Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Buses in Crisis Report

The Campaign for Better Transport has published a report on the effect of cuts on bus subsidy.

http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/files/Buses_In_Crisis_Report_AW_PDF_09.12.13.pdf

It finds that 47 per cent of local authorities have cut their support for buses in 2013. 


"Next year could be even worse, with some authorities planning to stop funding buses altogether. Local and national government needs to take action or whole networks will disappear."

Between 2011 and 2013, the East of England cut the most with a 19 per cent cut in spending, followed by the North East and East Midlands.

You can track bus cuts on their interactive map http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/save-our-buses/map and report to them any cuts in your area.

Thursday, 21 November 2013

Macmillan uncovers hospital parking lottery

Macmillan research has revealed the full cost of hospital parking in England. While some hospitals offer free parking to cancer patients, others charge up to £3 an hour for parking.
To find out how you can challenge costs in your area, order a campaign pack.
Macmillan Cancer Support surveyed hospital trusts in England to find out about their parking policies - and found huge variations, patients face a lottery in the price of hospital parking and the availability of discounts.
Despite government guidance stating that hospitals should offer free or reduced parking to cancer patients, many still face the burden of these costs. Macmillan is campaigning for all hospitals to remove car parking charges for cancer patients.
Read their report on car parking charges to find out more. Download the report 
  • The average daily cost of using a hospital car park is £7.66, but the situation is a lottery. Some hospitals offer completely free parking, while others charge anything from £2 to £24 a day
  • Despite government guidance, 59% of hospitals in England are still charging at least some cancer patients to use the car park
  • Almost 10% of hospitals in England have ignored government guidance completely and continue to charge cancer patients the full price for parking.

Monday, 11 November 2013

Community transport groups are struggling to cope

From the EDP October 22, 2013

Two north Suffolk community transport groups have called for action from the NHS as they struggle to cope with the rising demand of passengers needing to attend hospital appointments. 

The Beccles and Bungay Area Community Transport (BACT) and the Halesworth Volunteer Centre were set up to provide transport to people who do not have easy access to other forms of public transport to allow them to go shopping, visit relatives or attend important appointments with health professionals. 

However, both groups say they have faced an increase in demands for hospital transport since the NHS in Suffolk and Norfolk introduced the single point of assessment in 2011, putting an end to the days when patients were given free access to hospital transport to their appointments by asking their GPs. As a result, hundreds of people with no access to other forms of transport are turning to community transport operators to find a way of attending their appointments. 

Debbie Blowers, BACT manager, said: “The demand for hospital transport is out of control. It is putting a huge strain on resources, which is simply not sustainable. The ramifications are that our budgets will run short and those who need transport for essential tasks such as shopping, paying bills, attending appointments or even to take part in social activities will get pushed down the priority list in favour of those needing to get to hospital. 

“Our volunteer drivers are becoming fed-up as they are spending so much time at hospitals which is not what they signed up to do and it certainly isn’t only what community transport services were set up to do, but is increasingly now our main activity with no extra funding to do it. 

“The NHS is taking advantage of the good nature of community transport schemes throughout Norfolk and Suffolk who do not like to let anyone down. However, the passenger requests for hospital work are putting a strain on the schemes, their employees and their wonderful volunteers and we are at the stage of not knowing where else to turn to.” 

BACT figures show that the number of people using the service to go to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has risen from about 100 per month to 180 since the beginning of the year, while journeys to the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston have risen from 80 per month to nearly 200. And figures from Halesworth Volunteer Centre show journeys have risen from 465 between April and September 2012, to 709 between April and September this year. 

Suffolk Community Transport, an umbrella group set up to support the county’s individual community transport operators, has been involved in talks with the NHS and further discussions are planned later this month. 

Andy Evans, chief executive of HealthEast, said: “NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group, locally known as HealthEast, is responsible for planning and commissioning patient transport services. 

“This is for patients who need clinical support during their journeys, and who are unable to travel by other means. The service is provided locally by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust since April 1 this year. It’s delivered in line with national eligibility criteria set by the Department of Health. Patients who do not meet the criteria may be eligible for financial help with the cost of their journey. 

“We know that concerns have been growing among community transport groups about increasing pressure on their services, and we are arranging a meeting, together with representatives from EEAST, to discuss how we can work together.”
This report is reinforced by the data from the Southwold Voluntary Help Centre. Between April - August of 2012 they 345 trips to hospitals and in the same frame in 2013 they have made 465 trips. 

Thursday, 7 November 2013

If 200 new homes for Framlingham, please ask where are the buses?

On Tuesday 19th November Taylor Wimpey East Anglia is hosting a public exhibition to give local people the chance to view and comment upon emerging planning proposals for a new residential development on land to the east of Fairfield Road, Framlingham.

According to the OSM NaPTAN bus stop database, there are no bus stops along Fairfield Road. We hope local people will ask, what contribution to local transport infrastructure will this development bring?

Prior to this consultation event being opened to the general public, there will be a private preview exhibition which for members of Framlingham Town Council, Suffolk Coastal District Council, Suffolk County Council, plus local businesses and community groups.
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This private viewing session will take place at Framlingham United Free Church in Albert Place, Framlingham, on Tuesday 19th November between 2pm and 3pm, and will be attended by Taylor Wimpey representatives and other members of the project team. Taylor Wimpey happy to talk in detail about our proposals and answer any questions you may have.

They are proposing to submit a detailed planning application for up to 200 new homes on this site, which has been identified as being suitable for a residential development of this scale in Suffolk Coastal District Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (2010).

