Report on Meeting with RH Transport. (and revised timetables for 19th - 27th Feb)
I have now pinned up copies of the the revised schedules on the bus stops in Charlbury, but hopefully the drivers will also have copies of the timetables.
I am also reporting that Jane Fitzmaurice and I, as PTR Town Council representatives, had a meeting with Dilywn Roberts, of RH Transport, in Oxford on Tuesday to try and iron out some of the problems that have been mentioned to us. It seems that the main complaints are about Comfort, Cleanliness and Communication. Dilwyn explained that the buses are cleaned every night, but that in this weather just one journey and the outside can be covered in wet grime; the inside of the buses, though cleaned daily, was, to some extent, up to the behaviour of the passengers - so please advise the drivers if you see anyone throwing litter inside the bus. As to Comfort, and the number of passengers standing, if you do not see a second bus going to Witney on busy days, this is because another bus will be laid on from Poffley, which then takes the overload of passengers likely to join later. They are also hoping to acquire a 41 seater bus for occasional use on our route.
As to Communication, RH have promised to look into getting an answerphone installed in their office, so that, especially in the morning, anyone ringing in can leave a message, and the call will be returned (usually to desperate passengers standing at the stop with their mobiles, I explained!)This should help towards keeping passengers in touch with any daily problem.
I know some of you have made various observations about timetabling generally - I will be sending these separately for RH to consider. They did point out, however, that some journeys are regulated by law, and, sensible though it might seem for the Cl to make a quick journey to Charlbury after the 7.09 arrives at the station, they are legally bound to stick to the advertised timetable, and would not be covered for insurance if the driver deviated from that.
I hope this helps to answer some of your worries, but if you need further information, please contact me on helen.bessemerclark@btinternet.com or speak to the Town Clerk, on 01608 810608
Helen Bessemer-Clark · Sat 19 Feb 2011, 15:56 · Link