First Great Western ‘miscalculates’ season ticket fare increases!

First Great Western (FGW) has been forced into a most embarrassing ‘u-turn’ on the price of season tickets to London Paddington from fifteen stations in the Thames Valley, including Maidenhead and Slough.

When FGW announced the revised season ticket prices from 2 January, both TravelWatch SouthWest and London TravelWatch demanded an independent audit as many rises were in excess of the permitted increase for regulated fares of RPI plus one per cent (a total of 4.8% for the January 2008 increase).

FGW has now admitted that season ticket fares between fifteen stations and London Paddington were ‘calculated incorrectly’! FGW has agreed to refund customers who have been overcharged since the implementation of the fares rise on 2 January.

London TravelWatch has claimed that FGW was aware of the error on 20 December 2007, but still charged the wrong fares from 2 January 2008!

Strike Updates

i) First Great Western (FGW) Train Managers/Conductors Strike

The RMT suspended the two day strike of train managers and conductors employed by FGW which was scheduled to be held on Sunday 20 January and Monday 21 January, to enable further negotiations to take place to resolve the current dispute.

ii) Wilts and Dorset Driver Strike

Drivers employed by Wilts and Dorset at their depots at Blandford, Bournemouth, Lymington, Poole, Ringwood and Swanage have staged three one-day strikes on Thursday 3 January, Tuesday 8 January and Wednesday 16 January in their continuing dispute relating to the length of continuous driving time, without a break.

A further strike, which was planned for Wednesday 23 January, has been cancelled to enable talks to take place between the RMT and the company’s management to resolve the dispute. Traders in Poole Town Centre have been complaining about the significant loss of revenue on strike days.

Concessionary Fares

Devonwide, which operates the concessionary fares scheme for Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge and West Devon, has announced that from 1 April 2008 the residents of these seven districts will not be able to use their ‘free’ bus pass before 0930hrs on Monday to Friday.

This alteration to the hours of validity of the concessionary fares pass means that residents of certain communities in Devon will in future have to pay on certain bus routes due to the lack of buses after 0930hrs providing return journey facilities – examples of communities in Devon where concessionary pass holders will be disadvantaged are:-

• Ashreigney to Barnstaple/Torrington – bus departs at 0915hrs (Friday) and 0925hrs (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)
• Bere Ferrers to Tavistock – bus departs at 0915hrs
• Broadhempston to Totnes – bus departs at 0922hrs
• South Molton to Taunton – bus departs at 0925hrs

The Department for Transport commences a national campaign on Monday 4 February to advertise the extension of free off-peak travel from 1 April 2008 for concessionary pass holders to all local bus services in the whole of England (including Greater London).

People

Tony Anthistle has resigned as Managing Director of First Bristol and First Somerset and Avon.

Catherine Mason who was appointed in October 2007 as the Commercial Director of CrossCountry trains has resigned to take up a new appointment as Group Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company.

South West Trains – Live Web Chat with Stewart Palmer

Stuart Palmer, the Managing Director of South West Trains, will be holding a live web chat with customers on Tuesday 26 February from 1400hrs to 1600hrs – for details please see ‘www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/News’

And finally,

A First Somerset and Avon bus deposited nearly one hundred litres of diesel on roads in Chippenham town centre last Monday (14 January) when ‘the fuel tank became loose’ – Chippenham Bus Station had to be closed for several hours.