Guildford Shuttle
Encyclopedia
The Guildford Shuttle was a bus service linking together Guildford
town centre. Starting in 2000, and running free
, it was withdrawn in August 2008 following the withdrawal of its funding. It was re-introduced commercially by its previous operator in January 2009, branded as the Town Centre Shuttle, however was withdrawn for a final time in May 2010.
service, by linking up the railway station
, the bus station and Guildford town centre and High Street. As ideas developed the service was also thought to help businesses around Milkhouse Gate and Bakers Yard, who were at the time claiming loss of trade due to the Castle car park scheme. The service began operation in September 2000.
. The route ran all day at a 20-minute frequency.
At first, a Dennis Dart SLF
/Plaxton Pointer
Mini Pointer Dart was acquired for Safeguard to use, but the council wanted to use an Optare Alero
, one of which arrived slightly delayed later. However, this proved too small and so another Mini Pointer Dart was acquired. The length of vehicles able to run on the route has always been restricted due to a sharp left hand turn from Quary Street into Castle Street.
challenging the decision. Campaigners tried to keep the service running, one 91-year old man, Bill Bellerby, staying on the bus for a whole day non-stop while it travelled the route and surveying users of the service.
A decision to replace the service with an advanced booking "dial-a-ride" service was met with resistance, users claiming it was "inflexible" and that "people don’t know days in advance when they will want to go somewhere and when they want to be picked up." Campaigners also reject the idea that there are commercial bus services that provide a replacement. General acceptance is that the commercial bus network in the town is good, but around half of the route is on roads unserved by other buses. One councillor said that operating the service may be illegal if commercial services are available.
Some success for the campaigners was for the council’s environment and housing scrutiny committee to ask the executive to rethink the decision to end the service. However, in a further step Safeguard
said that they were now "unwilling" to operate the service.
The service ended on August 30, 2008 as planned. Following this, there were further campaigns to reintroduce the service. One report appeared in the local paper comparing the shuttle and the route of commercial bus services, further criticising the council's view that existing replacements operate. Examples given were the fact that users have to go to the back of the railway station, a long way out and not wheelchair accessible. Also, the most similar commercial bus route, Arriva Guildford & West Surrey's number 36, serves the bus station on its way up the hill in Guildford, as a result continuing around a one way street
and emerging half way up North Street. This contrasts with the shuttle, which ran to the Lower High street. When the shuttle was withdrawn, no bus services stopped there.
The town's local newspaper, the Surrey Advertiser
, led a campaign entitled "Bring back our bus" through the protests. In one edition a whole page was dedicated to letter on the subject.
At the end of September 2008 Guildford's most senior politician, MP Anne Milton, backed the newspaper's campaign, saying that she had asked the council to "consider its decision" and that the bus "is more important with the post office having moved further up the street". Joining her calls, Liberal Democrat MP Sue Doughty said the replacements proposed are "quite inappropriate", "poorly thought through", and that the bus was "essential".
The beginning of October 2008 brought a new development. A group of residents applied to get a petition launched on Gordon Brown’s personal website, bringing the debate to Downing Street.
In mid-October Guildford Borough Council announced the replacement for the shuttle, the "Town Centre Rider". Journeys would have to be pre-booked and the service would pick up and drop off at pre-designated spots, rather than traveling frequently over a predetermined route. This triggered criticism, people saying it was much less flexible and was inconvenient to people who were visiting several places. Only people with mobility problems and those aged over 60, as well as their carers, could use the service. It started on October 20.
At the beginning of November, it emerged that the Town Centre Rider replacement had experienced a very poor initial take-up, only being used five times during its first two weeks.
By mid-November, a large petition had been created. The 2,380-name petition was handed to Councillor Jennifer Jordan at the borough council's offices by the 91-year old campaigner Bill Bellerby. The signatures were gained during two four-hour sessions in Guildford's High Street. The petition also brought about further criticism of the council's spending plans. The council withdrew the service on the grounds that it would cost £100,000 to run in the next year, which was too much, yet it was noted that a month earlier they had agreed to spend £54,000 developing a pop-up toilet.
, announced that they were to operate the route as a commercial service. It would operate at reduced hours, from 10am to 2pm, but would be expanded to cover the Mount Alvernia Hospital. Operating hours would be expanded if the service was popular. It was planned that a £1.20 flat fare would be charged, although over 60s and people with disabilities could still travel free under the Government's free bus travel scheme, which Safeguard would be reimbursed for from Surrey County Council. The borough council offered its million pound-plus marketing budget to help with publicity for the new service.
At the end of November the bus used on the service was repainted into Safeguard's own bus livery.
By the beginning of January 2009 the service was ready to be launched. An article appeared in the Surrey Advertiser, Safeguard's managing director Andrew Halliday saying he expects the service to be a success. By this time the planned operation hours had varied slightly to be a more specific 10.15am to 2.15pm; the fares also had changed, a single flat fare for people that have to pay would now be £1 with a £1.50 all day ticket available. Safeguard was reported to be in talks with businesses in the town about sponsorship deals.
