Portway P&R - more buses needed

[Red Grovesy]

Great work @Matt Parsons BCFCSLO. If you could also explore some park and ride / park and walk facilities for us Nailsea* folk that would be great. (* Nailsea, Clevedon, Yatton,  WsM etc).

Maybe use of the LA park and ride :-)

[Matt Parsons]

Morning, as you may know that I'm from Nailsea myself so totally get this on a personal level. I have lots of friends who live in Nailsea, Backwell, and Long Ashton and we have been saying the same thing for years, so rest assured LA park & ride is on my radar. 

Ive only had 3 emails about park and ride issues above. If anyone else can share their experiences then please do so by emailing me as the more evidence I have the better discussion we can have with First Bus.

Matt

[WhistleHappy]

39 minutes ago, Matt Parsons BCFCSLO said:

Morning, as you may know that I'm from Nailsea myself so totally get this on a personal level. I have lots of friends who live in Nailsea, Backwell, and Long Ashton and we have been saying the same thing for years, so rest assured LA park & ride is on my radar. 

Ive only had 3 emails about park and ride issues above. If anyone else can share their experiences then please do so by emailing me as the more evidence I have the better discussion we can have with First Bus.

Matt

Might be an idea to print this thread in it's entirety and present copies to everyone at the meeting alongside the formal 'bullet point' responses ...

I've a feeling they'd find ready made solutions to most of the P&R problems (from a customer and end user perspective) are contained within this thread already...   

[Ska Junkie]

On 1/1/2018 at 09:05, Matt Parsons BCFCSLO said:

Morning all and Happy New Year! 

I have spoken to someone at the club who has advised that there is a meeting with First Bus later this month to discuss the current service both pre match and full time. So we can help First Bus understand the issues, could I ask anyone who has had an issue to email me with the following details; 

Date - various

Bus number/destination - AG2, Brislington P and R

Pick up point - Winterstoke road

How long you waited - After the Wolves game, 1 hour

Any other info - 2 vehicles are waiting as the game finishes but are generally full. We then have to wait, apparently, for the first of those to get to and then back from Brislington. Given the traffic around Winterstoke road post games, this can be a very long time.

 

Thanks Matt. It's good service but if we could get 1 more bus on this route (and the others apparently) after the game, it would be very useful. There were so many people waiting after the Wolves game that the pavement was blocked meaning passing fans were walking in the road, which is obviously not ideal.

[City fan 1982]

Hi Matt , I take my son to 3pm kick offs only using this service st the portway , I go with a mate of mine and his lad ( he does not use this forum so would be unaware ) 

we have to leave early from the game 5 to 10 minutes , which is far from ideal , to get on one of the two busses , before now we have stayed to the end of a game , missed the busses , so have had to wait around in the cold and rain with a young , not nice ! Night games I park as my lad has school the next day ! 

Perhaps if you and a  first bus rep came and saw for yourself ? 

Engaged with users about their experiences , 

the ride in is hassell free, the way home all that is needed is one more bus.   It’s that simple ! 

[T R]

3 hours ago, Matt Parsons BCFCSLO said:

Morning, as you may know that I'm from Nailsea myself so totally get this on a personal level. I have lots of friends who live in Nailsea, Backwell, and Long Ashton and we have been saying the same thing for years, so rest assured LA park & ride is on my radar. 

Ive only had 3 emails about park and ride issues above. If anyone else can share their experiences then please do so by emailing me as the more evidence I have the better discussion we can have with First Bus.

Matt

Hi Matt. You got me thinking as you know CAT coaches provide travel for away fans. Is there any possibility they could be used for home services for the areas you have mentioned and places like weston and portishead plus other north surrounding areas? It would be very interesting to see what the demand is for these coaches and what the cost for each area would be to get fans out of their cars. Also it might encourage other coach firms to offer their services aswell. Might be worth you asking CATS coaches. 

Cheers and welcome to the forum!

[Ska Junkie]

12 minutes ago, kivsy said:

Hi Matt , I take my son to 3pm kick offs only using this service st the portway , I go with a mate of mine and his lad ( he does not use this forum so would be unaware ) 

we have to leave early from the game 5 to 10 minutes , which is far from ideal , to get on one of the two busses , before now we have stayed to the end of a game , missed the busses , so have had to wait around in the cold and rain with a young , not nice ! Night games I park as my lad has school the next day ! 

Perhaps if you and a  first bus rep came and saw for yourself ? 

Engaged with users about their experiences , 

the ride in is hassell free, the way home all that is needed is one more bus.   It’s that simple ! 

Exactly the same for the Brislington one TBH. Either leave early or wait for ages. 

[redysteadygo1]

4 minutes ago, Threshing Red said:

Hi Matt. You got me thinking as you know CAT coaches provide travel for away fans. Is there any possibility they could be used for home services for the areas you have mentioned and places like weston and portishead plus other north surrounding areas? It would be very interesting to see what the demand is for these coaches and what the cost for each area would be to get fans out of their cars. Also it might encourage other coach firms to offer their services aswell. Might be worth you asking CATS coaches. 

