Have your say on Swindon Councils bus strategy by August 22nd

At the moment, the bus network in Swindon is 95% commercially viable.  However, the Council supports some well-used services, including some evening and Sunday services, and services for smaller communities. With the council facing large increases in demand and costs for services for children and young people, and vulnerable elderly residents. They are saying that they must find savings or reduce the rising cost and demand of future services by between £70m and £80m.  This means reviewing the way they provide services, including bus transport services and dial a ride.

What are your thoughts on the proposed financial principles?

  • A fair balance between the needs of passengers and the cost to taxpayers
  • Achieving full financial viability of bus services by 2020, with no further need for subsidy from the taxpayer
  • Reviews of services to be based on their 'value for money', in other words the extent to which they have to be subsidised in order to continue
  • Where new housing development takes place, we will seek contributions from developers to provide a bus service

And your thoughts on the service principles:

  • Priority for services that get people to work, to school or college, or to the hospital
  • Priority given to provide services for rural areas and areas of social need
  • Ensuring, as far as possible, that people not served by the commercial network can still access the bus service
  • A focus on punctuality and on addressing causes of delay

Have your say www.swindon.gov.uk/busconsultation

They are also considering introducing a BusLink service.  This would be a small vehicle maybe, carrying 4 -16 passengers at a time. It would replace the normal bus service at times of low usage, running on a published timetable, and from existing bus stops, to one of three transport 'hubs'. There are three hubs in mind, at North Swindon (at the North Orbital), South Swindon (in Old Town) and East Swindon (at the Great Western Hospital).  Concessionary bus passes could still be used on these services.

Services that might be affected are No's 6, 7, 8, 9, 11A, 12, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 46, 46A, 48, 48A, 51, 65, 70A, 71, 72A, 90 and dial a ride.