Friday 15 November 2019
The number of passengers using the bus service continues to increase and in order to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the community, Traffic & Highways Services regularly review the service offered.
There has been an additional demand in passengers wishing to visit the Little Chapel over the summer months following its refurbishment which has led to capacity issues on a number of occasions. Accordingly, it is being proposed to increase frequency during the 'off-peak' period on the Route 71 from an hourly service to a half-hourly service between 09:35 and13:35 Monday to Saturday.
In comparison, there is a significant reduction in passenger demand on the 'off-peak' services on the Route 81 in the winter months and so it is being proposed that the services here are reduced from half-hourly to hourly between 09:50 and 14:50 (Monday to Saturday) in the winter months between 12th October and 11th April. For the purposes of the current service, this change would be introduced from 6th January 2020.
The additional summer early evening services introduced in 2019 on Routes 11, 21, 32, 81, 91 and 92 proved popular this year and will also be reintroduced between 13th April and 10th October 2020.
There will also be a number of minor timing changes to stops within a route's journey, in order to improve reliability. These changes will not have any impact on existing departure times from the Town Terminus.
In terms of fares, the only proposed increases relate to the Nightbus service and Pay As You Go (PAYG) product. It is proposed that the Nightbus fare will increase by 50p to £3.00 and the PAYG fare will increase by 5p to 65p per journey. Traffic & Highway Services would like to remind customers that contactless payments can be used on the buses to pay for single tickets as opposed to paying the relevant cash fare, whether it be £1 for a single fare, £3.00 for the NIghtbus service or £5 for a Day Pass.
The Day Pass ticket issued this year to passengers wishing to use the 91 and 92 bus routes as an 'Island Tour' will continue to be charged on this basis and the fare will remain at £5. The Guernsey Explorer, a private hire service operated by Island Coachways, will also operate again next summer from the Picquet House Stand as an alternative option for cruise ship passengers and other tourists.
The Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure is seeking public comments on these proposed changes to the 2020 Scheduled Bus Timetable and Fares. The changes are planned to be introduced from Monday 6th January 2020.
A Gazette Notice detailing the proposed changes is published in today's (Friday 15th November) Guernsey Press and will also be available to view at www.buses.gg and www.gov.gg/buses.
Comments on the proposed changes can be made until Friday 29th November, by emailing traffic@gov.gg or by writing to the Director of Traffic and Highway Services, Bulwer Avenue Office, Bulwer Avenue, St Sampson, GY1 3HY.
