Thoughts from Southwestbus

 On two fronts..... The local elections took place in May and Somerset is to become a unitary authority from 2023. This will mean the dissolution of the county and district councils from that date. The election was won by the Liberal Democrats, the stench of Conservative control over 13 years and their continued national failings finally coming home to roost!  During the last liberal administration, Somerset enjoyed something of a supportive approach towards bus service provision. Most of the positives were undone once the Conservatives came to power in the name of austerity.  Also announced during the summer was the results of the BSIP funding. Whilst Somerset hasn't got the £150m it asked for, it has received £12m. This will translate into enhancements for most of the county.  So from September 2022 we're introducing: Evening journeys on the 37 - and a doubling of the Sunday/BH timetable to hourly. Additional journeys will run M-Sats in the peaks meaning the PVR ri...

So today's post is something of a backtrack in our global plans.  Previously, we've discussed the improvement overall of our fleet and the new vehicle investment which has taken place during 2021. We thought things might improve in the medium to longer term with local buses and with private hire work, and this was the foundation, if you like, of the investment we were making.  The signs are not encouraging. The county council where we operate has submitted what is a 'very ambitious' BSIP bid for £160m and then some. The chances of that being awarded in full are somewhat slim given their historic disinterest in supporting a bus network in the county.  The modern bus and coach world makes extensive use of finance for new vehicles. It is the only reasonable way you can get in large numbers of vehicles to meet the various 'requirements' of operating in the modern world. There are a few operators sufficiently rich enough to write cheques when they buy new vehicles, s...

Some thoughts on the Somerset County Council BSIP , published in mid-October which I've shared with the Somerset Bus Partnership .  "To use the words of Yes, Minister there are some very courageous ideas contained within the BSIP. It almost reads like a wishlist of very expensive things which stand no chance of ever taking place, thus permitting SCC a free pass to continue the indifferent attitude they have toward public transport in the county. Most notably, the use of electric buses. This is laudable, and to be commended but there needs to be consideration of the whole life costs of the vehicles themselves. In addition there is the additional premium these vehicles will attract, compared with purchasing Euro 6 diesels. Buses are written down over a 10-15 year lifespan, and the batteries on these electric vehicles will not last as long. So, around 7 years (halfway) through the life of the vehicle, those batteries require replacement. That won’t be the concern of th...

Almost a month since the last post, and we've been busy with new buses arriving, and the first of 10 'toy Borismaster' buses. More on those in another post.  I've mentioned, before, about my influences in the industry and much of it is down to one man, who gave me a summer job back in 2004 which began my career in the industry.  Sadly, a couple of months after I moved on to do year 2 of my transport degree at University he passed away. But he left an impression on me which never has left. This tribute appeared on the company's website not too long after the funeral and I saved the page not long after. That was fortunate, as the company went into liquidation just over 10 years ago.   Whenever I'm in the village I always pop into the churchyard and have a chat with Charlie.  " Charlie Hookway, died on Tuesday 30th November 2004. He was 53 and had been involved with the family business since he left school at the age of 14, in 1966. Charlie joined his...

    Every August, an abandoned village on Salisbury Plain opens up to the general public.  Imber was populated until the middle of World War II when the inhabitants were evacuated by the Government. According to the Imber Church website , military activity began on the plain in 1897 and from 1927 onwards the War Office began buying up farmland, completing that process in 1932. The land was then leased back to the farmers until WWII.  The Army permit access to the village on a small number of occasions during the year. Since 2009, there has been a bus service, provided by London Routemasters and a supporting cast of other vehicle types linking the village with Warminster. Prior to the bus service, access was only possible by private car. What began as a small scale operation, needing 4 buses has mushroomed into an operation needing 28 vehicles in 2019. The 2021 event has been a little smaller in scale, with 25 vehicles in operation on a route from Warminster to Imber...

Whilst I'm a keen non-follower of current affairs, especially when it concerns our 'Government' and their sponsored mouthpieces in the form of the mainstream media one cannot help observe the recent announcement about a new National Bus strategy. This, upon further examination is not a reintroduction of the Leyland National, just as the final example are withdrawn from our railways but a more exciting passage of a new bus strategy adopted by our 'Government' as our 'Prime Minister' (he who invented an entirely new bus for London to solve a problem that never existed which has cost £15m more than otherwise would have been spent on conventional vehicles).  As John Cash wrote in the Autumn 1996 Buses Focus article on Yelloway - the one certainty about new legislation is that it ensures the passage of the next piece of legislation.  No, there is new money available to improve bus services across the UK. £3bn in fact. On a recent holiday to Cumbria the local radi...

Over the summer, well the three weeks of excessively humid weather we call summer, we've been creating a network map and town services maps for the towns we operate buses in.  The network map and Bridgwater town map were created on the first May bank holiday (which was very sunny, liquid variety so conducive to indoor pursuits) and it's taken me two and a half months to get round to sorting out the Taunton and Yeovil maps. All have been created in MS Paint 3D, which is a sort of upgrade on the original MS Paint. I guess, with some finance and proper artistry software you can produce really accurate maps which set new standards of cartography.  Whereas, we aim for a new low each time.   Over the years Southwestbus has been operating, we've had a number of hand drawn maps which don't really pass muster as a professional looking piece of publicity. The network has expanded and contracted over the years, but we're now running the final form of the network and we don...