By coming along to the stakeholder preview consultation and providing them with your feedback on the proposals, you can help to influence the details of the final scheme before they submit a planning application later in the year.

Please confirm your attendance by emailing framlinghamconsultation@webbpr.net. If you are unable to come along to the special preview session, you are of course welcome to attend the main public exhibition between 3pm and 8pm.


Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Woodbridge Community Car Scheme needs your help



An innovative car scheme which provides transport for disadvantaged residents in and around a Suffolk town has suffered a blow after its new co-ordinator has been forced to step down due to ill health.

The devastating news means the Woodbridge Community Car Scheme – which helps residents who do not have access to other forms of transport to attended vital appointments, go shopping and visit friends and family – urgently needs to find a replacement co-ordinator to keep the service up and running.

It was only a few weeks ago the car scheme was celebrating being back in operation after recruiting the new coordinator whose predecessor had retired after holding the post for several years.

Scheme secretary Robert Brockbank said: “This is a very sad situation and our first thoughts are with Michael who had shown tremendous community spirit by agreeing to be our new coordinator, but has had no choice but to step down due to health issues. “We really are now in a very tricky situation as we simply cannot run the service without a coordinator to oversee its day to day running, so once again we are calling on a community minded individual to come forward to help us keep this valuable service running.

“The transport we provide really is a lifeline to many people such as the elderly, those with disabilities and others who cannot find access to other means of transport. Without us many local people would struggle to carry out simple tasks such as go shopping, pay bills or attend medical appointments, so anyone who has the time and ability to step in to this role would be making a huge difference to the community.”

The new coordinator would handle all calls to the service, arrange and confirm journeys, keep driver’s records up to date, attend occasional meetings on behalf of the organisation and keep quarterly accounts. The role can be home based, and expenses are paid.

Anyone who would like to learn more about becoming  the coordinator for the Woodbridge Community Car Scheme should contact Robert Brockbank on 01394 383641 or by post to St John’s Family Centre Woodbridge Ltd, St John’s Old Vicarage, 24 St John’s Hill, Woodbridge, IP12 1HS.

The service is run entirely by volunteer drivers who use their own cars on a non-profit making basis. Passengers contribute on a mileage basis towards the cost of a journey.

Media needing more information should contact Patrick Lowman on 07792 428555 or by email patrick_lowman@sky.com

Woodbridge Community Car Service is part of St John’s Family Centre Woodbridge Ltd which is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 03720558, and a registered charity No. 1075415. St John’s Old Vicarage, 24 St John’s Hill, Woodbridge, IP12 1HS.

Friday, 1 November 2013

Community Rail Partnership recognises 'Community'

A meeting of the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership (CRP) was held at 19:00 in the Day Centre London Road Halesworth on Tuesday 29th October 2013. 

Attending were myself, Nat Bocking, as a Halesworth Town Councillor and the HTC chair Annette Dunning, Glyn Buck of Brampton Station Adopters, James Steward, Area Customer Service Manager for Greater Anglia, Tim Ward, the CRP officer and Trevor Garrod, chairman of East Suffolk Transport Association and Geoff Butterwick, chairman of the CRP.

Geoff Butterwick outlined the role and recent history of the CRP and made an invitation for all those present to join the NORTH LINE GROUP of the partnership. The CRP is now divided into three groups, the north covers the railway line from Halesworth to Lowestoft, South covers Darsham to Ipswich and East is Westerfield to Felixstowe. When the three line groups are established, each will elect a representative to sit on the CRP board.

The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership was launched in 2004, with aim of contributing to the objectives of the National Community Rail Strategy, i.e.

•     increasing ridership, freight use and revenue;
•     managing costs down;
•     bringing about greater involvement of the local community; and
•     enabling local rail to play a larger role in economic and social regeneration.

Some of the 'wins' of the CRP have been the Beccles Loop, improved signalling, establishing an hourly service and the integrated ticketing and scheduling of the Halesworth and Southwold buses but it has been acknowledged that the partnership has not been as active as it could in involving communities which is why it has reorganised itself to emphasise the 'community' and created a new board to give an enhanced role to representatives of the local communities served by the railway by creating these new line groups.

The present board consists of

Chairman - Geoff Butterwick
Suffolk County Council - Sally Harper and Tracy Vobe, Passenger Transport Manager (job share)
Ipswich Borough Council - Michael Newsham, Planning Regeneration and Transport
Waveney/SCDC - Dr. Carolyn Barnes, Projects Officer
Abellio Greater Anglia - Geraint Hughes, Partnerships Manager
Network Rail - TBA
North Line Group - TBA
South Line Group - TBA
East Line Group - TBA

The CRP officer Tim Ward can do the leg-work of contacting groups and setting up meetings and so on.

It was generally agreed by those attending that creating the North Line Group (NLG) would be a useful endeavour but that the outreach to local community groups and businesses to join the NLG was only just beginning.

Those attending pledged to contact people through their local networks of community and business groups to encourage participation in the CRP and the North Line Group.

Trevor Garrod and I agreed that initial meetings of the North Line Group should be coordinated with the existing GOING GREEN TRANSPORT PROJECT meetings to make it convenient for all attending. The next meeting of GGTP is December 3rd, 2013 at 10.30 am in the Halesworth Town Council Chamber, London Road. Therefore it's suggested that the next North Line Group meeting begins at 11.30 am. This will be subject to confirmation.

The annual cost of membership in the CRP has not been established. Discussing that and electing a chair for the North Line Group would be some of the first order of business.

