge, Dwayne Wells and Katrina Bradbury from First Bus Bury Depot attended the meeting to update those attending on issues relating to bus services provided by First Bus in Bury.
It was reported that the 98 service was currently running to the best punctuality recorded for some time at 94.1%. This would continue to be monitored now that the schools were back.
The 471 service which ran along the A58 corridor had had issues with pinch-points congestion along the route and recent motorway closures had an impact on congestion.
It was explained that a lot of joint working had been carried out with Council Highways departments in relation to planned works.
Those present were given the opportunity to make comments and ask questions and the following points were raised:-
· A local bus user explained that sometimes there was a big queue for the 471 at Bury Interchange and if 2 buses came in very close together one would often start their route without letting passengers on board. He asked whether this was a policy of First Buses.
It was explained that sometimes a driver would make the decision to set off straight away to clear the passengers waiting on route whilst the other bus picked up the waiting passengers at the interchange.
· A local resident asked whether bus punctuality was monitored as he had been in a situation where a 472 hadn’t turned up and since the service had changed to every 15 minutes, one missing bus caused problems for a lot of passengers.
It was explained that there had been a few issues recently with this particular service as the buses had to be re-routed due to the closure of Bridge Street in Ramsbottom. There was an AVL system on every vehicle which mapped the vehicles using GPS.
It was also explained that First Buses were commercial operators so were unable to run services where buses were empty.
If a bus didn’t turn up this could be reported to the customer care line and would be reviewed.
· A member of the public asked if the current fleet was in the process of being updated as some of the vehicles were quite old.
It was reported that national investment in the fleet was carried out annually and this was cascaded down locally and priority was given to those in most need of replacement. 20 of the older buses used in Bury had recently been decommissioned with a further 11 left to be considered.
· Councillor Walker reported that on some of the 98 services there were queues of people waiting to get on the bus and then some passengers would have to stand once they had got on. He had made some suggestions in relation to the route of the 98 and asked if these had been considered.
It was explained that all suggestions would be considered and they could be sent to Dave or Dwayne at First Buses.
· Councillor Walker also explained that he had recently been to London and had used public transport whilst there. All of the bus stops had live information displays relating to the bus services. He asked whether this sort of technology would be installed in Greater Manchester.
Dave explained that the investment would have to come from GMPTE.
· A resident from the Hunstanton Drive area explained that the 477 service had been reduced from 3 per hour to just 5 times a day. She asked if it would be possible for First Buses to reroute one of the 472 to travel down Hunstanton Drive and along Woodhill Road once an hour.
It was agreed:
That Dave, Dwayne and Katie be thanked for their attendance.