The service started on Monday 12 January 2009 after a launch on the previous Friday 9 January, where the bus was named after campaigner Bill Bellerby. The full name is Honorary Freeman Bill Bellerby MBE. Some were angered at the presence of Councillor Andrew Hodges, leader of the council who withdrew the original service.
It was reported that the council's Town Rider replacement may be withdrawn if the new shuttle was a success.
According to Safeguard, the number of passengers on the service stood at 1,800 a month, which "was not enough to sustain the service in the long-term." The dedicated bus was reallocated to Safeguard's increased operations of routes 4 and 5.
circular service around Guildford town centre, although ran in a figure of eight
to get to the railway station due to the town's one-way system
. The service started at 1015 and ran every 20 minutes throughout the day until 1415.
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
town centre. Starting in 2000, and running free
Zero-fare public transport
Free public transport, also often called free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is a single or network of transport services funded in full by means other than collecting a full fare from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local government through taxation or by...
, it was withdrawn in August 2008 following the withdrawal of its funding. It was re-introduced commercially by its previous operator in January 2009, branded as the Town Centre Shuttle, however was withdrawn for a final time in May 2010.
Introduction
The service was originally introduced following a feasibility report by Guildford Borough Council to the policy and resources committee in October 1999. The initial aim of the service was to provide an extension of the recently introduced Artington park and ridePark and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
service, by linking up the railway station
Guildford (Surrey) railway station
Guildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles from London Waterloo....
, the bus station and Guildford town centre and High Street. As ideas developed the service was also thought to help businesses around Milkhouse Gate and Bakers Yard, who were at the time claiming loss of trade due to the Castle car park scheme. The service began operation in September 2000.
Lifespan
Originally running as a six month trial scheme, the contract was tendered annually until 2004, when a three year agreement was reached, starting in 2005. Throughout the service's life, the route has been run by local bus company Safeguard CoachesSafeguard Coaches
Safeguard Coaches is a bus and coach operator based in the Surrey town of Guildford, England.Established in 1924, Safeguard currently provide a number of bus services around Guildford, some of which are jointly operated with Arriva Guildford and West Surrey, and coach private hire services over a...
. The route ran all day at a 20-minute frequency.
At first, a Dennis Dart SLF
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
/Plaxton Pointer
Plaxton Pointer
The Plaxton Pointer is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m...
Mini Pointer Dart was acquired for Safeguard to use, but the council wanted to use an Optare Alero
Optare Alero
The Optare Alero was a low-floor integral minibus built by Optare between 2001 and 2008. It was built as an alternative to van-derived buses such as the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.Around 300 were built in the first five years of production...
, one of which arrived slightly delayed later. However, this proved too small and so another Mini Pointer Dart was acquired. The length of vehicles able to run on the route has always been restricted due to a sharp left hand turn from Quary Street into Castle Street.
Withdrawal
In July 2008, the council announced that it intended to withdraw the zero-fare service, claiming that it was costing too much to operate and not enough people were using the service. This was met with fierce opposition by users, the local Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
challenging the decision. Campaigners tried to keep the service running, one 91-year old man, Bill Bellerby, staying on the bus for a whole day non-stop while it travelled the route and surveying users of the service.
Some success for the campaigners was for the council’s environment and housing scrutiny committee to ask the executive to rethink the decision to end the service. However, in a further step Safeguard
Safeguard Coaches
Safeguard Coaches is a bus and coach operator based in the Surrey town of Guildford, England.Established in 1924, Safeguard currently provide a number of bus services around Guildford, some of which are jointly operated with Arriva Guildford and West Surrey, and coach private hire services over a...
said that they were now "unwilling" to operate the service.
The service ended on August 30, 2008 as planned. Following this, there were further campaigns to reintroduce the service. One report appeared in the local paper comparing the shuttle and the route of commercial bus services, further criticising the council's view that existing replacements operate. Examples given were the fact that users have to go to the back of the railway station, a long way out and not wheelchair accessible. Also, the most similar commercial bus route, Arriva Guildford & West Surrey's number 36, serves the bus station on its way up the hill in Guildford, as a result continuing around a one way street
One-way traffic
One-way traffic is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction.-General signs:...
and emerging half way up North Street. This contrasts with the shuttle, which ran to the Lower High street. When the shuttle was withdrawn, no bus services stopped there.
The town's local newspaper, the Surrey Advertiser
Surrey Advertiser
The Surrey Advertiser is a newspaper for Surrey, which was established in 1864. Guardian Media Group sold the paper to current owner Trinity Mirror in 2010...
, led a campaign entitled "Bring back our bus" through the protests. In one edition a whole page was dedicated to letter on the subject.
At the end of September 2008 Guildford's most senior politician, MP Anne Milton, backed the newspaper's campaign, saying that she had asked the council to "consider its decision" and that the bus "is more important with the post office having moved further up the street". Joining her calls, Liberal Democrat MP Sue Doughty said the replacements proposed are "quite inappropriate", "poorly thought through", and that the bus was "essential".