The constitution of the CRP and other documentation is now online at



Anyone interested in participating in the Community Rail Partnership should contact Tim Ward at major.ward@btinternet.com

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

NPTDM recognises need for collaboration in design


Regular readers of this blog will know that I have been searching for any tools to enable users, operators and regulators of public tranport to be capable of collaboration on service design.  I have taken to writing to software companies and university research departments setting out the problem and asking for their suggestions on how this can be achieved.


The international Trapeze Group has kindly informed me that their National Public Transport Database Manager software does allow playback of both real-time and scheduled data and so allows you to see where every vehicle goes so that 'what if' scenarios in route and schedules can be visualised.

Interestingly the NPTDM information sheet  highlights exactly the point I am trying to make:
Working with other local authorities is the key to NPT Data Manager. You can share data with other authorities, improving your own service by seeing how neighbours’ services affect yours...
However, their director of sales advises me that to use this tool we are talking in terms of "some tens of thousands (of pounds) for the product". 

I have replied that tens of thousands of pounds would be out of the question for an individual town council or CTO but ensuring that communities have this capacity is in the national interest so I would lobby government to enable it. I see no reason either that the need for collaborative public transport design doesn’t apply to transport world-wide.


Friday, 18 October 2013

Put service design in the passengers' hands


At a town council meeting recently a member of the public stood up to complain that the recent changes in the local bus timetable had unforeseen consequences for many townspeople as they could no longer make a connection with another service (and other operator) that they regularly used to.

The particular details don't really matter as it is very common that a change in service to benefit passengers in one area will usually be to the detriment of others elsewhere. It is the simple domino effect of shifting resources.

Since the deregulation of the bus companies in 1985 it seems the decisions by operators are only driven by the bottom line instead of passenger need. Ensuring that their profits go up or that their costs go down or they gain some form of advantage for themselves as a commercial enterprise is naturally their duty to their shareholders.

What's missing from the process of consulting the public about service design in public transport is any capacity in the users and their elected officials to design services for themselves or even understand the implications. Just to appreciate the impact of the complaint, a unpaid councillor spent several hours plotting impentrable timetables into spreadsheets and it was still far from clear as to what a solution might be.

What passengers and communities need is free access to a software application that displays all the current bus, train and other public transport schedules and actual ground-covered routes in a given area on a map to visualise service and modal connections. On this they could enter proposed timetables and route variations so service alterations can be modelled and compared.

This shouldn't be hard to realise. Timetables are widely published and the GPS coordinates of bus stops and train stations are freely available. Features such as factoring-in vehicle slowing from peak passenger loading, vehicle speed, basic revenue and cost calculations should also be included.

A simulation engine would then move the vehicles around the map according to the timetables so that the different connections and modes could be visualised.

Then there might be happy discoveries that several buses cross paths on a rural road which ought to have a shelter placed there so it could become an interchange. It would also show that a Suffolk village only has 4 buses a week whereas a much smaller one has 25 buses a day running through it empty because of their fortunate position in-between service hubs and not because of demand.

But most importantly such a tool would then allow communities to design services for themselves or at least engage in a dialogue with operators armed with sufficient information to fully understand the impact of service proposals and changes.

A tool with these kinds of capabilities could answer the many 'what if' questions in public transport route planning that - because of complexity - is in the UK determined by commercial operators and by tendering for route subsidy common in rural areas. Communities would be able to visualise and cost local public transport provision for themselves and so enabled to lobby for services and amendments and analyse solutions such as community transport and DRT with data from this modelling. The capability to 'predict and provide' and consider service innovations will not be just in the hands of private operators but will also be where it belongs; with the users.

Then rather than pitting every village, town and parish against each other for a better service from the network provider through political patronage, transport planning can be made collaborative; as each stakeholder in a route will be able to work together and see how services to meet their needs would impact others and so more efficiently and fairly distribute the limited resources to statutory, commercial and charitable transport operators.

A contributor to a recent House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report on transport and accessibility to public services said:

"Too many authorities choose to ‘do things’ to communities rather than spend the time finding out what they actually need and want first ... local people should be correctly liaised with prior to any changes being made, it is them that have to live with any consequences and they should be listened to correctly about how they will be impacted but also so they properly shape services..."

There are already demonstrations of live time-table simulation on the web. Here is a visualisation of the trains running from Norwich.

There is an open-source platform for train timetabling and planning called Open Track which can produce train schedule graphs from text timetables.

Software maker Zircon takes these train graphs a step further with a tool for visualising timetable conflicts in 3D. Their website has a video demo.


Train Graph
I will prevail on university transport departments in the UK and USA to give me any pointers to existing software or encourage them to undertake developing this as a project. I hope someone reading this one day will understand the problem and so be interested and will get in touch. 

nat (at) pixlink.co.uk

Sunday, 13 October 2013

Buurtbus a wrong turn for D1 solution

On October 3rd I attended a sustianable transport conference where I had the good luck to buttonhole Dr. Stephen Hickey, chairman of the Community Transport Association. We had a coffee and chat about the D1 crisis; the challenge faced by many community transport operators with a dwinding supply of volunteers who can drive 16 passenger minibuses on a car license, otherwise they need to invest £2000 (which is unsecurable) in each one to pass a PSV. In April 2013 Sue Jay, the chair of Suffolk Community Transport, took the opportunity of a visit to Suffolk by the Department for Transport's cheif civil servant Graham Pendlebury to advise him that this is hampering the recruitment of volunteer drivers.