Cheers and welcome to the forum!

Bit perplexed by this one. I catch the X1 bus on it's route from Weston to Bower Ashton for Ashton Gate. Backwell, Nailsea, Portishead, Cleevedon are all served by buses and there are quite a number of us on the bus stop outside the Radio Station after a game.

Why does it require a CATS style coach service to these areas?

[T R]

Yes there are bus services on these routes but they do tend to stop at every bus stop on the way instead of one designated area per town and then going straight to the ground. Plus It could be cheaper e.g. reading coaches taking fans to the ground. As you probably know yourself, the amount of people traveling by cars from these areas is huge so every service available would help parking problems at ashton gate. 

[Matt Parsons]

Hi all, 

Quick update. Following fan feedback, representatives from the club have met with First Bus. First Bus have agreed to have an extra bus post-match on the AG1 and AG2 bus routes to relieve some pressure and hopefully getting fans back to their cars quicker. This will operate at every BCFC home match from tomorrow, until the end of the season.

Please continue to email me with any feedback so we can continue to update First Bus on the service our fans are receiving. 

Matt 

[Super]

1 minute ago, Matt Parsons BCFCSLO said:

Hi all, 

Quick update. Following fan feedback, representatives from the club have met with First Bus. First Bus have agreed to have an extra bus post-match on the AG1 and AG2 bus routes to relieve some pressure and hopefully getting fans back to their cars quicker. This will operate at every BCFC home match from tomorrow, until the end of the season.

Please continue to email me with any feedback so we can continue to update First Bus on the service our fans are receiving. 

Matt 

Good news. Thanks Matt.

[Red7]

1 minute ago, Matt Parsons BCFCSLO said:

Following fan feedback, representatives from the club have met with First Bus.

Great work, lads. Cheers

[Ska Junkie]

5 minutes ago, Matt Parsons BCFCSLO said:

Hi all, 

Quick update. Following fan feedback, representatives from the club have met with First Bus. First Bus have agreed to have an extra bus post-match on the AG1 and AG2 bus routes to relieve some pressure and hopefully getting fans back to their cars quicker. This will operate at every BCFC home match from tomorrow, until the end of the season.

Please continue to email me with any feedback so we can continue to update First Bus on the service our fans are receiving. 

Matt 

Top job, thanks Matt. It's great to see our concerns are being alleviated. 

[marmite]

Great work Matt. Still all quiet on the use of the Long Ashton P&R site though. What's holding this up?

[Red Exile]

Excellent work Matt, thanks for getting this sorted so quickly.

[City fan 1982]

Fair play , a simple solution easily solved ! 

[Spoons]

4 hours ago, marmite said:

Great work Matt. Still all quiet on the use of the Long Ashton P&R site though. What's holding this up?

Politics within bristol council which has now bought the site!!

[Crackers Corner]

Great news I hate leaving the ground early but the alternative is to wait for the bus which can take an absolute age.

[marmite]

1 hour ago, Spoons said:

Politics within bristol council which has now bought the site!!

What! Bristol Council dithering. Never

[Bs11lad]

9 hours ago, Super said:

Good news. Thanks Matt.

That is good news as long as the last bus is left alone 

[MrBibs]

I used Brislington AG2 again today based on the planned improvements.

Got out of the ground as quickly as possible and when I got to the bus there was one packed AG2 which left when it was full.

Another one didn't come until 17:50 - After the Forest match it was 6 o'clock so hardly any better from my point of view. I reckon there were close to 100 people still waiting. Published timetable for 3pm kick offs says there's a 17:00 and a 17:20 bck to Bris after the match.

Thanks for your efforts @Matt Parsons BCFCSLO but for me today there was no noticeable improvement so I'll go back to finding other ways from now on.  Hopefully for the majority of others there was a noticeable improvement.

[City fan 1982]

used the portway  left at 2 oclock,  a few that were  left  behind caught the bus that was waiting behind it ,    on the return , got on the first bus back , left promptly   and bus waiting behind as well ,  i had a painless experience  for once , hopefully others had the same

[ralphindevon]

My first use of the Portway P&R today.

all went very well, caught the 1.20 in, a few minutes late but not bad. Was worried when I just missed the first bus back and thought I would be in for a wait. There was one already waiting and went 10 minutes later. 

Back in Teignmouth 30 minutes earlier than when I catch the train. 

 

[Matt Parsons]

@MrBibs @kivsy @ralphindevon

Sounds like fans had differing experiences with the park & ride on Saturday. Please continue to feedback into me and ill make sure the people at the club who talk to First Bus are aware of the post match service levels. 

Matt 

[Ska Junkie]

On 1/13/2018 at 19:05, MrBibs said:

I used Brislington AG2 again today based on the planned improvements.

Got out of the ground as quickly as possible and when I got to the bus there was one packed AG2 which left when it was full.

