TravelWatch Southwest
Newslog Monday 14 July 2008

Stagecoach Devon excessive price increases

Stagecoach Devon is increasing the prices of Explorer and Megarider Gold tickets, which permit unlimited travel on the company’s bus network for a fixed time period from a day to a year by between nineteen and fifty per cent from 28 July – the full range of family tickets, which permit up to five people to travel together, are all been withdrawn causing price increases of over eighty-seven per cent for groups of two adults and three children.

The prices of Megarider Gold tickets were increased by between seven and twelve per cent from 28 April 2008 – the further increases from 28 July mean that the prices of these tickets has now risen by up to fifty per cent in just thirteen weeks.

Stagecoach Devon states that these excessive increases are ‘due to rising fuel costs’ - Martin Griffiths, the Group Finance Director, stated on 25 June that the fuel costs of the UK Bus subsidiary companies would be twenty-seven per cent higher in the year to 30 April 2009 than in the twelve months to 30 April 2008. Fuel is generally estimated to be approximately ten per cent of the costs of a bus operator – so the increase in the price of fuel will cause a rise of less than three per cent in total costs, which totally fails to justify fare increases of up to fifty per cent.

South West Trains proposes to reduce ticket office hours

South West Trains is currently consulting customers and stakeholders concerning the company’s proposals to reduce the opening hours of ticket offices at twenty railway stations in South West England – the affected stations are:-

South West Trains states that sales at ticket offices are falling, due to the installation of self-service machines and rising internet. Full details of the proposals can be viewed on the company’s website ‘www.southwesttrains.co.uk’ – any comments on the proposals should be forwarded by electronic mail to ‘jocelyn.pearson@passengerfocus.org.uk’ not later than Tuesday 5 August 2008.

National Passenger Survey

Passenger Focus has published the Spring 2008 results of the National Passenger Survey of the ‘attitudes and impressions’ of rail customers. The four train operating companies in the South West recorded the following customer satisfaction scores:-

Percentage of customers ‘Good or Satisfied’

Only thirty-one per cent of First Great Western (FGW) customers are satisfied with the company’s response to train delays – just thirty-six per cent of FGW customers were satisfied with the availability of staff on the company’s trains and with on-board toilet facilities.

The full National Passenger Survey Spring 2008 results can be viewed at ‘www.passengerfocus.org.uk’

Falmouth branch capacity to be doubled

First Great Western will be providing two trains an hour on Monday to Saturday daytime between Falmouth Docks and Truro from May 2009, following the building of a new passing loop at Penryn station.

The installation of the new passing loop, with the related signalling equipment, will cost in excess of £7.7 million – the European Union convergence scheme is providing £4.67 million, Cornwall County Council is contributing £2.5 million with Network Rail investing £0.6 million.

Services on the branch are currently provided by a two carriage class 150 unit, while the revised timetable will be operated by two single carriage class 153 units. Annual passenger journeys on the Falmouth branch have risen from 156k in 1997 to 261k in 2007.

And finally,

Which is the oldest vehicle regularly used on a local bus service in the South West? – one contender is Shaftesbury and District bus, registration mark AFJ733T (first registered between August 1978 and July 1979), which operates services X80/80 between Bath and Gillingham via Frome