Dr. Hickey was well informed on the subject though apparently not of my campaigning on it. However I realised afterwards the Spring 2013 CTA journal has a round-up of minibus licensing issues and the D1 issue that says in the preamble: "the CTA has been receiving an increasing number of enquiries about driver licensing entitlelments..." It goes on to reproduce the same licensing flow-chart I drew back in 2011 and advises that operators in future may have to consider smaller and lighter minibuses for their fleets. But this is the nub; it is not practicable and it would lead to a reduction in services and increases in overheads for many volunteer-run operators if they had to switch from 16 passenger to 8 passenger buses or use lighter, less robust, buses under the MAM limits.

He told me the good news that he and Bill Freeman, the CTA chief executive, had recently had meetings at the Department for Transport and had presented the data from the recent CTA survey on the D1 issue. He recalled that the CTA survey had shown him the D1 issue was of great concern to his members and so the CTA had told the DfT that "D1 must be the top of the heap for policy change". The DfT was consulting on how the European Union helps or hampers transport in the UK.  The EU Balance of Competencies Review closed on 6th August 2013.

If I recall, Dr. Hickey said the DfT put the question to the CTA, given that D1 is EU legislation, what room does the DfT have to create a solution? I said that as far as I was concerned, the simplest solution was to make an exception to raise the MAM weight limit for community buses with volunteer drivers operating a section 22 route because the drivers (with MiDAS certification) would be familiar with their vehicles and the routes and this was a very different safety scenario to a school or community group using a minibus on a one-off trip. I put it to him that if necessary, the UK members of the European Parliament must present that proposal to the EU.

When I asked what he or the DfT thought might be the answer, he ventured the DfT were looking into the 'Buurtbus' model. Not necessarily as a solution to the D1 issue but to increase the saturation of services in rural or marginal areas. I haven't heard of these but Dr. Hickey explained they are widely operated in the Netherlands in partnership with commercial operators where 8 passenger buses are driven by volunteers on scheduled routes "at a minimum subsidy".

Coincidentally no doubt, the Summer 2013 issue of the CTA Journal has an article about the Buurtbus, stemming from a visit by CTA trustee Gareth Blackett to Amsterdam on an ATCO bursary. 

It turns out this innovative Dutch model was inspired by the UK. I would venture that HACT in Suffolk is a typical example in which a scheduled service is provided with a 16 passenger minibus driven by volunteers. 

There are now 200 Buurtbus schemes in the Netherlands, some established over 30 years. Gareth Blackett considered why are these so successful in the Netherland and posited it was becasue of "the nature of the partnership between the statutory authorities, commercial providors and the voluntary sector" in the Netherlands - indicating that this kind of cooperation isn't always the case in the UK, it is practically non-existent. The CTA reported "it is said that the Buurtbus could potentially offer a solution to the UK's accessibility challenge..."

The CTA journal promises in its next issue to reveal in more detail what Gareth Blackett learned. I might venture to suggest that if anyone wants to see what a successful 'Buurtbus' operation might be like, they ought to come to Halesworth.

What concerns me though, because Holland has the same rules, is that these Buurtbus are still operated with 8-passenger minibuses by volunteers with an ordinary car license and not a PSV.

However, with an average of 60 passengers per day in Halesworth, community transport operators like HACT could not meet that passenger demand with 8 passenger minibuses without a huge decrease in hard-won efficiency. It must use 16 passenger vehicles to meet present demand on a 50 mile daily route (4 to 5 cycles) within its resources of vehicles and volunteer staffing. There are also a number of other factors; a 16 passenger coachbuilt vehicle is a much more accessisble, efficient, versatile and comfortable vehicle than a smaller van conversion. 

In May 2013 the CTA gave evidence to the House of Commons Transport Committee which was holding an enquiry into transport for people with disabilities. The CTA Journal reports that acting chief executive Ewan Jones informed the committee: "even though people with disabilities might be entitled to concessionary travel, if there was not a vehicle they could get on or a service they could use, the entitlement would be of little use to them." Mr Jones also informed them how community transport was funded and how the sector was exploring new business models to remain sustainable.

There is potentially a host of issues in partnerships between voluntary, statutory and commercial bodies which some experienced voluntary operators can recall with bitterness and which the CTA hints at.

Halesworth's passenger cost per mile at an outstanding 90% of capacity is still a place where no commercial operator dares to tread without some form of subsidy. HACT receives no route subsidy but manages to make up the deficit in fare revenue by continually fundraising, so using up precious volunteer time and enthusiasm. I would also hazard a guess that the "minimum subsidy" provided in the Netherlands is much higher than any subsidy anticipated in the UK.

Friday, 11 October 2013

Department for Transport Ministerial Responsibilities


This is breakdown of the Department for Transport ministerial responsibilities following the most recent reshuffle.  Useful when writing to your M.P.

Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport:
  • transport strategy, including economic growth and climate change
  • spending review
  • transport security
  • high speed rail
Baroness Kramer, Minister of State of Transport:
  • HS2 – Phase Two
  • rail – funding and futures (including RIS, SOFA, ORR, stations policy)
  • cities and urban renewal (including growth deals and Heseltine Review)
  • localism and devolution
  • local connectivity (including smart ticketing, buses, taxis, light rail and trams)
  • accessibility and equalities
  • future transport (including ULEV)
  • natural environnent (including biofuels)
  • SMEs
  • international
Robert Goodwill, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport:
  • aviation
  • strategic roads and Highways Agency
  • motoring agencies
  • road safety and standards
  • freight and logistics – including lorry road user charging
  • local roads
  • cycling
  • HS2 Phase One
  • Europe
Stephen Hammond, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport:

  • rail – (including operational issues, major projects, fares and ticketing, Rail Delivery Group reform, franchising)
  • London (including Crossrail)
  • maritime
  • Better Regulation
  • corporate

Monday, 7 October 2013

Going Green Transport Project Report

Meeting report for Tuesday, October 1st 2013 at Halesworth Town Council Chamber, London Road. Follow-up information and comment in italics.

