Centro budget agreed

[Stu]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-26186435
http://www.centro.org.uk/about-us/news/2014/transport-budget-set/

The highlight is that Ring And Ride will be saved, but with reduced funding, meaning no Sunday service, and operating hours reduced Monday to Saturday to 8am to 8pm, with fares increasing from 60p to £1.

Also child rate fares to remain at half the adult rate, and free bus travel after 11pm for the elderly and disabled to be retained.

However, there will be cuts to bus station and shelter maintenance, as well as to subsidised bus services.

[PM]

I am glad child rate fares are still being kept and supported bus services are also safe. I think ring and ride costs an absolute fortune for what it actually provides and I am sorry but free bus travel after 11pm at night is totally unnecessary as well, as is free travel on local rail and tram services. I would personally have been cross if supported bus services were axed and the farce that is ring and ride was retained in its existing format. It has got to be one of the most inefficient uses of precious financial resources ever seen

[Stu]

I agree that the provision for free travel after 11pm is a bit unnecessary, as surely there can't be that many pensioners and disabled people out and about at that time of night, and I'm sure the few that do wouldn't object to paying a reduced fare, considering they get free travel the rest of the day.

However I do think that Ring And Ride serves a very useful purpose, after all it is designed to help people get around that are otherwise too infirm or incapable of using public bus services. My nan did used to use it, before she became too infirm to be able to go out and about frequently, and they were a godsend when she travelled from Smethwick to Moseley for my cousins wedding. If there had been no Ring And Ride, it would have been too expensive, or just too difficult, to get her there, by other means.

I think the cuts to Ring And Ride are justified, and the fare increase should still mean good value to those that use it.

[PM]

I agree that the provision for free travel after 11pm is a bit unnecessary, as surely there can't be that many pensioners and disabled people out and about at that time of night, and I'm sure the few that do wouldn't object to paying a reduced fare, considering they get free travel the rest of the day.

However I do think that Ring And Ride serves a very useful purpose, after all it is designed to help people get around that are otherwise too infirm or incapable of using public bus services. My nan did used to use it, before she became too infirm to be able to go out and about frequently, and they were a godsend when she travelled from Smethwick to Moseley for my cousins wedding. If there had been no Ring And Ride, it would have been too expensive, or just too difficult, to get her there, by other means.

I think the cuts to Ring And Ride are justified, and the fare increase should still mean good value to those that use it.

Totally unnecessary as is the free train travel: I am sorry but in the WM region there is virtually nowhere you cannot get by bus and so I feel that is sufficient.

Can't this be provided by the voluntary sector though, not Ring and Ride. Or couldn't operators bid to operate ring and ride for the lowest cost as opposed to WMSNT just being handed a cheque? Most other parts of Britain with far less bus services manage without ring and ride or an equivalent.

Don't get me wrong Stu I'm not arguing it isn't important but I am trying to play devil's advocate a bit here and presenting what the public's attitude may be, when we don't know how many people are even using ring and ride, yet the budget seems enormous

[Stu]

Nothing wrong with a healthy discussion! That's what forums are for!  ;)

I have an opinion on Ring And Ride, based on my own experience of having an elderly relative that did use the service, to get from door-to-door from where she lives to where she needed to go. She might be in a motorised wheelchair, but I would not expect her to be able to get around using local buses, which would be extremely distressing to her, and probably unsafe too.

You are entitled to your own opinion of course, but I do feel you would think differently if you yourself had elderly relatives, or severely disabled friends, who rely on Ring And Ride services as a lifeline to get around.

And this is something which our area (the West Midlands) should be proud of.

[Liverpool Street]

I believe the Ring-And-Ride is essential for the infirm. But for suits to be pushing the profit margins peoples lives they couldn't care less.

[Liberator9]

Centro have made the right decisions; I'm glad the free travel on the train and metro has been kept. My Dad uses that most Saturdays to get to the football and it would not be practical to get the bus from Solihull all the way up to Wolverhampton. I know others who do the same and also commented they did not want the train travel cut as is it useful.

[Ossie]

Centro have made the right decisions; I'm glad the free travel on the train and metro has been kept. My Dad uses that most Saturdays to get to the football and it would not be practical to get the bus from Solihull all the way up to Wolverhampton. I know others who do the same and also commented they did not want the train travel cut as is it useful.

:) I'm also relieved they've kept the free train travel for Centro ENCTP holders - it's a perk I do use, also for football.  Try getting to Highgate United by bus ........
I believe South Yorkshire are scrapping their similar concession from this March .......

[the trainbasher]

Personally I would be more inclined to do the following firstly:

Child half fare to be instead a £1.25 flat fare should apply with a percentage increase per year in line with the adult fare or the nearest 5p, whichever is the greater

Charge £30 (or the price in line with a Senior Railcard) for OAP passes for train/midland metro travel (disabled passes won't have that change

Work with neighbouring counties to have one organisation for bus transport (Ie have Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire working as part of Centro.)

