Author: Lyn

Bob the bus will be providing a free Park and Ride service for late night shopping in Totnes. The event is organised by  Totnes market traders  and will be taking place on Tuesday 9th, 16th and 23rd December. The Park and Ride will run from Follaton House Car park from 5.30pm until 10pm. Two Bobs will be running approx every 15 mins and will stop at the Rotherfold ( Top of Town) and Opposite the seven stars ( Bottom of Town) It is Free to Park at Follaton House

This is a fantastic event and is very popular for Christmas shopping. There will be no parking on any of the streets surrounding the town.

Follow this link for more information on the event HERE

Follow this link for location of the Park and Ride  HERE

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
TOTNES CONSERVATIVE CLUB 7PM
4TH NOV 2014

A new era in local bus services and community transport will be launched at the Bob the Bus AGM to be held on Tuesday 4th November 7pm at Totnes Conservative Club, Station Road, Totnes.

Bob the Bus and the Harbourne Shuttle community bus groups will be amalgamating to form the Totnes and Rural Community Bus Association.

With nearly 45 years’ experience of running services between them, a joint fleet of four buses and more than 25 volunteer drivers the amalgamated group will be looking at expanding existing services and tackling the issues presented by the Totnes Town Centre traffic scheme.

The new group will look to work closely with Totnes Caring and the Totnes and Dartmouth Ring and Ride as well as linking services to commercial bus operators for travel beyond Totnes.

Volunteer drivers and committee workers are the key to the future of community buses and more are always needed to sustain and expand this service that makes a real difference to the lives of so many people in Totnes and surrounding villages.

Lyn Price
TCBA Coordinator – 07800745332.

This is to say thank you to Jon Stein for allowing us to use the Bob the Bus song he wrote for our enterprise video.

Bob the Bus by Jon Stein

Jon is a local musician and writer visit Jon’s website www.jonstein.co.uk

words and music to amuse and inspire………

Totnes Community Bus Group have entered the Power to Change film competition

Power to Change is a new initiative which will invest up to £150 million to support the development of sustainable community-led enterprises across England. The Power to Change Trust is currently applying for the endowment of £150m from the Big Lottery Fund and this process is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It is envisaged that the Trust will be up and running in early 2015

You can view our film entry HERE

You can read about the competition HERE

Christmas is coming ! TFYC are launching their first Weekend Breaks away with a ‘Tinsel & Turkey’ – a long weekend away with passengers from across the County.

It is taking place from Friday 5^th-Monday 8^th December 2014 at The Rainbow International Hotel in Torquay.  This first weekend will be a ‘value break’ not a luxury break so if people are looking for 5 stars this won’t be for them.

TYFC have both visited the hotel and talked to the staff and had a good look round and although it is very traditional, everyone is friendly, the food offered is good, there is an indoor swimming pool and they primarily cater for coach holidays for the older generation.  We have also spoken to a leader of a group from London for her opinion, who comes to The Rainbow every year and she would recommend it to anyone.

 It is only a very short walk from the seafront but there is also a lovely little train that stops across the road from the Hotel that will take guests into the Town Centre.

Full Christmas meals with all the trimmings are provided, Christmas music by the Salvation Army band, and we will also offer an optional Saturday afternoon excursion (this will cost a little extra per person).

Tinsel & Turkey poster_BobtheBus

Bob the Bus will be supporting the ‘one way up’ march in Totnes on 20th Sept. The march starts at the seven stars hotel at 11.30am. Two buses will be in the march and will provide transport for anyone who has difficulty walking the length of the march.

Statement from Sue Speak – chair of Totnes Community Bus Association

I would like to make clear the reasons that Totnes Community Bus Association have decided to support the one way up march.
We do not want the main street to become a rat run and we fully support a reduction in traffic levels in the town. Our priority is our passengers and the best outcome which meets their needs is for the bus to be able to travel from the bottom to the top.
The purpose of the bus is and always was, to bring in the local community from the outskirts of town and to take them all the way up the main street. This is so that the less able shopper can access all the local shops and facilities easily, getting on and off the bus throughout the town. This offers a degree of independence and an opportunity to socialise for many people. The current road structure makes it extremely difficult to design a route which meets our passenger’s needs. Since this has been in place it has had an effect on passenger numbers and financial viability of the service.