Attending:

MS Malcolm Smith: Halesworth Town Council Transport Officer
AD Cllr Annette Dunning: Chair of Halesworth Town Council
TG Trevor Garrod: Chair of ESTA
DA Derek Abbey: Bungay Town Council Transport Advisor
ST Cllr Simon Tobin:  Mayor of Southwold Town Council
NB Cllr Nat Bocking: Halesworth Town Council, HACT, Halesworth Bicycle Team (chair)

1. Apologies were received from Peter Aldous MP, Sue Doy: Southwold Town Council, Nicky Elliot: Beccles Town Council, Brenda Roberts: Southwold bus user

4. Situation reports:

a. The ESTA public transport service complaint log will be collated by Peter Cogan and so a summary report of issues/trends could be available by ESTA's next meeting on 12/10/13.

ESTA MONITOR - If your train or bus does not do what it says in the timetable - such as not waiting for a connection or (in the case of a bus) taking the wrong route let ESTA know by e-mail monitor@eastsuffolktravel.org.uk or write to ESTA Monitor, 3 Bury Hill, Woodbridge, IP12 1LF

b. Derek Abbey reported general good news from Bungay. The 88 service has been restored to a level it was before the cuts. Shelters for the stops near the pool, serving the large numbers of schoolchildren from Halesworth on the 88 are being installed. DA has discussed ongoing improvements with Philip Eden (new operations manager Anglian Buses) and flagged to them errors in new timetables but is pleased to notice that route timings suggested last year appear to be incorporated in their new timetables. DA is designing map/timetable for the one bus stop owned by the town council. NB suggested that DA contact ITO World in Ipswich who can cheaply produce maps and graphics from the Naptan and timetable databases. 

Passenger Transport magazine had a report on this tool: http://www.passengertransport.co.uk/2013/09/a-shop-window-for-bus-services/

c. Councillor Simon Tobin, mayor of Southwold, gave an update on the impact of the Southwold Shuttle service. It started on the 4th May 2013 and is now serving around 42 passengers per day, six days a week with a 7 passenger van with volunteer drivers and occasional 'bus buddy' to support passengers. Anecdotal evidence is that some elderly residents (one is 92) are now getting out more. It has enabled Reydon residents to access services in Southwold and vice-versa. Usage is likely to increase with opening of the Healthy Living Centre on the route and changing to a 16 passenger vehicle is contemplated. Residents of Oaklands residental home have asked for the shuttle bus to call regularly on Fridays. NB suggested it should be checked if a timetable variation has to be registered but it may not be necessary. Timings to connect to the 520 bus service meeting trains in Halesworth will be maintained as usage by tourists is encouraged. Fare is £1 or £3 all day and bus passes are accepted.

Members from Halesworth noted that this service joined with the hourly 520 makes a good offer to tourists and it could positively impact intermediate stops such as Blythburgh and Wenhaston as visitors (esp. with bus passes) might stop off to visit churches or pubs or take walks on their way to the Southwold pier or harbour entirely on public transport.

NB gave ST feedback which Southwold residents had made to him as GGTP chair that after the demolishing of the bus shelter at the market place, passengers are unsure of where they should wait for the shuttle bus. This also applies to the Harbour area. ST responded to a suggestion of 'lollipops' that it has been already actioned by STC with an approach to a disability employment charity to make signs.

d. General discussion: While there had been complaints about the Anglian Bus timetable changes (such as those brought to Halesworth Town Council on September 2nd) but across the board, those at the table reported there had been service improvements in other areas too. The replacement of roadside timetables by SCC does not appear to have happened yet on many stops.

It was noticed that some of the drivers notorious on certain routes for a poor attitude towards passengers appear to have been assigned elsewhere but there still one or two on buses serving Halesworth. One elderly passenger well known to GGTP has become very reluctant to use a particular bus because of a particular driver known to many. But in cheerfulness and politeness, the new drivers now on the 88A route are a great improvement.

It was reported there were some failures of Anglian's school buses to turn up early in September but that seems to have settled down now.

GGTP will welcome the information of people's complaints because it may be able to collectively advise on actions that can be taken but specific service issues ought to be raised by first writing to the operators and also copied to ESTA to become a matter of record. Where infrastructure is concerned (such as shelters) that should also be sent to town clerks for the benefit of the councillors. It is harder for GGTP to take up service complaints with operators if those operators haven't been informed in the first instance. In cases of an employee's general demeanour, or an unreliable service, consistent documentation is essential.

There was also discussion about the publishing dates of SCC combined timetables being out of sync with the operators and the distribution of new timetables taking time to reach the various outlets so adding to confusion. Derek Abbey checks on stocks at the library and the Chocolate Box in Bungay and finds that SCC and Anglian do send them out on request and any civic-minded people should be encouraged to do so in their locality.

e. Cllr Dunning and Malcolm Smith, transport officer for Halesworth, reported the creation of a bus station at the Angel Link in Halesworth was expected to begin in October with the addition of four cycle stands. The stops on Saxon's Way would be moved with the Jubilee shelter re-sited. The walking distance from there to the Thoroughfare would now be shorter and safer. Buses could wait there on breaks and the drivers would have access to the public conveniences of the Angel Hotel, thus reducing the nuisance of drivers taking breaks parked up elsewhere without such facilities. Coach operators need to be advised there is parking now.

