| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 18:23 - May 30 with 1499 views | noah4x4 |
See https://www.cu-fc.com/news/2018/may/robbie-issues-shuttle-bus-update/
To be fair, the club probably can't continue to subsidise the high cost, and for most of us a #65 to Mill Road or the Park & Ride do offer a reasonable alternative service at merely £3.00 return (e.g. well below the cost per person if no shuttle subsidy). But not for the disabled. It is far too long a walk from the Water Tower to WHCS for many elderly supporters.
We also need a safer pedestrian route from the park & ride or a bus stop at the Stadium. Also what happens for evening games when the Park & Ride isn't operating? It is the return journey that is the problem. How will 200 ex-shuttle people get on a single #65 that operates merely every 30 minutes?
I am not sure what the solution is, except that when the Northern Gateway is built this will become an even bigger problem as public transport to it and the Stadium doesn't exist. Dedicated fans will find solutions, but I suspect that a few hundred may be lost. Economically, that might even be the best solution for the club, but it may kill the atmosphere as a majority of the older South Standers depend on shuttle buses.
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| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 19:33 - May 30 with 1480 views | burnsieespana |
Maybe an enterprising bus company will provide a service to the stadium at a realistic fare? |  | | |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 21:39 - May 30 with 1459 views | noah4x4 |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 19:33 - May 30 by burnsieespana |
Maybe an enterprising bus company will provide a service to the stadium at a realistic fare? |
Just spotted something. Cowling states average number of users = 166? That doesn't make any sense to me.....
A double decker bus typically holds 87 seated passengers. The 'pub bus' I catch then has at least 20 standing. At the end of most matches at least four double decker depart, full to the rafters; then some have to come around again. Surely there must be nearer 500 passengers?
Many buy 'Colchester Rovers' if they leave home early morning or 'Match Day Rovers' after midday, but they buy these on other buses. I get a bus from home and use my REGULAR Rover ticket all day. My ticket is checked at Bruff Close but NOT recorded and never checked on the way back. Is the bus company ignoring the revenue NOT being collected on the actual shuttle buses? | | | |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 21:50 - May 30 with 1454 views | pwrightsknees |
Noah,
Your first post is almost word for word what Mrs PWK said to me this afternoon. |  | | |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 21:51 - May 30 with 1453 views | wessex_exile |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 21:39 - May 30 by noah4x4 |
Just spotted something. Cowling states average number of users = 166? That doesn't make any sense to me.....
A double decker bus typically holds 87 seated passengers. The 'pub bus' I catch then has at least 20 standing. At the end of most matches at least four double decker depart, full to the rafters; then some have to come around again. Surely there must be nearer 500 passengers?
Many buy 'Colchester Rovers' if they leave home early morning or 'Match Day Rovers' after midday, but they buy these on other buses. I get a bus from home and use my REGULAR Rover ticket all day. My ticket is checked at Bruff Close but NOT recorded and never checked on the way back. Is the bus company ignoring the revenue NOT being collected on the actual shuttle buses? |
Very sad news - a big differentiator compared to most (all) other clubs that I've been to. If those are the genuine numbers that RC has been given, I suspect someone somewhere else is massaging the numbers? |  |
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| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 22:34 - May 30 with 1446 views | noah4x4 |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 21:51 - May 30 by wessex_exile |
Very sad news - a big differentiator compared to most (all) other clubs that I've been to. If those are the genuine numbers that RC has been given, I suspect someone somewhere else is massaging the numbers? |
Wessex, the more I consider this the numbers cannot be right!
I pay £4 (not £2.50) to get a bus from home - pub - match - pub - home. It is a legitimate regular 'Colchester Rover' ticket valid on all services that day. It is never recorded in Bruff Close.
My guess is that 166 embraces only those that pay in Bruff Close and ignores the perhaps hundreds that start their journeys earlier and pay elsewhere, £2.50 'Match Day Rovers' are not valid until noon (....and the towns pubs open before noon!).
