Bus Service Improvement Plan Progress

[Edvid]

Central Bedfordshire have launched their mojo multi-operator ticket today, which counts Arriva, Centrebus, Grant Palmer, Stagecoach and Uno as its participants.

All journeys with the aforementioned operators that start and/or finish within Central Bedfordshire are eligible, and the product is priced at £12.50 / £38 for a day / week. That's on the pricey side for a BSIP-backed offering,* but if priced any lower would have undercut the Bus Spotter (Grant Palmer, £12) or Bedfordshire Plus 7 Day Megarider (Stagecoach, £37.20).

Mojo | Grant Palmer

www.grantpalmer.com

We are excited to announce the launch of mojo - a ticket you can use to hop on most buses in Central Bedfordshire and to destinations beyond the county that can be reached on a direct journey, i.e with no change of bus outside Central Bedfordshire. These destinations include Bedford, Luton, Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Hitchin, Stevenage and Letchworth. It costs £12.50 for a day or £38 for a week and will be available from 22 April 2024.

Currently, separate tickets are necessary for each leg of a journey involving different bus companies but now passengers can enjoy seamless travel around the area by purchasing their mojo ticket directly on the bus.

The mojo ticket can be used for unlimited journeys within a day or week, simply by presenting it to the driver or scanning the QR code onboard. Experience the ease and affordability of mojo for hassle-free bus travel across Central Bedfordshire and beyond.

[* Intalink Explorer (Hertfordshire) is priced at £7.60 / £29.00 for a day / week]

 

[Deerfold]

Central Bedfordshire have launched their mojo multi-operator ticket today, which counts Arriva, Centrebus, Grant Palmer, Stagecoach and Uno as its participants.

All journeys with the aforementioned operators that start and/or finish within Central Bedfordshire are eligible, and the product is priced at £12.50 / £38 for a day / week. That's on the pricey side for a BSIP-backed offering,* but if priced any lower would have undercut the Bus Spotter (Grant Palmer, £12) or Bedfordshire Plus 7 Day Megarider (Stagecoach, £37.20).

Mojo | Grant Palmer

www.grantpalmer.com

[* Intalink Explorer (Hertfordshire) is priced at £7.60 / £29.00 for a day / week]

So you could go from Bedford to Stevenage on the 9B, but you'd have to get off and on again in Central Bedfordshire (at, say, Shefford)?

 

[Edvid]

Not a scenario I've ever tested, so I couldn't say for sure. Ah, just remembered I once travelled from Luton to Cockfosters with a one-day Explorer on the Uno 610 without having to "break" in Hertfordshire (they were also happy for me to use it intra-London on the 614). In your example, Stagecoach may allow a through journey (sans break) with a mojo at their discretion.

 

[Deerfold]

Not a scenario I've ever tested, so I couldn't say for sure. Ah, just remembered I once travelled from Luton to Cockfosters with a one-day Explorer on the Uno 610 without having to "break" in Hertfordshire (they were also happy for me to use it intra-London on the 614). In your example, Stagecoach may allow a through journey (sans break) with a mojo at their discretion.

The Explorer doesn't have any conditions restricting which counties it's available in. I've used it for journeys entirely within Buckinghamshire many times.

 

[Dai Corner]

North Somerset Council's BSIP hasn't met with universal approval

Council pauses rollout of new bus lanes as locals and councillors raise concerns

Plans for more bus lanes in North Somerset are on “pause” after outcry over disruption people say they have caused.

www.northsomersettimes.co.uk

North Somerset Council will be reviewing its plans to install more bus lanes and putting the rollout on pause until November.

It comes after warnings from the public and councillors that the lanes are causing more trouble than they are worth.

The council has been installing a host of bus lanes across the district over the last year — starting with the Long Ashton bypass — after it was handed one of the largest amounts of “bus service improvement plan” (BSIP) funding in the country by the government.

But Hannah Young (Clevedon South, Labour), the council’s executive member for highways and transport, told a full council meeting on Tuesday April 16: “Over the next few months the only bus priority scheme being delivered will be at Wood Hill, which is part of the Congresbury congestion scheme.

 

[Citistar]

North Somerset Council's BSIP hasn't met with universal approval

Council pauses rollout of new bus lanes as locals and councillors raise concerns

Plans for more bus lanes in North Somerset are on “pause” after outcry over disruption people say they have caused.

www.northsomersettimes.co.uk

The problem here is that North Somerset Council were given quite a significant slab of money to spend on capital infrastructure projects (such as bus lanes, priority etc), but a very short timeframe in which it had to be spent. As a result, the projects which have been done are those which could be done with the least resistance (and generally not involving land purchase) rather than those which would represent the biggest advantage to the travelling public. The wider public sees the less useful schemes being constructed and incorrectly blame the local leadership. It's yet another example of Whitehall (or more likely their consultants) setting conditions for the money they're dishing out to local authorities which makes it impossible to spend effectively.