Bus company ‘will look into changes’
Bus woes continue for hundreds as student president raises concerns with First Bus
First Bus has agreed to look into changing the way it operates its U1 service for students in Bath after a meeting between representatives last week.
Eve Alcock, the president of the University of Bath’s students’ union, posted on Facebook to say she had submitted a proposal backed by local resident groups and MP Wera Hobhouse to both the managing director and head of operations for the bus company.
As a consequence, First has said they would investigate the possibility of making the changes - but it could take several months.
If the bus company agrees, January 2019 is the earliest students could expect implementation.
However, Ms Alcock said First has confirmed that, with immediate effect and barring exceptional circumstances, the only vehicles operating on the U1 route will be accessible buses, which will benefit disabled students.
In her statement online, Ms Alcock also revealed First has decided to axe its ‘internal schedule’ for the U1, which should go some way to solving driver changeover issues and bus departure times.
She also acknowledged in the comments of the Facebook post that the problems with the U2 service are yet to be addressed, a situation she will ‘continue to monitor.’
“Last year, the buses were the best they’ve ever been,” she observed.
Ms Alcock believes her suggestions would address not only the long queues that have seen students late for lectures but also concerns around student safety, disability access and air quality.
Some students have reported feeling unsafe at some of the stops along the new U1 route because of the proximity to drug users and poor lighting at night, she said.
A number of disabled students have found the new stops difficult to get to or use, she added.
Ms Alcock’s suggestions for First Bus are:
Bring back the old U1 route, which used to serve the city centre at stops including along Dorchester Street, Manvers Street, and outside Bath Abbey.
Use First’s environmentally friendly double-decker buses on the U1 route. Their Euro 6 engines drive down NOX emissions by up to 95 per cent.
Re-introduce the old U1X route, that travelled directly from Oldfield Park to the university without detouring via the city centre.
Use the less eco-friendly but larger capacity bendy buses on the U1X route.
Ms Alcock added that the U1 could stop outside the Guildhall on Grand Parade instead of outside the Abbey if work for the Footprint project made that stop unsafe.
She said her proposals would not solve the problems on the U2 service, but would help disperse the large queues for the U1 at Corn Street and the bottom of Bathwick Hill.
In a corresponding statement, the University of Bath echoed Ms Alcock’s findings and reported that another meeting will be held on October 22.