5. Nat Bocking described the proposed HACT application for grant funding for ‘Handy Bus’ service to Halesworth for outlying villages. This application needs expressions of interest and evidence of need from communities/hamlets around Halesworth who can't access the services being provided in Halesworth such as the Halesworth Day Centre and other essential services tackling social need or rural isolation, which the grant funding wants to target. This would refine and build upon trials of a service model previously operated in Peasenhall in 2010 and Laxfield in 2011 to fill a gap between the community car services and unassisted public transport. It would enable better distribution of  resources to reach those in need and also enable communities to provide transport for themselves on a charter basis, as is done in Walberswick. Cllr Tobin offered to investigate whether there were people in Southwold that could have their needs met in Halesworth. The discussion moved into merits of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) and what evidence there was that it served rural areas successfully and was giving good value. Nat Bocking pointed to research http://oro.open.ac.uk/19345/1/ that found systems integration across operators was essential but the current booking system often required passengers to book two separate journeys to cross service boundaries. 

TG offered to write to SCC on behalf of ESTA to enquire further.

SCC councillor Colin Hart (then with the transport portfolio) reported to Cabinet in May 2012 the SCC Scrutiny Committee had concluded that the DRT service is doing very well and that they had had good feedback from users.

However, on referral from SCC in August 2013, a Community Action Suffolk CDO dealt with a lengthy and detailed complaint about DRT from a parent of 4 children solely dependent on DRT to get them to school. They were unable to make bookings more than a few days in advance and felt the operator was ‘rationing’ service to them and not providing the two trips a day they needed for four passengers, whom they felt should get priority.

According to the SCTF meeting of September 11th, SCC has now withdrawn its support of the Mobisoft booking system (adoption for DRT announced in 2010).

9. A.O.B. 

a. Derek Abbey reported on the Car Free Day on 22nd September organised by Sustainable Bungay where Anglian buses carried 21 passengers on a special Sunday service and there were cycling and walking activities. Many at the meeting were aware of this event through social media but apparently there was some sort of foul-up with press advertising the free bus service.

b. Cllr Bocking reported on his twitter dialogue with Greater Anglia. Two weeks ago he found their website offered a new print-at-home ticket option which has since disappeared. He has raised with them that Halesworth station only has 2000 less passengers boarding per year than Beccles but did not get a ticket machine installed in a recent round of improvements though Beccles did. Cllr Dunning reports that Halesworth passengers have been able to take the online email confirmation with them to board the train and collect the ticket at their destination i.e. Ipswich or Liverpool Street. Cllr Bocking considered these ad-hoc and unpublicised arrangements do not serve the tourist nor those without access to a computer printer (those going online in a cafe or hotel) or those without internet access to obtain advance purchase tickets. 

Telephone buyers for Greater Anglia tickets pay 10p per minute or up to 40p per minute on mobiles and have an additional £6 delivery charge and require 2 working days.

Railwatch magazine reported issue 136 July 2013 that the Office of Rail Regulation has published station usage statistics for 2011-12 which show significant usage increases on the East Suffolk Line since the introduction of hourly services, 27% at Melton, 8% at Saxmundham. A footfall count at Halesworth will be carried out (or has been?) by the local branch of Railfuture later this year.

Date of next meeting, December 3rd, 2013, 10.30 am in the Halesworth Town Council Chamber, London Road.

Wednesday, 11 September 2013

Volunteer transport services celebrated in short film


A short film highlighting the invaluable work of volunteer car services within 
Warwickshire has been released. It highlights volunteer car services which enable 
isolated and disadvantaged residents of Warwickshire to attend medical 
appointments. 

Warwickshire Voluntary Transport commissioned the film to recognise the incredible work of the many  volunteers and the essential service they provide to the residents of Warwickshire and the local health authority. 

Last year the schemes highlighted in the film provided over 42,000 passenger journeys, making use of 317 volunteer drivers and 41 office volunteers. The use of volunteers enables the schemes to keep their running costs low, providing excellent value for money to funders. 

Unfortunately recent changes within the local health authority have resulted in the 
withdrawal of approximately 50% of funding for the schemes. WVT hopes the film 
will show how vital it is to keep these voluntary services going. 

The film can be viewed at http://www.ruralwarwickshire.org.uk/WVTfilm

Friday, 30 August 2013

Three issues

In the process of a job interview I was recently asked to answer three questions:
  1. From your perspective what do you think are the 3 key issues for the Voluntary Community Sector in relation to Community Development?
  2. How will your knowledge and expertise inform the development of our Community Development strategy?
  3. What programme of activity would you want to see in an operational plan to meet these 3 key issues?
I don’t consider for a minute I am certain I have drawn the right conclusions but I offer this thesis for discussion.

Common definitions say Community Development is the practice of building stronger and more resilient local communities. It aims to empower people by providing them with the skills they need to effect change – i.e. to be activists. 

My perspective is from the ground; meeting the people who are trying to do things in their community. So from the coal-face, it’s not going to answer the question if I talk about the landscapes of funding, local government policies or the organisational structure of support agencies, although I am very interested in these things. 

