From November 5th, Stockwood's other bus route into town will be pared right down. Abus is cutting the daytime frequency of its 57 service, via Bath Road. Peak services will remain, but after that it will be every hour at best, with a much longer gap in inward journeys during the afternoon. The new timetable is here.
It's
bad news for Stockwood, because for years Abus have offered a far cheaper trip into
town than the exorbitant single fares on First's 54 service, and the
only short access to the eastbound bus corridor along the Bath Road,
toward Keynsham and Bath.
One
contributory factor must be the national concessionary fare pass.
For pass holders, fare differentials are not an issue, so First's
more frequent buses have been able to draw more custom than they
deserve, especially in the off-peak hours.
For those travellers
who do have to pay, First have the economies of scale that allow them
to offer more attractive deals like the First Day tickets. They've
also looked after their own monopoly interests by resisting, for
years, any attempts to launch similar city-wide tickets that are valid on
services operated by other companies. And, in a mini 'bus war' when Abus were
running the 57 service on Saturdays, First ran so many buses on the
alternative 54 route that the smaller Abus couldn't command the
passenger share to keep their buses running.
Thank
you, Mrs Thatcher – and all the administrations of every colour
that have followed in your footsteps.
