First Great Western to retain more buffet cars on high speed trains

First Great Western will shortly announce that the train operating company will be retaining far more buffet cars on high speed trains. First Great Western obtained the consent of the Department of Transport in the franchise agreement to remove the buffet car from twenty-seven of the company’s fifty-three high speed trains – it was proposed to provide one first class trolley and one standard class trolley on high speed services with no buffet car facility. Following a review of on-board catering facilities, First Great Western is expected to announce that the buffet car facility will be retained on nearly all the company’s high speed train sets. The RMT union recently voted for strike action over the First Great Western proposal to replace buffets cars with trolleys.

Government to publish a draft South West Regional Spatial Strategy for consultation

It is expected that the Government will publish a draft regional spatial strategy for the South West of England on Tuesday 22 July, to be followed by a twelve week consultation period. The South West Regional Assembly proposed the original draft regional spatial strategy, which was then subject to an ‘examination in public’ by three inspectors who submitted a report to the Government.

Full details of the Government’s proposals should be available on the website ‘www.gosw.gov.uk’ from 0900hrs on Tuesday 22 July.

Double success for TravelWatch SouthWest lobbying campaigns

i) Stagecoach Devon

Stagecoach Devon announced increases in 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cent from 28 July – the full range of family tickets, which permit up to five people to travel together, were all to be withdrawn causing price increases of over eighty-seven per cent for groups of two adults and three children.

Stagecoach Devon has now amended the original proposals following intense lobbying by TravelWatch SouthWest, supported by local authorities and regional media.

The prices of Day Explorer tickets, including the family ticket, will now remain unchanged when purchased after 0930hrs on Monday to Friday or at any time on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays – the increased prices will only apply to tickets purchased before 0931hrs on Monday to Friday.

The prices of Megarider Gold tickets will not now be increased, but these tickets will no longer be available for use on services X38 (Exeter – Plymouth) and X46 (Exeter – Paignton) – Stagecoach Devon is introducing a new Megarider Platinum ticket which gives unlimited travel on all the company’s routes, including services X38 and X46 – this new ticket is priced at £30 (one week), £115 (one month) and £1350 (one year).

ii) Wilts and Dorset

Since 1972, when through railway services to Swanage were withdrawn, the timetable planners of Western National, Hants and Dorset and subsequently Wilts and Dorset have made every effort to maximize connectivity between bus and rail services at Wareham railway station for both residents and visitors travelling to and from Corfe Castle and Swanage. Wilts and Dorset, which is now a subsidiary of the public transport company Go-Ahead Group, introduced revised timetables from Sunday 25 May, which have caused severe inconvenience to both residents and visitors, who use connecting rail services due to the substantial increase in journey times.

Following an intensive lobby campaign by Dorset County Council, the Purbeck Transport Action Group and TravelWatch SouthWest, Wilts and Dorset have now agreed to introduce revised timetables on the company’s service 40 (Poole – Swanage via Wareham) from Monday 22 September 2008 to improve bus: rail connectivity at Wareham railway station.

Wilts and Dorset returns to profit

Wilts and Dorset, the bus company which operates approximately three hundred and twenty vehicles in Dorset and Wiltshire, has announced a post-tax profit of £1167k for the year ended 30 June 2007, compared with a post-tax loss of £784k for the previous twelve months. The company’s revenue increased by seven per cent to over £31 million, while operating costs were just one per cent higher at £29.6 million. The company achieved an operating margin of 4.6 per cent in 2006/7, compared with a negative margin of 1.2 per cent the previous year.

And finally,

The 3 August 2008 timetable leaflets for First Bristol services 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 36, 48/49/X62, 51, 52 and 90 and for First Somerset and Avon services 318/319 contain the following paragraph:-

'The 'FirstBus&RailCard' is also available for customers wishing to travel on First buses and First Great Western trains all day throughout the Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and Bath areas.'

The ‘FirstBus&RailCard’ for the Greater Bristol area was withdrawn from 2 January 2008!!!