Many things cause clients (or society) to need our services but if I reflect on my recent work, I can surmise some common themes.

I suggest three key issues drive my clients’ need for my support:
  • Bureaucracy
  • Entropy
  • Apathy
Bureaucracy can be a pejorative word but I mean the necessary administrative burden of compliance with regulations as well as the processes of funding and reporting outcomes and the general administration of their organisation. For the most part, my clients are people that want to get things done. They want to be busy with the kettle and the cups and saucers and not the permits to use them.

I used to run a youth club that was started after a sports field was created with funding from the Lottery, the sort of outcome hoped for by that investment. At first it was easy but as it grew bigger there had to be a committee, accounts, minutes, CRB checks, safe-guarding policies, insurance and so on. None of this actually contributed to what we provided and it took more hours per week than the activities for the children. Although we got support, the advice was we had to comply and no one could actually do that work for us. 

After five years and months of pleading when no other parents came forward to be on the committee, the entire committee resigned. Three months later other parents restarted the youth club but on a much smaller scale to avoid the bureaucracy that went before.

Another factor in this scenario is entropy. By that I mean the term used in thermodynamics that energy will gradually become less useful if the process stays the same. 

An organisation’s purpose is perishable. People’s enthusiasm is perishable too. Whether large or small; processes within organisations often decay in efficiency just as software frequently does with each update making it more and more bloated. 

I can think of an example of an older people’s social club who could not countenance working in partnership with another scheme that approached them. It was rather more than indifference; they saw them as a threat. The social club was not interested in adapting to meet the needs in the community as it had slowly come to serve just a small clique of regulars and expected the financial support of the town and district council to be perpetual. It didn't encourage new people on its committee either as apparently it served the committee members to be in positions of patronage.

What is particularly difficult in this kind of situation is unless there’s actual dishonesty there isn't much anyone can do. You can’t close down a club or service for just being ineffective but you must find ways to work around the obstacles that it can put in the way of others who can do much better with the public’s money. 

The third issue is apathy, by which I mean negative attitudes or reluctance about volunteering, disillusionment and any disbelief that problems can be fixed. The willingness to help others is called social capital and is a currency by which we measure whether our work is profitable or not. A study of “enablers, barriers and propensity for enterprise” carried out in one of Suffolk’s more depressed towns found less social capital there than in more prosperous areas and cited a pervasive culture of failure and benefits dependency. 

However I know in the same place that a private dance school has given thousands of children a ticket to spectacular attainments without a penny of public money. I’d like to find out how we can do what they can do.

I can identify communities rich in social capital as well as poor ones. It is our challenge to keep both those communities solvent in social capital and build it up where it is depleted. Research finds the traditional “risk-factors” such as poverty and mobility are not as significant as most people assume but the confidence in communities to intervene in their social problems is.

Where trust and social networks flourish, individuals and neighbourhoods all prosper economically.  I feel fortunate that in Suffolk whenever there is bad news, at least we can also find good news to learn from nearby. So I think any strategy must ensure that communities do not lose the confidence that they can make a difference.

Naturally I would like to think that a future strategy will focus on tackling these problems and I have been asked what I can bring to the table in doing this. Quite simply, I think it will be the clients’ perspective. While management may be busy negotiating with funders, or reading the runes in Whitehall, my role has to focus my clients’ problems with whatever resources I have.

My suggestion to alleviate the burden of bureaucracy is to ensure the VCS provide clear advice about compliance and have the capability to create the materials. I am confident I can do that myself. We must always remember that our clients don’t understand jargon. We can also look providing support through online forums so that advice on the most common issues can be collaboratively authored and one response can help many.

While there are many resources available, it not always the case that we know where to find them so our signposting must be second to none and all VCS support organisations must do all they can to prevent their clients getting a run-around. I have done a lot of research into solving that problem myself.

There is no single magic bullet for preventing entropy in organisations. If there was, management consultancy would cease to exist. However, whenever communities are able to scrutinise the organisations in their community; that usually has the effect of ensuring they keep to their purpose and are generally more effective overall. 

Encouraging community groups to act transparently will counter the process of entropy. That worked when the first Directory of Social Change revealed what charitable foundations in those days spent on staff perks and posh headquarters. Therefore may I suggest that in strategy is a policy that as much data as feasible is publicly accessible and documents such as grant applications and outcomes are available to be read online as a condition of providing of support. This is in the same spirit that Eric Pickles wants all council documents on the web and indexed so people can actually find them and web-streaming of council meetings.

Similarly, there is no simple way to build social capital; that is after our raison d'ĂȘtre, but your strategy should be to build more links between successful practise in building social capital and those who can implement it. We need to be really good at telling stories about how problems were overcome in ways that inspire others to try and to persevere. While we do some of this already, we need to look at how to reach the untapped citizen-activists and not the usual suspects.

So in summary I find bureaucracy, entropy and apathy get in the way of community development and that we can overcome them by improving access to knowledge, encouraging transparency and more sharing of success in our practice. 

Thursday, 6 June 2013

School Surplus Sale II


Last year I facilitated the disposal of probably hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of surplus school equipment to local community groups which had been brought to Halesworth and was then either given away or sold off at a fraction of its cost.

I have just been informed there is to be a surplus sale arising from the Sudbury and Great Cornard middle schools that are closing this summer.

If you are a Suffolk-based community organisation and are interested in obtaining furniture, tools, equipment, etc. please get in touch with Gavin Turner to make arrangements to view or get his list of what's available as soon as possible but no later than Friday 21st June 2013.

