I have done this survey but found it to be inadequate for the purposes of communicating a list of concerns and cares about local buses and associated matters. One is at a loss as to where the buck stop beit operators, councils or Government or a share for all. I do not have a bus officer email for Bedford Borough and welcome this email to be forwarded to appropriate people who may take up matters in the, I believe, wider public interest and potential benefit:
1. X5 Oxford-Bedford-Cambridge now truncated with a required change to a 905 which is a double decker and takes longer, much longer. You can carry a bike anywhere on the X5 coach between Oxford and Bedford, but not the 905. There's a toilet on board the X5, not the 905. There's plenty of luggage space for variety of things on X5, not on 905. 905 may benefit Cambridge local commutes from St Neots, Cambourne and principal radial stops, but end to end is useless from a Bedford-East Anglia quick end to end timing. The excuse was that X5 coaches were too big to do the corner at Ashburnham Road/Midland Road and turn at the front of Cambridge Railway Station. Now, a double decker and still no linkage with Bedford and Cambridge Railway Stations. Whatever purposes the 905 serves, can we have our X5 Oxbridge end to end coach back, maybe missing out Great Barford (use the bypass) and St Neots (call at Tesco/incentivise local services to fill gaps/give 905 optimum local feed markets including Longsands to serve the St Neots Rail Station as a part of its route, the walk gap, especially in winter nights, is a long way to former X5 stop and deters the linkage and reliability of a joined-up transport system to be relied on).
Other related requests are:
a. reinstate the St Peters Street Bus Stop for 905 to call at - right opposite the Eagle Bookshop, which Oxbridge Arc, should be a good excuse to break journeys and explore what Bedford has to offer more).
b. Install a stop for X5 by the Biddenham/Bypass Roundabout to help people access going out of Bedford/coming in without recourse to have to go into Bus Station, change and out again. This would save time and boost patronage.
c. I note Eaton Socon Church Bus stop has been cut, please work to reinstate it as local, accessible and not-so-far-to-walk stops makes accessing local buses easier.
2. Make Grant Palmer normal services serve the Bedford Midland Railway and Bus Station as a part of their routes. Likewise the No. 7 should after Bus Station go via Midland Road, Ashburnham Road, Bromham Road (new stop for Wyvern House area) and along Bromham Road (reinstate Guild Hall Bus Stop) and via St Peter's to Kimbolton Road. Decluttering St Paul's waiting x more footfall and spend northern half of High Street is a beneficiary and time saving. Putnoe to Bedford Midland seems useful and marketable. Well done the No. 6 does Bedford Midland as a part of its route now, this should be trumpeted more to make people aware of the Bus-Rail Station links more. No. 3 could turn from River Street to Midland Road, Ashburnham Road, Bromham Road, Hassett Street to Bus Station and out via St Paul's for looping from the Fenlake, likewise No. 74 Grant Palmer Biggleswade-Bedford bus - could do more/needs marketing.
3. Someone said that you can get to the Essex Border, but places like Saffron Walden, Buntingford and Stevenage to Bedford are patchy except via Hitchin. Could more links out of Biggleswade to these places be looked at for more cross-country-travel options, avoiding main urban centres like congested Cambridge or expensive rail? Likewise, does it make sense for Sandy-Bedford-St Neots when a direct bus link could feed both town centres and plug a gap maybe giving Blunham, Tempsford and Roxton/Little Barford better links?
4. Bedford-Northampton No. 41: This takes 1.5 hours each way between two principal towns. It is too long in the saddle for disabled people and commuter potential. We need to separate out a local all stopper service round Will's Mother's and a semi fast regional Cambridge-Bedford-Northampton A428 corridor fast service, bringing end to end times down to 45 minutes and linking again, with Northampton Rail Station and Bus Station. It feeds back to Bedford, gives job-seekers more scope vice versa and is healthy for both towns economies.
5. Every day the buses bring hundreds of people to Bedford Town Centre. We need to better value bus users and their weight in gold. Encouraging town centre quality shops like an M&S Food Hall and a Morrisons Metro style, would be for the good.
6. Better public toilets, we have lost 3 in the town centre - former Debenhams, M&S and Beales and need kore. Likewise, near the Butterfly Bridge a toilet block could be very useful. We rightly market the town and riverside ambience, but between Town Bridge and Longholme Bridge, no toilets, which is a consideration for many including people with certain propensities, disabilities and mothers with children for example. Cambridge has blocks near both River Cam and Jesus Common.
7. Time keeping on No. 81 and 44 via Wixams needs checking up. Sometimes 2 buses come along together on a regular basis - then leave 1 hour gap for the next.
8. The Kempston Bus Stop in St Paul's Square currently has no flag, no published timetable and no Real Time Information (RTI) working. Can it be fixed or is it now closed? Many buses serve it and many people go there for all call there, whereas bus station they leave at different times from different stops scattered about and if slow moving, by the time you get from one to another, miss all.
Hope this feedback is helpful and welcome an officer for liaison to work with us on improving and shoring up to be the best it can be going forward. Government money must go into appropriate projects and schemes to enhance bus usage. One idea is to give lifestyle flexibility to choose bus over car more. There must be a cost-saving incentive and be able to do more with one card. Making criterions for more Under 65's to obtain Concessionary Bus Passes should be looked at, ability to buy one anyway akin to a Season Ticket and for it to be a Government 'greening' goal for bus-rail concessionary travel nationwide for a nominal sum with free for those with low incomes/disabilities/on benefits built in for all to enjoy and benefit from better, cleaner mobility than locked-in to car reliance and cost or stuck in a geographical location denied reasonable cost-ratio to income mobility.
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