Chris Hinchliff MP attended a meeting of NHBUG on 1st November. In his latest column for the Comet newspaper he sums up the problems very accurately:
See the article at https://www.thecomet.net/news/24751734.chris-hinchliff-mp-can-improve-north-east-herts-buses/
Draft Minutes of the meeting of 1st November 2024 ( tbc at next meeting )
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The electronic screen, Intalink online, and paper timetables for the Letchworth 53 service continue to show wrong and misleading information despite numerous attempts to get Intalink to correct the information. Most 53 services to Lordship Penn Way leave from Stop H (Broadway) at 35 past the hour but this is not shown. Instead the screen at Stop C in Station Rd and inside the Rail station show a service leaving from Stop C. It does not leave from Stop C. It leaves from Stop H.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hertfordshire County Council hosted an event to bring the transport community together, under the Intalink Enhanced Partnership (IEP). Information on the IEP can be found here.
- This in-person event is a great chance to connect and learn about the latest developments in transport with a focus on bus services.
- Get ready for insightful speakers, to engage in interactive stalls and to take part in Q&A sessions.
- Members from the Department for Transport, Bus Reform team will be joining us and there will be topic discussions around transport strategy, future ambitions and working holistically.
- Please ensure you register soon, as space is limited.
Join us for the Intalink Enhanced Partnership Annual Event.
- Date and Time
Thursday 28th November, 9:00 – 16:00
- Location
The Fielder Centre, Hatfield
We hope to have some feedback from this event shortly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stevenage BUG held their AGM on 14 September 2024.
The problems with bus services in North Herts and Stevenage continue. See the reports below for details of this and other interesting items from Stevenage:
The new government has announced its plan for Better Buses
See more details
From 21 October the early morning timings of the 96 96A Letchworth Sainsburys circular will change to allow for traffic conditions
News from South Mid and West Hertfordshire
Since the sudden termination of Sullivans TfL (Transport for London) contracted services, the dust seems to have settled with the former Sullivan TfL services now operating pretty well as normal with various different contracted operators.As per the local and area media, funding is in place to continue running the Potters Bar - Barnet 84B until April 2025 -and hopefully from then on. It is vital to continue using and support this service.
The UNO term time X10, which was principally introduced to assist with the University of Hertfordshire student commute given the massive ramp up of students from the Luton area over the last couple of years or so, is now using the new double decker three axle vehicles.
The route is different to before, not via Wheathamstead, the Lower Luton Road and Batford, although the original 610 route use still remains the same. The X10 calls at both the UH College Lane and de Hav bus interchanges, then going to and from Luton via the main Hatfield - St. Albans road and skirting around Marshalwick before joining the main St. Albans- Harpenden road then following the same route from Harpenden town centre as the 610, until just before Slip End outside Luton where it turns off to use the wider and newer roads into Luton itself. The Park Street road works are still affecting route diversions of the UNO 601 and 635 services.
On last local ( Hatfield) observation a few days ago, it appears the only bus stop paper timetables that have as yet been changed are at principal places such as Hatfield Station and Town Centre. This can cause confusion at any stops which have the electronic signs but old timetables showing different times to the stop frame mounted ones- hopefully the remainder will be updated soon.
On a visit last weekend to the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Coville just outside Lowestoft last weekend, it was very noticeable how at Norwich bus station not only how tidy this was kept, but how all the local and area bus and train information was completely up to date, well displayed, and easy to understand.
Also in South Herts:
HCC major works/closures are taking place in Park Street, between St. Albans and Radlett, necessitating diversion of UNO bus routes 601and 635, adding some time to the normal journey. This will be in place from 19th August onwards for a considerable period of time.
Bus night services in some areas (sadly not in North Herts) are on the up and increasing at a rate of 25% year on year.
TFL have a solitary night bus to Waltham Cross in Herts,
National Express also operate an N40 and A30 nightly between Victoria and Heathrow.
Other Herts night services are as follows and are all operated commercially: 240-NX 301, 302 308,309-Arriva 508,509,510-Arriva 707-NX 710-Hallmark 724-Green Line 737-NX 757-Green Line RA3-First
See our Feedback page for comments
New Service: 37 Stevenage to Buntingford Vectare
New service replacing a section of the 386 route. (386 service operated by Richmond's Coaches journeys are unaffected) Service 37 will run to every two-hours Mondays to Saturdays. Most journeys will connect with service new 36/36A for connections to Bishop's Stortford.
From 01.09.24.
New Intalink tickets to replace Intalink Explorer and BUSnet
From Sunday 14th July 2024, Intalink Explorer and BUSnet tickets are being replaced by a new and improved ticketing scheme called Intalink Connect. The Intalink Connect ticket scheme provides unlimited travel by bus in Hertfordshire
Adult SaverCard discount increasing to 50%
|
From the 14th July the Adult SaverCard (for ages 26-59) will be offering 50% discount on multi-operator bus tickets, previously described as Explorer and BUSnet. This is a change to the current Adult SaverCard, which up until now has only offered 15% discount on Intalink Explorer and BUSnet tickets.
|
In addition to the new 907 service, https://busandtrainuser.com/2023/04/18/a-new-route-in-the-heart-of-herts/ new services have now been announced including a 908 service between Stevenage and Welwyn Garden via Knebworth.
www.thecomet.net/news/23812329.new-bus-routes-coming-stevenage-welwyn-garden-city/
AND there are now two further services (721 and 725) introduced between Luton - St Albans - Hemel Hempstead and Stevenage-Watford-Rickmansworth.
See: https://busandtrainuser.com/2023/11/25/hertfordshire-welcomes-another-two-new-bus-routes/
The £2 Bus Fare scheme has been extended until the end of 2024.
www.gov.uk/guidance/2-bus-fare-cap
BUT: Herts CC decide against Bus Franchising (May 2024)
Under a franchising system the Council or a central authority make decisions on bus services and monitor their operation with the bus companies being paid to run the services to an acceptable standard. Despite this being a much better system than the current deregulated free for all the Council has decided against implementing it in Hertfordshire.
An interesting article on the subject:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clke3g03rljo
See the feedback page for more news and members' views and responses.