The introduction of new bus services to Ludlow three weeks ago proved a bumpy ride. Shropshire Council failed to get new timetables in place and failed to inform passengers of the scale of the changes. The result was ten days of chaos with people missing appointments or standing wondering the next bus will come, whether any bus will come.
Last week, Andy Boddington, Tracey Huffer and Viv Parry met Minsterley Motors and Shropshire Council’s public transport group to discuss changes to the new services. As a result, the park and ride service will call at stops on Sheet Road and there will be some changes to lunchtime services, though there will still only be one bus running hourly as at present over lunch.
I am back to blogging after a spell in hospital and dealing with a health matter. This post is longer than usual but I need to catch up.
On 5 October, Shropshire Council and Minsterley Motors introduced new bus services across Ludlow. After listening to feedback to passengers and councillors, some changes have been agreed. These are not the final word and there are more improvements to be made. What is important is that we get the best service we can by the time the visitor season picks up next Easter.
“It is fair to say that the new timetables and routes have not got down well”, says Tracey Huffer, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow East. “The biggest problem was that few people knew the details of the changes beforehand. Problems at Shropshire Council mean that new timetables were not in place on bus stops when the new services were introduced. The introduction of the new services could and should have been handled better.”
I think it was a mistake that there was very little consultation with councillors before the new timetables were introduced. We could have eased some of the problems. However, we now need to consider the lessons learnt in the first two weeks of running the services.
The new services will give Ludlow more reliable services. At a time when bus services are being axed across the country, Ludlow is getting a new dedicated park and ride service which will be a boost for our visitor economy.
Why introduce changes?
Bus services in Ludlow have been struggling for a while. They have often only kept to the timetable off peak and when they pick up few passengers. Roadworks, a perennial part of Ludlow life, narrow streets and parked vehicles slow the journeys. Buses often ran late, only two-thirds were punctual, and sometimes did not run at all. A shortage of drivers to cover the lunch break meant that very often a combined 701/722 ran instead of the two services.
The 701 service has long been unsustainable. It takes around 30 minutes to drive the five mile route in a car yet the bus was only allowed 30 minutes for its run, including picking up passengers. Every second 722 service ran via Rocks Green and it didn’t pick up or drop passengers on a substantial portion of the route. At peak periods, there was overcrowding at the Eco Park with passengers too often being left behind.
Why were the changes introduced now?
It is difficult to fix bus service problems without money. Shropshire Council bid for levelling up funding from the last government but Shrewsbury town centre got the money because the council did not give buses priority. The Department for Transport has now awarded the council £1.4m based on its 2024 Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP). This sets out a broad vision for bus services across the county, including town services, inter-town services and a Shropshire Connect service to link villages and hamlets to the market towns.
Improving the Ludlow bus services was high on the BSIP agenda including a dedicated park and ride service.
Once the money was awarded, it had to be spent otherwise the government would claw it back. That’s why we are starting the new park and ride service in low season.
722 park and ride
The council has introduced a new dedicated park and ride service using a liveried bus. This is a boost to public transport in Ludlow and the local economy. It will encourage visitors to use the park and ride rather than driving around the town centre looking for a parking space. At the moment, there are few visitors and this bus often runs empty. To increase the number of passengers is intended that the bus will call at additional stops at the top of Sheet Road giving a more frequent service for passengers living in that area. This will be introduced as soon as possible. I am hoping that will be in the next couple of weeks.
701 North Town
The 701 North Ludlow service has been reduced from every 30 minutes to every hour. This change was essential as previously the route had to be driven at speed to keep to the timetable and more than one-third of buses ran late.
The 701 now serves Rocks Green. We hope it can be extended to Knights Way on the new Henley Grange development. This will need to wait until the site is further developed and there is adequate space for a bus to turn within regulations. (Three point turns are now frowned upon by the Traffic Commissioners, the bus regulator.)
702 South Town
The route has been changed to take out one three-point turn on Parys Road and then to head to town through Sandpits. The route has been extended to Murchinson Close on Ledwyche Rise. A bus top and timetable are due on Murchinson shortly.
The 702 service should serve the new Ludlow Green development on Foldgate Lane. There is enough time in the timetable for this but the problem is turning space. The approved site plans do not allow space a bus to turn without reversing, a failure of Shropshire Council’s planning system to consider sustainable transport. This, I think, will need to be resolved by negotiation and some compromise.
703 North and South Town
To make the new timetables work, to keep within a tight budget and to recognise the difficulty in recruiting drivers, there are only two lunchtime buses at 12.00pm and 1.00pm. This has not been a popular move with many people finding they have to wait two hours for a bus.
We have agreed that the 703 routes will be adjusted to take on board feedback from the first few weeks of service. Unfortunately, archaic Traffic Commissioner procedures which pre-date the internet era mean that 60 days notice of a change of route is required. A daft requirement but one that can only be resolved by parliament. The new routes for the 703 are not agreed yet and I will update everyone as soon as they the information is available.
Conclusion
We are on a first step to getting better bus services in Ludlow. We have a long way to go. Buses now run mostly to time. But a lot of people are unhappy with the new timetables. Some of that unhappiness will ease once people get used to the new scheduling. Many other people will remain unhappy.
The long term answer is for the government to allocate more money to rural bus services. I am not holding my breath on that.
Just a query regarding the P&R stops being introduced on Sheet Road. Will people with a bus-pass (probably the majority of people who use Ludlow buses, I think ) be required to pay the fare, or will their bus-pass cover the cost?
I think you will need to pay £1 return which the P&R fare. But this is currently uncertain.
Without prior consultation or notice the stop at Blashfields on Parys Road has disappeared off the new timetable. The only listed stops are Tollgate and Vashon. I was a regular user at Blashfields. Due to bad arthritis I can’t walk to either Tollgate or Vashon so won’t be able to use this service again.
Not all bus stops can be accomodated in the timetable. All buses to Tollgate pass Blashfields one or two minutes later.