Transport Pool

The Transport Pool is the voluntary and community sector voice in a key official group helping to plan transport in - the Transport Thematic Partnership. 

Recent activities have included:

• Helping to review the Concise Pedestrian and Cycle Audit (COPECAT), then identify pedestrian specific areas which could / should be enhanced, and offer suggestions to be considered for a pedestrian specific audit system

• Making a submission on bus services to the Transport Select Committee who are looking at these across the UK

• Helping plan this year's In Town Without My Car Day event

• Asking what City Council is doing to tackle the issue of buses standing for long periods with the engine running

If enough people raise issues they will have to take notice - to get involved, contact Bill Harrop, the Transport Pool Convenor:

Tel: 0161 273 1736, Email: [email protected], Web: www.transportpool.co.uk

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Helping to review the Concise Pedestrian and Cycle Audit (COPECAT)

The main conclusion from the group was that the remit was limited and tended to focus on engineering solutions, it was suggested that a lot of improvements could be made by joined up working / thinking within the council i.e. get parking control involved to discourage inconsiderate pavement parking.

We produced three separate documents in response.  They have been submitted to the Transport Policy Unit of the Council, and a report will be made available on www.transportpool.co.uk.

Among the things we would like to see are:

• A dedicated structure for consultation of walkers / pedestrians
• A person or people identified to represent the views of walkers / pedestrians
• An active reference group for walkers / pedestrians interests to be established by the Transport Thematic Partnership

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Submission on bus services

The Transport Select Committee is investigating why the long-term decline in bus usage has not been halted.  Here are some of the committee's questions and part of the Transport Pool Convenor's responses:

• Has deregulation worked? In my opinion, no. The desired outcome, or at least the stated justification for deregulation was to increase competition and therefore increase the choice and level of service for passengers......
• Are services better, more frequent, meeting passenger need? This is an ambiguous question, there are some routes that have new, modern vehicles with increased frequency, and this could be described as better......
• Are bus services sufficiently co-ordinated with other forms of public transport; are buses clean, safe, efficient? Coordinated: Usually not, operators tend to rely on high frequency and hope that you will arrive at a bus, train, coach or tram station in time to catch your connection......
• If not, can deregulation be made to work? No, or at least not in the current climate of huge international operators trying to make their model work in all markets, one size does not, never has and never will fit all.
• Does the bus have a future? Yes, it is the only viable mass transit solution for the localised movement of people in our towns and cities.

Download all the questions and the convenor's full response

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Planning the In Town Without My Car Event

There have been several issues raised about the lack of commitment shown by City Council around this event in the past, they include comments and issues around:

• The focus on having a exhibition type event where people can come along and be entertained is only part of the idea, raising awareness and having a lasting legacy of reduced car use seems to be overlooked.
• There is also the contradictory element of Airport being involved, this could be exacerbated by this years theme of climate change

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Buses standing for long periods with the engine running

On investigating what if anything could or is being done about this I found out that two City Council departments, environmental health and the Street Warden services are working together to try and address this issue, this is a reply I got::

“We are currently working with the Air Quality Section of Environmental Health to develop an Air Quality Response Plan. This would entail high levels of enforcement on buses in problem areas - most likely Piccadilly Gardens, London Rd and Oldham St - when air pollution reaches a certain level.

Street Wardens have powers to issue £20 fines to the drivers of vehicles that are idling. By law we are able to issue a fine if we think an engine is running unnecessarily, or if we ask the driver to turn the engine off and they refuse. In practice we have guidelines to allow buses and taxis 5 minutes of standing with their engines running before we issue a fine. The fine is issued to the driver and not the company that owns the vehicle.”

I hope you will agree that this is a step in the right direction.

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Action for Sustainable Living, St Wilfrid's Enterprise Centre, Royce Road, Hulme, , M15 5BJ.

Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 634 4510 Fax: 0870 167 4655.  

Page last modified: 14 June 2007