Halesworth Bus Buddy Scheme

Since the formalisation of a new 'bus buddy' role within Halesworth Area Community Transport under the Suffolk ACRE Good Neighbour Scheme in October 2011, the scheme is able to serve around 45 people per day, 4 days per week by offering befriending, transport information and assistance with boarding to the passengers of the 511 route serving Halesworth and Holton and up to 14 people per week on the weekly 532 route between Halesworth and Laxfield.

The need for this service was identified by HACT's volunteer bus drivers who knew of elderly passengers who would regularly board the 511 bus for no particular reason but to keep warm and converse with the driver (particularly in winter) and sometimes completing the entire schedule. It was also identified in the 2011 Time For You study that many kinds of passenger need personal support to access bus services and that a person onboard who carried information and offered assistance was readily accessed by passengers. A survey of the the 511 service passengers in April 2011 identified that 78% of the passengers were over 75 years and only 2% of them could access timetables via SMS or the web offered where 80% of the bus stops have no timetables. Only 4% of passenger over 60 could use internet and email.

There are presently five volunteer bus buddys with two that do more than one shift from 12 potential 'shifts' in a week.The peak travel times of Wednesday market day are reliably served by two volunteers.

Some of the outcomes have been that the presence of the bus buddy now allows the bus to be in immediate mobile phone contact with the office – as the bus buddy can talk while the bus is moving -  to arrange any last-minute pickups for the mobility impaired (the 511 can vary up to 250 yards from its route to give door-to-door service which practically saturates the town). The bus buddy speeds up the service of the route ensuring reliability as the driver does not have to exit the vehicle to assist a passenger with boarding and there is extra assistance and additional safety for the driver and passengers in operation of the disabled lift. The buddy can guide the driver when the vehicle has to reverse or negotioate tight spaces, which is becoming common with the present parking problems in the town.  The bus buddy helps passengers board with shopping and the bus buddy can carry the shopping to their door on request.

Every Bus Buddy is also equipped with a comprehensive information on local events and activities accessible in the area which is maintained by a volunteer. They also carry current local transport schedules to advise passengers of onward connections.

The Bus Buddy facilitates 'word-of-mouth' broadcasting to passengers news on events and activities in the town such as coffee mornings, library events, jumble sales, and specialist services, such as the Digital Switchover Help Scheme, and feedback from the volunteers indicates that is effective in encouraging people to remain active and access these services, especially for those people isolated from internet access or the local print media (which needs some improvement on content, clarity and readability). 

There have been particularly noted successes in the bus buddy engaging with passengers about the Halesworth Campus consultation, the Jubilee Bunting Bees that were held monthly at the public library (for which the bus was a fabric collection point) and a special promotion for pub lunches at the Wissett Plough. Passengers got involved with fundraising for the Hoppa service by saving till receipts from the Co-op supermarket that were match funded by the Co-operative Society at one penny per receipt (4000 receipts raised £400) and collected coupons for a discount on diesel fuel. This has engaged the passengers in recognising that the service is provided by volunteers, which sometimes gets forgotten.

The Bus Buddys have also handed out leaflets for the WDC sponsored Suffolk Careline alarm service, Age UK, SCC Warm Homes scheme leaflets and the BBC Digital Switchover Scheme which was arranged through their connection with Suffolk ACRE.

Volunteers have noticed that the presence of the bus buddy fosters more conversations on the bus between passengers which must have some impact on reducing people’s loneliness.  And if no other passengers are aboard, now a passenger will have someone they can to talk to without distracting the driver. The bus has now become a social space and is more than a means of transportation.

Another aspect of the Bus Buddy is the support they give to the volunteer drivers. Their assistance enables volunteer drivers to do more shifts and reduces their fatigue which supports those who might aver taking on the more demanding shifts.

All the legal and good practise questions of providing this service have been covered under the support offered by Suffolk ACRE to Good Neighbour Schemes so the Bus Buddy scheme will continue under this umbrella for the foresable future.

If you can't help on the Hoppa but would like to support your community as a bus buddy, please contact your local community transport operator as many similar schemes operate around the UK.

Suffolk Rail Franchise Survey

Suffolk County Council seek your views to help make railways in Suffolk better.

The Government will award the new franchise for the Greater Anglia services to run for 15 years from 2014.

