(29 Oct 2023, 3:25 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Absolutely this.
While some on here bang on about buses not taking people where they want to go, we mustn't overlook the fact that planners and schedulers could spend millions on surveys finding out where people wanted to go - thus solving the problem - only to find that people are still not using the bus services on a network that has been redesigned and ostensibly improved.
No matter what you do, people are not going to give up the convenience and utility that the car offers. Let's face it, if you can afford to run a car, then you're probably not going to use a bus.
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Just want to drill this down a bit.
You're saying all bus users are exclusively non-car owners?
I think we all know that's not the case.
Operators need to grow patronage. They're not going to do that relying on non-car owners.
They need to do everything they can do to encourage others (including car owners) to make the modal switch.
They've tried it with paint jobs and tables (there's two for your NEB Bingo if you have them) and it didn't work.
They've tried the lower fares and it's had some impact.
They've bleated about bus lanes and priority measures and all that tends to do is slow things down for everyone. Particularly when the measures are poorly designed.
What other things (within their own control) can they do go encourage growth, other than looking at the network and seeing what people actually want/need?