How are 300 to 500 going to get on a single #65 (half hour service) in evenings when the Park and Ride is not operating? How will the elderly/infirm get from Mill Road or Park & Ride to the ground? We need public transport directly to Stadium Way (where the shuttle buses drop off/pick up).
Huge miscalculation in my humble opinion - but has Cowling been duped by First Bus? | | | |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 23:16 - May 30 with 1432 views | mfb_cufc |
Those figures don't include the many pensioners who use bus passes, and therefore don't pay. This is a good opportunity for Arriva to run a matchday only service running buses directly to the stadium. Perhaps they will takeover the shuttle bus service at a reduced price, as they are Council run. Surely the Council have some obligation to get fans to their stadium, as it was their idea to situate the stadium miles from town. [Post edited 31 May 2018 13:54]
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| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 06:51 - May 31 with 1416 views | Daniel |
The figures also don't account for anyone who would make their own way to the ground but get the bus back for free. I used to do this a lot when I lived near the station, and I'm sure many others did too. |  | | |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 10:11 - May 31 with 1408 views | burnsieespana |
I would not trust any information provided by Firstbus.
From the posts above it would seem Firstbus have not been diligent in recording fares paid as they new whatever they did Col U would stump up the subsidy.
Arrival by the way are not Council run and think they did the shuttle bus for one year and then pulled out.
We need somebody like Hedingham or Stephenson to come forward and provide a public registered service on matchdays as surely, based on the numbers of passengers, a profit can be made operating from Town Centre via Bruff Close to the Stadium. Could be run on an express basis so cutting out lots of stops by non football customers to aid timeliness.
Fresh thinking needed. | | | |
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| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 14:08 - May 31 with 1390 views | mfb_cufc |
Arriva may not be run by the Council, but they are in partnership with them, so a deal could be possible.
Confirmed by this taken off the Arriva site:-
A great travel deal for Colchester Borough Council employees
Arriva and Colchester Borough Council have joined together to offer subsidised savings on your Arriva bus travel.
What's in it for you…
Unlimited Arriva bus travel in the zone of your choice
Spread the payments - pay monthly by Direct Debit
Take up to 2 children with you FREE on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays (excludes m-tickets)
No more hunting for a parking space or paying for parking
Just sit back, relax and enjoy some ‘me-time’
Free Wifi and charging points on many of our buses. Catch up on social media or your emails
You can have your ticket delivered to your mobile with the Arriva m-ticket app
No need to find change to pay your bus fare each day
Track your bus in real time with the Arriva Bus app | |
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| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 17:59 - May 31 with 1376 views | noah4x4 |
I suspect the Council will welcome this to justify the otherwise almost empty Park & Ride. However, it doesn't run late enough for evening matches, so how will First Bus and Arriva get around 500 people back to town on a Tuesday evening with merely a half hourly #65 and #8 evening service?
I predict huge problems with street parking, notably in the Olympic Boulevard estate, whose residents also won't welcome hundreds of football fans using it as a short cut to the nearest bus stop. Avoidance of street parking was originally cited as the number one reason for the shuttle bus system.
But another issue is that the P & R isn't associated with a 'Colchester Rover' or similar. The idea of the 'Match Day Rover' was an integrated seamless public transport system on a match day from anywhere in Colchester. Now folk will have to buy a combination of First/Arriva plus Park and Ride else have to walk from the Mill Road Water Tower.
I blame First Bus though when recharging the club for not taking account of PRE-PAID (taxpayer funded) pensioner bus passes; ordinary bus passes and Colchester Rover tickets that are legitimately purchased other than the 166 in Bruff Close. Then for permitting hundreds that leave the pubs late, get taxis to the ground to return for free (unchecked) on the buses. If the economics were properly evaluated and fares properly managed I am sure this service would require minimal subsidy (if any). | | | |
| No shuttle buses in 2018/9 on 21:21 - May 31 with 1352 views | bwildered |
Looks like has well has the manager, parking the bus, so has the chairman ! |  |
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