Have control of parking, traffic management and road works similar to TfL

Retender the tendered service to drive down prices whilst maintaining the current network (but try and encourage operators to take some of the tenders on commercially (example the NXWM 81 and 27As daytime tendered bits))

Make districts fund ring and ride (or take it on inhouse)

[Tony]

Personally I would be more inclined to do the following firstly:

Child half fare to be instead a £1.25 flat fare should apply with a percentage increase per year in line with the adult fare or the nearest 5p, whichever is the greater

Charge £30 (or the price in line with a Senior Railcard) for OAP passes for train/midland metro travel (disabled passes won't have that change

Work with neighbouring counties to have one organisation for bus transport (Ie have Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire working as part of Centro.)

Have control of parking, traffic management and road works similar to TfL

Retender the tendered service to drive down prices whilst maintaining the current network (but try and encourage operators to take some of the tenders on commercially (example the NXWM 81 and 27As daytime tendered bits))

Make districts fund ring and ride (or take it on inhouse)

You couldn't just retender services. A contract has been signed and Centro might be liable to legal action if it did that. Also what makes you think this would bring down prices? they could just as easily rise. If an operator bid for a service two years ago and is just entering the third year of a three year contract it is possible that they are now down to break even or even a loss on that contract due to rising costs, so a retender will definately be at a higher price.

Districts funding Ring & Ride would not make a scrap of difference - where do you think Centro get their money from?

[the trainbasher]

Personally I would be more inclined to do the following firstly:

Child half fare to be instead a £1.25 flat fare should apply with a percentage increase per year in line with the adult fare or the nearest 5p, whichever is the greater

Charge £30 (or the price in line with a Senior Railcard) for OAP passes for train/midland metro travel (disabled passes won't have that change

Work with neighbouring counties to have one organisation for bus transport (Ie have Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire working as part of Centro.)

Have control of parking, traffic management and road works similar to TfL

Retender the tendered service to drive down prices whilst maintaining the current network (but try and encourage operators to take some of the tenders on commercially (example the NXWM 81 and 27As daytime tendered bits))

Make districts fund ring and ride (or take it on inhouse)

You couldn't just retender services. A contract has been signed and Centro might be liable to legal action if it did that. Also what makes you think this would bring down prices? they could just as easily rise. If an operator bid for a service two years ago and is just entering the third year of a three year contract it is possible that they are now down to break even or even a loss on that contract due to rising costs, so a retender will definately be at a higher price.

Districts funding Ring & Ride would not make a scrap of difference - where do you think Centro get their money from?

Looking at my Council Tax bill, there is nothing on there mentioning anything to do with Centro or WMITA or similar (and yes its a WM MBC so I would know what it says) - Also I know that my Local Authority has a fleet of Optare Aleros for Seniors for visit to centres so surely they could get a few more of them to replace ring and ride

And tendered services...hasn't there been precidents with other authorities...or they could just plan to start introducing QCs similar to Nexus?

[Tony]

Personally I would be more inclined to do the following firstly:

Child half fare to be instead a £1.25 flat fare should apply with a percentage increase per year in line with the adult fare or the nearest 5p, whichever is the greater

Charge £30 (or the price in line with a Senior Railcard) for OAP passes for train/midland metro travel (disabled passes won't have that change

Work with neighbouring counties to have one organisation for bus transport (Ie have Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire working as part of Centro.)

Have control of parking, traffic management and road works similar to TfL

Retender the tendered service to drive down prices whilst maintaining the current network (but try and encourage operators to take some of the tenders on commercially (example the NXWM 81 and 27As daytime tendered bits))

Make districts fund ring and ride (or take it on inhouse)

You couldn't just retender services. A contract has been signed and Centro might be liable to legal action if it did that. Also what makes you think this would bring down prices? they could just as easily rise. If an operator bid for a service two years ago and is just entering the third year of a three year contract it is possible that they are now down to break even or even a loss on that contract due to rising costs, so a retender will definately be at a higher price.

Districts funding Ring & Ride would not make a scrap of difference - where do you think Centro get their money from?

Looking at my Council Tax bill, there is nothing on there mentioning anything to do with Centro or WMITA or similar (and yes its a WM MBC so I would know what it says) - Also I know that my Local Authority has a fleet of Optare Aleros for Seniors for visit to centres so surely they could get a few more of them to replace ring and ride

And tendered services...hasn't there been precidents with other authorities...or they could just plan to start introducing QCs similar to Nexus?

If you think no money from your council tax bill goes to Centro then you are very much mistaken. I think you will find Ring & Ride are cheaper than the in-house services run by Dudley MBC, hence why Dudley MBC have sold of several of their Aleros and all of their Solos and getting WMSNT and other contractors in to replace them