Bob the Bus now accepts PLUSBUS tickets on the TS1 service

PLUSBUS is a cheap bus pass/travelcard that you buy with your train ticket at any National Rail station ticket office or order pills online.

It gives you unlimited bus and tram travel (on participating operators services) around the whole urban area of the rail-served town or city. Use PLUSBUS to start your journey (to get to a rail station) and/or to end your journey (from station to your destination).

PLUSBUS costs from £2 a day. Railcard holders get 33% off and children get 50% off day ticket prices

Follow the link to find out more about Totnes PLUSBUS  www.plusbus.info/totnes

Bob the bus will be supporting this event on 6th Sept by providing a free park and ride service from Follaton, Kevicc school and St Johns school.

The buses will be running every 15 mins from 9am until 10.30am then 11.15am until 12pm return journeys from civic hall from 4pm until 5.30pm. The Follaton bus will run from 9am until 12pm, whilst the other two Bob’s will take part in the precession through town, providing transport for anyone who is unable to walk up the town. You can find out more details about the event HERE

Bob the Bus provided a Park and Ride for Totnes Show on Sunday. 3 Bob’s brought 500 people to the show from the car boot field on Totnes Rd, Paignton. The Harboune shuttle, Totnes Caring and woodbrothers brought people in from Totnes. The day was a huge success, we worked really well as a local transport team. Big thanks to all the drivers who provided such an excellent service !

You can find out about the show Here

John Ayers from BBC Spotlight interviewed committee member John Holl today. He wanted to the view of the Bob the bus team on a report released today. The interview will be show on BBC one at 6.30pm tonight.

PUBLICATION OF REPORT – PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN ISOLATED COMMUNITIES

The Transport Committee Inquiry page:

MPs call for action to improve passenger transport services for isolated communities

Policy makers across all Government departments must recognise the fundamental importance of passenger transport for providing access to education, healthcare and employment in all kinds of isolated communities, warn MPs on the Transport Committee.

In a report of an inquiry that examined passenger transport in isolated communities, the cross-party Transport Select Committee warns that neglect of these services will reduce access to education, employment, health services, and other essential services.

Launching the report, Transport Select Committee Chair, Louise Ellman MP, said:

“Old and young, unemployed people, those on low incomes and disabled people who live in isolated communities rely on passenger transport. For example two out of every five job seekers cite lack of transport as a barrier to finding work.

“All these groups are disproportionately affected by inadequate or reduced services. It is vital that all ministers recognise the fundamental importance of passenger transport in providing access to education, healthcare and employment.”

MPs also highlight how ‘isolated communities’ are frequently situated in urban as well as rural areas and island settings. Commenting on this Louise Ellman added,

“Policy makers sometimes equate ‘isolated’ with ‘rural’ or island communities, but we found that some urban and suburban areas have inadequate passenger transport. The DfT should draft a definition of ‘isolated communities’ for use across central and local government to target scarce resources in ways that reach all types of isolated community.”

“We reiterate our long held concern that subsidised bus services continue to disappear as funding is cut. The bus industry must work with local authorities to deliver essential local services through the development of quality contracts similar to arrangements that operate in London.”

The Committee also challenges the Department for Transport’s assertion that community transport schemes run by volunteers can compensate for decreased bus services in isolated communities. “We recognise their value but many community transport schemes are tiny and only serve particular groups in the community. It is unrealistic to expect volunteers to replace local bus services,” added Louise Ellman.

MPs highlight the need for ‘total transport’ – the pooling of existing transport assets to deliver a broader range of services. “If, for example, hospital transport were combined with local bus services, it might revolutionise services for isolated communities. We want to see the DfT test that concept in practice by co-ordinating large-scale pilot schemes,” said Louise Ellman.