Another one didn't come until 17:50 - After the Forest match it was 6 o'clock so hardly any better from my point of view. I reckon there were close to 100 people still waiting. Published timetable for 3pm kick offs says there's a 17:00 and a 17:20 bck to Bris after the match.

Thanks for your efforts @Matt Parsons BCFCSLO but for me today there was no noticeable improvement so I'll go back to finding other ways from now on.  Hopefully for the majority of others there was a noticeable improvement.

I did the same and managed to get the 'packed' bus. Talking to friends, that was actually the second bus as the first one had already gone and, I gather, it was half empty. Judging by the 17-50 arrival, I assume there was no 3rd bus which is a worry, especially as first bus indicated there would be a 3rd. If it was as late as 17-50, that must have been the first AG2 on a return journey.

Matt, while it's a decent service, without the extra bus on either route after the games, people are going to stop using it as things stand and that will only add to the gridlock around BS3 post match WTGR. We need that promised extra bus after the game on AG2 and, I assume, the other routes as well. I would imagine the service levels were worked out when our crowds were much smaller?

As an aside, I reached Brislington at 1-10 on Saturday and couldn't get on the 1-20 as it was full. The next bus turned up at 2pm which only just got to the Gate in time. Those still queuing at the P and R would have missed the kick off and they were there in plenty of time.

The numbers are much bigger now and the queue at Bris on Saturday was long. We do need extra vehicles to make it work IMHO.

[Fatalist]

Coming out of the Ethiad, I walked past 10 double deckers parked up nose to tail, waiting to take fans into Manchester. Plus quite a few passed me going the other way, out of town. Bigger crowds, I know, but just saying.

[winsleyred]

1 hour ago, Ska Junkie said:

I did the same and managed to get the 'packed' bus. Talking to friends, that was actually the second bus as the first one had already gone and, I gather, it was half empty. Judging by the 17-50 arrival, I assume there was no 3rd bus which is a worry, especially as first bus indicated there would be a 3rd. If it was as late as 17-50, that must have been the first AG2 on a return journey.

Matt, while it's a decent service, without the extra bus on either route after the games, people are going to stop using it as things stand and that will only add to the gridlock around BS3 post match WTGR. We need that promised extra bus after the game on AG2 and, I assume, the other routes as well. I would imagine the service levels were worked out when our crowds were much smaller?

As an aside, I reached Brislington at 1-10 on Saturday and couldn't get on the 1-20 as it was full. The next bus turned up at 2pm which only just got to the Gate in time. Those still queuing at the P and R would have missed the kick off and they were there in plenty of time.

The numbers are much bigger now and the queue at Bris on Saturday was long. We do need extra vehicles to make it work IMHO.

Caught the first one back to bris certainly wasn't half empty 

[Bristol Rob]

25 minutes ago, Fatalist said:

Coming out of the Ethiad, I walked past 10 double deckers parked up nose to tail, waiting to take fans into Manchester. Plus quite a few passed me going the other way, out of town. Bigger crowds, I know, but just saying.

I got a bus back in the Piccadilly post match and not only were there ample busses waiting, the queue was managed so they counted a busload (literally) or people per wagon, then straight on, full bus and off you go.

No guessing from the driver if he's full or not. 

Efficient.

[Ska Junkie]

9 minutes ago, winsleyred said:

Caught the first one back to bris certainly wasn't half empty 

Fair comment wr. I thought I had caught the first one straight after the game. I rang my brother in law and he was already half way up Hartcliffe way so I assume what I thought was the first one was actually the second. It explains why there was a long wait too. The bus I was on was absolutely rammed to be fair! 

[Dolman Queen]

1 hour ago, Ska Junkie said:

I did the same and managed to get the 'packed' bus. Talking to friends, that was actually the second bus as the first one had already gone and, I gather, it was half empty. Judging by the 17-50 arrival, I assume there was no 3rd bus which is a worry, especially as first bus indicated there would be a 3rd. If it was as late as 17-50, that must have been the first AG2 on a return journey.

Matt, while it's a decent service, without the extra bus on either route after the games, people are going to stop using it as things stand and that will only add to the gridlock around BS3 post match WTGR. We need that promised extra bus after the game on AG2 and, I assume, the other routes as well. I would imagine the service levels were worked out when our crowds were much smaller?

As an aside, I reached Brislington at 1-10 on Saturday and couldn't get on the 1-20 as it was full. The next bus turned up at 2pm which only just got to the Gate in time. Those still queuing at the P and R would have missed the kick off and they were there in plenty of time.

The numbers are much bigger now and the queue at Bris on Saturday was long. We do need extra vehicles to make it work IMHO.

Agree with this.  Couldn't get on the 120 waited until 2 pm.  Bus was rammed and there were still people who couldn't get on.   Managed the second bus back as first was full.   When it works its great, when it doesn't its awful.   Perhaps they need an extra bus going to and coming from the ground.    Its popularity and convenience will decrease if the service isn't there.

DQ