Suffolk County Council will make recommendations to Government later this year on what should be included in the franchise. Therefore this is an opportunity for people in Suffolk to influence the Government before it draws up the contract so that the needs of Suffolk rail users are taken properly into account.

http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/your-council/decision-making/consultations/suffolk-s-railways-consultation/

I have asked SCC through Customer Services Direct to send paper copies to Halesworth Area Community Transport as I am sure their bus buddy volunteers can distribute them to passengers. A survey of 511 service passengers in April 2011 discovered that 78% of the passengers were over 75 years and only 2% of them could access timetables via SMS or the web. Only 4% of passengers over 60 could use internet and email. Othwerwise, I don't think SCC will capture those passengers views via an online survey.

Update: 28/9/12

I got a call at home from a person at SCC taking up my suggestion to send their train survey to HACT for the bus passengers, they are now putting 50 in the post.

They also asked me which community transport does Suffolk ACRE run as they needed help with getting coverage in certain areas.

A Southwold - Reydon Hoppa bus?

After deciding to permanently ban buses from their High Street last Tuesday, Southwold Town Council have attempted to mollify concerns that people are not able to access essential services by saying that a minibus will be provided as a replacement (to shuttle presumably between the Kings Head and the Market Place). My sources say that Suffolk County Council will loan them a vehicle from surplus. That will please the town council as up-to-date disabled accessible minibus can cost in excess of £60,000 to purchase.

The town council said its decision to keep the ban was based on a survey of residents, local businesses and visitors that was carried out in August. This statement causes many to choke on their cornflakes as this "consultation" was announced without any notice the Friday before a bank holiday and it only allowed people one week to write to the town clerk. That is hardly thorough and comprehensive research.

According to the BBC, Guy Mitchell, chairman of Southwold & District Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: "It looks like good news that the council is supporting business by introducing a minibus and we look forward to getting more detail about how it will operate and what it would cost passengers."

Rod Lock, secretary  of East Suffolk Travellers Association said: "We're not happy with the town council's decision.

"I don't think a minibus is satisfactory because passengers will be charged for it and it's not very convenient if you've got shopping and now have to get on two buses." 

I would like to add there's minibuses and there's minibuses. The devil is in the details and this could well be another empty promise if the minibus provided, reported to be only a 10-seater, is not as accessible as the inter-urban buses.

I am sure many people want to know and the council should be able to tell them already, if it is really prepared to provide a practicable minibus:

• is the minibus to be used in the shuttle service as disabled accessible as the inter-urban bus and is that by low floor or lift?
• what is the passenger capacity of the proposed shuttle minibus?
• what is the MAM of the minibus (this affects the options on employing volunteer drivers)?
• what evidence does the town council have that the minibus capacity is sufficient?
• what is the proposed timetable of the shuttle bus: does it meet the inter-urban buses?
• what is proposed fare for the shuttle bus: is it expected to wholly meet the operators' outgoings?
• what is the proposed route of the shuttle: will it be a continuous 'hoppa' service for residents of Reydon and Southwold to access essential amenities? It was reported it will only run along the High Street and to the pier.
• will the bus be charged for under section 22, i.e. charge fares and accept concession passes (as the inter-urban buses do)?
• which entity will be responsible for operating the shuttle bus?
• will the operator employ paid drivers or rely on volunteer drivers?
• would or could the bus employ volunteer bus conductors?

It would be rather nice if the town council sought to provide a local 'hoppa' service that links the essential services and amenities of Reydon and Southwold with a route like one above.

This route above is 4.1 miles and links the tourism and amenity areas such as the hospital and the new health centre which shall eventually move from Southwold to Reydon. A 17 seat minibus circulating around this route would greatly reduce the need for parking in the town and bring visitors from the pier to the high street and vice-versa as well as make Southwold and Reydon more liveable and so sustainable for its residents. 

If a local 'hoppa' was operated by volunteers, it could be sustainable from fares and car park revenue. There are a good number of kind volunteer drivers active in Southwold and Reydon who are already taking local people shopping, to lunch clubs and to doctor and hospital appointments because there is no public transport. It makes more sense to have volunteers driving a bus that serves users at a 16:1 ratio than a car scheme that is only 1:1.

Before the NIMBYS sharpen their quills, this route is only a suggestion, such a route should be arrived at after proper consultation.

However I won't hold my breath that the leopard will change its spots overnight. If the views expressed by some with influence at meetings on the current Southwold Town Plan are anything to go by; conjoining Southwold and Reydon in anything is anathema.