The beginning of October 2008 brought a new development. A group of residents applied to get a petition launched on Gordon Brown’s personal website, bringing the debate to Downing Street.
In mid-October Guildford Borough Council announced the replacement for the shuttle, the "Town Centre Rider". Journeys would have to be pre-booked and the service would pick up and drop off at pre-designated spots, rather than traveling frequently over a predetermined route. This triggered criticism, people saying it was much less flexible and was inconvenient to people who were visiting several places. Only people with mobility problems and those aged over 60, as well as their carers, could use the service. It started on October 20.
At the beginning of November, it emerged that the Town Centre Rider replacement had experienced a very poor initial take-up, only being used five times during its first two weeks.
By mid-November, a large petition had been created. The 2,380-name petition was handed to Councillor Jennifer Jordan at the borough council's offices by the 91-year old campaigner Bill Bellerby. The signatures were gained during two four-hour sessions in Guildford's High Street. The petition also brought about further criticism of the council's spending plans. The council withdrew the service on the grounds that it would cost £100,000 to run in the next year, which was too much, yet it was noted that a month earlier they had agreed to spend £54,000 developing a pop-up toilet.
Reinstatement
Just after the petition was handed in (in mid-November) the original operators of the route, Safeguard CoachesSafeguard Coaches
Safeguard Coaches is a bus and coach operator based in the Surrey town of Guildford, England.Established in 1924, Safeguard currently provide a number of bus services around Guildford, some of which are jointly operated with Arriva Guildford and West Surrey, and coach private hire services over a...
, announced that they were to operate the route as a commercial service. It would operate at reduced hours, from 10am to 2pm, but would be expanded to cover the Mount Alvernia Hospital. Operating hours would be expanded if the service was popular. It was planned that a £1.20 flat fare would be charged, although over 60s and people with disabilities could still travel free under the Government's free bus travel scheme, which Safeguard would be reimbursed for from Surrey County Council. The borough council offered its million pound-plus marketing budget to help with publicity for the new service.
At the end of November the bus used on the service was repainted into Safeguard's own bus livery.
By the beginning of January 2009 the service was ready to be launched. An article appeared in the Surrey Advertiser, Safeguard's managing director Andrew Halliday saying he expects the service to be a success. By this time the planned operation hours had varied slightly to be a more specific 10.15am to 2.15pm; the fares also had changed, a single flat fare for people that have to pay would now be £1 with a £1.50 all day ticket available. Safeguard was reported to be in talks with businesses in the town about sponsorship deals.
The service started on Monday 12 January 2009 after a launch on the previous Friday 9 January, where the bus was named after campaigner Bill Bellerby. The full name is Honorary Freeman Bill Bellerby MBE. Some were angered at the presence of Councillor Andrew Hodges, leader of the council who withdrew the original service.
It was reported that the council's Town Rider replacement may be withdrawn if the new shuttle was a success.
Final withdrawal
The new commercial service ran for just over a year. However, as part of an agreement between Safeguard and Arriva Guildford & West Surrey, the two companies agreed to stop sharing routes 3, 4 and 5 from 23 May 2010. Safeguard took over full operation of routes 4 and 5 and Arriva the 3. At the same time of, and a partial result of, the agreement the Guildford Shuttle was withdrawn. The last day of operation was 22 May 2010.According to Safeguard, the number of passengers on the service stood at 1,800 a month, which "was not enough to sustain the service in the long-term." The dedicated bus was reallocated to Safeguard's increased operations of routes 4 and 5.
Route
The shuttle ran a mainly anti-clockwiseClockwise
Circular motion can occur in two possible directions. A clockwise motion is one that proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top...
circular service around Guildford town centre, although ran in a figure of eight
Figure 8
Figure 8 may refer to:* 8 , in Arabic numeralsIn entertainment* Figure 8 , by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith* "Figure of Eight" from the album Flowers in the Dirt by Paul McCartney...
to get to the railway station due to the town's one-way system
One-way traffic
One-way traffic is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction.-General signs:...
. The service started at 1015 and ran every 20 minutes throughout the day until 1415.
- Railway stationGuildford (Surrey) railway stationGuildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles from London Waterloo....
front entrance - Lower High Street White Lion Walk
- CastleGuildford CastleGuildford Castle is in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is thought to have been built shortly after the 1066 invasion of England by William the Conqueror.-Construction and development:...
- Sydenham Road Milkhouse Gate
- Sydenham Road Bakers Yard
- Mount Alvernia Hospital Harvey Road
- Epsom Road High Street
- Upper High Street near Grammar SchoolRoyal Grammar School, GuildfordThe Royal Grammar School is a selective English independent day school for boys in Guildford, Surrey. The school dates its founding to the death of Robert Beckingham in 1509 who left provision in his will to 'make a free scole at the Towne of Guldford'; in 1512 a governing body was set up to form...
- North Street Library
- Lower North Street Marks & SpencerMarks & SpencerMarks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
- Friary bus station Stand A
- Railway stationGuildford (Surrey) railway stationGuildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles from London Waterloo....
front entrance