Gavin Turner 
Business Support Co-ordinator, Schools Infrastructure
Tel: 01473 264632
Mob: 07912 999288 
Gavin.Turner@suffolk.gov.uk
I have seen a preliminary list and it contains the following. Practically anything that you can find in a school is there.

  • Audio Equipment
  • Bookcases, Shelving, etc
  • Cameras
  • Cookers/Ovens
  • Cupboards/Cabinets
  • Dining Tables
  • Drawer Units
  • Equipment
  • Filing Cabinets
  • First Aid
  • Floor Cleaners
  • Food Tech
  • Furniture
  • Heaters/Coolers
  • Kettles, etc
  • Ladders
  • Lockers
  • Microwaves
  • Multimedia Units
  • Pigeon Hole Units
  • Projectors/Visualisers
  • Textiles
  • Tray Units
  • Trolleys
  • TV/Players

This is just some of what was available last year. I expect it will be much the same, so well worth the effort.






Tuesday, 4 June 2013

A day trip to Southwold on public transport

Greater Anglia trains (Abellio) and Anglian Bus Co (Go Ahead) have just teamed up to offer what many passengers have been wanting for years; a synchronised train and bus service with through tickets to Southwold.

Southwold is one of the major resort towns on the Suffolk coast and internationally renown as a playground for the well-heeled with its Georgian architecture, beach huts, quirky pier attractions and fancy boutiques. It also suffers in the summer months from chronic traffic congestion - which threatens to kill off the golden goose for its businesses, practically every one of them is dependent on visitors in one way or another.

The red trouser gang that pack the trains on Friday nights usually travel to Darsham Station where fleets of pre-booked taxis wait to carry them to Southwold to join their families - who likely motored up earlier in their Range Rovers - for weekends at their second homes.

But until now the car-less or less mobile traveler was at a great disadvantage in visiting Southwold because its good burghers had also decided to ban public transport from the high street, thus preventing buses from reaching the shops in the Market Place. This forced the residents of nearby parishes to either walk another 400 yards each way with their shopping or stay on the buses and continue to Beccles, where they were dropped at the doors of receptive supermarkets. No need to guess what most bus passengers preferred to do.

Recently though, several planets lined up to improve the options for the car-less resident and visitor. After 27 years of lobbying, the Beccles Loop was opened and once again there is an hourly train service on the East Suffolk Line.

Also Southwold Town Council were prevailed upon to provide a minibus shuttle service connecting the Market Place, pier and harbor with Anglian's inter-urban buses every hour, on which a bus pass is accepted.


This now means it is possible to travel from practically any point in London to any point in Southwold on public transport and if an early start is made, it can be a delightfully simple day trip with a train service from Ipswich synchronized with the bus service at Halesworth to Southwold and convenient for the shuttle bus calling at the Kings Head.

This could have many positive outcomes for the communities along the route of the Anglian 520 service as well.

A possible itinerary (as of May 2013) for a day trip to Southwold might be:

Take a train departing Ipswich 08:17 AM arriving Halesworth 09:09 with a £4 Southwold bus add-on.

The bus stop is adjacent to the Ipswich-bound platform so Lowestoft-bound arrivals must cross over to the other platform to catch the 520 bus.

The Plus-Bus ticket allows a break in the journey at Halesworth. This pleasant market town offers an interesting history trail, refreshment at some of East Anglia's best coffee shops, regular events at its arts centre and galleries, monthly auctions and many independent shops in its Thoroughfare, which is less than five minutes walk from the station. If you break the journey here there is no need to walk back to the station, the same 520 buses also leave from Saxon's Way a few minutes earlier.

You can then depart Halesworth on the 520 bus at 09:18 (or add +1 hour to these timings). The 520 route goes along the scenic Blyth Valley via Holton Mill and the Blyford Queens Head to Wenhaston, where the Wenhaston Doom and the Woottens Nursery are worth a journey themselves. The Star Inn here also offers an opportunity for refreshment or lunch.

A bit further on is Blythburgh Church, one of Suffolk's finest wool churches and called the "cathedral of the marshes". The White Hart is nearby and several footpaths can be taken from here around the splendid Blyth Estuary (very popular with birdwatchers) and onto Southwold. Unless you break your journey, you will arrive at the Southwold Kings Head by 09:45 AM.

If you fancy a more active way to explore the town, there is a cycle hire shop opposite the Blyth Hotel and the Fire Station just before the Mights Bridge. Phone 01502 725400 to check their hours and availability.

The first Southwold Shuttle in the direction of the pier departs the Kings Head at 10:05 and 5 minutes past the hour thereafter and arrives Southwold Pier at 10:10 AM. The rebuilt pier is so packed with interest we need not explain it here but don't miss the Tim Hunkin arcade.

After an hour of visiting the pier you can take the next round of the shuttle at 11.10 or same past the hour along the seafront to arrive at Southwold Harbour at 20 minutes past.

Here there is a lifeboat museum, a human powered ferry to Walberswick (operated between 10:00 - 17:00  but stops for lunch 12:30 - 14:00), several cafes and the opportunity for high-speed boat trips on the Coastal Voyager.

At 20 minutes past the hour you can take the shuttle again back to explore Southwold's High Street with its many shops, restaurants and boutiques and artisan bakers, sip some Adnams or begin the return leg of your journey. On the hour the 520 leaves the Southwold Kings Head arriving at Halesworth Station at 27 minutes past. The Ipswich-bound trains leave Halesworth at 41 minutes past every hour until 21:41

I hope you enjoy your day.