There is a lot of discussion at the moment regarding the County Council's plans to Transform Oxford. Basically, this is re-vamping an old idea to pedestrianise the city centre. In principle this sounds good. Many people have welcomed the pedestrianisation of Cornmarket (if we try to forget the problems with the resurfacing!), so how about the rest?
Queen Street is first on the list, but at the moment this is causing problems because there is no plan to deal with the buses. So the proposal is for an 'interim measure' which allows buses to drive through the street without stopping at all. Complete madness - everyone will have to try to avoid buses in all directions but can't get on one!
Many people come into Oxford by bus, indeed this needs to be encouraged, but if the buses cannot drop off in Queen Street then there needs to be a properly thought-out plan. However, as is usual at the County Council, the ruling group are not forthcoming about how they will deal with this.
One way we could improve the situation with the bus companies is to introduce joint-ticketing and joint timetabling, and this could be done by entering into a Quality Bus Partnership. This can now be done through the Local Transport Act 2008 which makes it possible for local authorities to act as an 'honest broker' in co-ordinating travel with bus companies.
I tried to get a motion through council on this very topic over a year ago, but this was voted down! All sorts of arguments were put up against it without realising the true implication - that we are a year further down the line and still no progress. Nothing is more frustrating than having to buy separate tickets for separate buses when one could do - it could be a Smart card or it could simply be a paper ticket. It doesn't matter which it is, so long as it is accepted by the bus operator - we don't need to get bogged down with the details - it just needs to work by having the county council dealing with the payments to the bus companies. My motion would have started this process as a pilot project in this area to be rolled out to the rest of the County. It would have been perfect timing. See my previous post on this topic here - as you will see it was almost exactly a year to the day - and April Fool's Day (who's the fool now?)
But there is no political will at the County Council to solve this problem, they just sit there blaming the bus companies themselves instead of trying to make it work. Transform Oxford is going to take a long, long time at this snail's pace. Positive discussions with bus companies should have been in place a long time ago - well before now. My guess it will remain 'Just A Vision' for the foreseeable future. What a pity an opportunity has been lost!
"Transform Oxford is going to take a long, long time at this snail's pace."
ReplyDeleteDoesn't everything happen at snail's pace in this part of the world? When I moved to Grove over 15 years ago, I stupidly believed that my children would be able to have a choice of senior schools, because when they were still in nursery, discussion was rife about a new school being built. And when they were just toddlers (they are now 13 & 14) there was speculation that Grove Station would be re-opened, but it's all just a fairy story, to keep us happy with the "promise" of what "might" come. Well, the lack of choice re a secondary school has been devastating for my children who absolutely hate going to KA's, and getting to Didcot to catch a train is a nightmare for many people.
I've long given up believing anything until I actually see it happening...though your suggestions for the buses are something that I totally agree with. As someone who always takes the bus into Oxford on the few occasions I have to go there, I would be horrified if the buses no longer stopped in the centre of Oxford, and I'm sure I won't be the only one....Queen Street needs to stay as it is. If the buses no longer stop there, crossing the road will become even more of a danger than it already is. And for those of us with mobility problems, having the bus drop off in Queen Street is ideal for most of the main shops. And whoever changed the route of the X31 should be awarded a medal :-)
I agree with you. Since I have lived in Grove and certainly since I have been a councillor I have been calling for Grove to have its own secondary school. Equally campaigning for re-openinig the railway station. Nationally Liberal Democrats have an exciting transport policy which includes investment in the whole rail network which would mean opening branch line stations which include Grove.
ReplyDeleteI do have regular discussions with the bus companies including suggestions with their routes - certainly the X30 'fast service' was one that I was heavily involved in especially as it would enable people to drop off and pick up at Oxford station.