New Waitrose 'needs better bus links' (From The Oxford Times)
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New Waitrose 'needs better bus links'
2:43pm Monday 26th January 2009 in News By Andrew Ffrench
Hugh Jaeger
BUS campaigners in Oxford are calling for better services to cater for customers at a new Waitrose supermarket in Headington.
Earlier this month, Waitrose, which already has shops in Abingdon, Wallingford and Witney, confirmed it was taking over the Somerfield supermarket, in Old High Street, in April.
The refitted store is expected to open under the Waitrose name in May.
Hugh Jaeger, 44, who represents the Oxford branch of Bus Users UK, welcomed the opening of Oxford’s first Waitrose, but said bus services should be upgraded as a result.
He said: “I think residents in Headington are delighted that Waitrose is opening a store, and I’m sure residents in places like North Oxford will be very jealous.
“Not everyone will be able to reach the store by car and I think shoppers will come from across Oxford, so bus services need to be reviewed.
“Residents recently warned the city council’s north east area committee that Headington car park is too small for the new Waitrose.
“Better local buses to Headington need to be part of the solution.”
Mr Jaeger wants Stagecoach to either extend its No 10 bus from the city centre to Summertown or extend the 14/14A/17A or 17C from the John Radcliffe Hospital to the centre of Headington.
Before the pedestrianisation of Cornmarket Street 10 years ago as part of the Oxford Transport Strategy, the Stagecoach No 7 route linked Kidlington, Summertown, the city centre, Headington and Barton.
But after pedestrianisation, the route was split in two and there is no longer a direct service connecting Summertown and Headington.
Mr Jaeger added: “Eventually, the Oxford Bus Company stopped running the No 2 service to Barton and Headington, and Stagecoach cut the No 7 into two unconnected halves.
“Waitrose will be a magnet for shoppers and it’s certain to bring people in from other parts of the city.
“This is a good opportunity for the bus companies to consider providing more reliable orbital routes.”
Chris Child, a spokesman for Stagecoach, said: “I think it’s unlikely that we would reconnect the No 7 at this time, but we’re open to suggestions regarding routes we operate.
“We are here to serve the needs of customers, and we need to see if there’s enough passenger traffic to warrant a review.”
North Oxford city councillor Jean Fooks said: “I’m sure some North Oxford residents will be going to Waitrose in Headington, so we hope the bus companies will look at the situation again.”
affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk
Comments(23)
Zimmer
says...
3:07pm Mon 26 Jan 09
cottage2day
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3:53pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Hugh Jaeger
says...
4:00pm Mon 26 Jan 09
A BQC would not allow competing companies to run services on the same route, hence there would be no need for rivals to run too many off-peak 'buses to win passengers from each other. Instead companies would have to tender for each route every few years, and the winner would have to satisfy monitoring for service quality and reliability throughout the contract.
Contracts could also require companies to run only the lowest-emission 'buses. This would be compatible with the Low Emission Zone planned for central Oxford. It would encourage all 'bus companies to achieve standards at least as good those of as the Oxford Bus Company, which has the lowest emissions of any 'bus fleet in Britain.
Zimmer suggests that people make more local car journeys, and for those extra journeys to be along the A40(T) Northern By-Pass which at peak times already suffers congestion. More congestion and emissions are the last things we need on our roads. The (T) of course stands for trunk road, which should be one of the last places to be encouraging local traffic.
Zimmer's car-based suggestion would exclude not only everyone who respects people's health and the environment, but also everyone who either lacks a car or perhaps is physically unable to use one.
Bus Users UK cares for people and for the environment. We want 'bus services that give the best service possible for as many users as possible, while causing the least harm to our precious and vulnerable environment. Please visit us at:
www.bususers.org
Hugh Jaeger
says...
4:19pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Some buy online, but others prefer to visit a store themselves and that is their free choice. When the new branch opens in Headington they'll want to use the new branch, only to find that Headington Car Park is working full to capacity already. Headley Way is already congested too often, without Waitrose attracting even more Summertown - Headington traffic.
Bus Users UK believes that better 'bus services is one way to reduce our Britain's dependency on cars. cottage2day has defended the excessive air pollution levels on Abingdon Road and suggested that people whose health suffers from air pollution should just accept it. BUUK believes that we can treat each other and our environment much better than this.
Rankin7
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4:20pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Andrew:Oxford
says...
5:03pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Plenty of room to put in a Multi-story car park in too instead of the rather rough & ready surface car park that's there at the moment.
Forget buses though... Time the decent thing was done and give Oxford a high-quality Tram service or better still - an underground rail network.
The good thing is that with a modern tram system, no wires are required.
And Shuggie is "Hugh Jaeger" really your real name?
Rankin7
says...
5:29pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Hugh Jaeger
says...
8:30pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Rankin7 omits to mention that of course taxis are more expensive than 'buses, don't accept 'bus passes, 'bus season tickets, or the County Council's Plus Pass that covers all 'bus companies in Oxford.
Andrew:Oxford is right: of course Headington Car Park could be made multi-storey. However the traffic on most major roads into Headington is already congested every weekday. If Waitrose attracts even more car journeys, the County Council's current work to improve Headington Road and London Road will have been in vain.
Andrew's other idea is the winner: a modern electric tram network serving Oxford's busiest routes. If current 'bus frequencies are any guide, Oxford's first two tram routes should be (1) Blackbird Leys - Cowley - central Oxford - Oxford rail station and (2) Barton - Headington - central Oxford - Summertown - Kidlington.
A century ago Oxford City Council wanted electric trams but the college dons opposed having trolley wires down High Street. In France the city of Nice has trams with such good batteries that they can run without wires for the central part of their route. They would be perfect for running along Oxford High Street.
Yes Andrew, I really am Hugh Jaeger, but the Scots version "Shuggie" is fine!
Andrew:Oxford
says...
9:21pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Try Googling "Alstom APS"
"Power is supplied to the tram through a third rail embedded in the tracks. This third rail is made up of 8 metre-long conducting segments, which can be powered, and which are separated by 3 metre insulating joints. Power is supplied to the conducting segments by underground boxes every 22 metres. The electricity transmitted through this third rail is picked up by two friction contactors located in the mid-section of the tram. The delivery of power to the conducting segments is triggered by coded radio dialogue between the tram and the ground, and only occurs once the conducting segment has been covered by the tram, ensuring total safety for pedestrians."
Sounds like a perfect solution for Oxford. If only the local authority had the vision to push forward with it.
Andrew:Oxford
says...
9:23pm Mon 26 Jan 09
With the volume of water that passes through the various rivers and weirs of Oxford there is probably the possiblity that it could be self-sufficient in power...
Hugh Jaeger
says...
10:50pm Mon 26 Jan 09
Britain's Labour government has been shockingly anti-tram. Long before the Credit Crisis they cancelled good tram schemes for Leeds, Liverpool, Portsmouth and Southampton. If a city as small as Oxford is to stand a chance it must minimise capital costs - without compromising quality.
Messrs. Brown and Darling are treasury men who hate investing enough capital in trams or trains. If Oxford could disguise a tram scheme as an irresponsible, failing bank, maybe they would invest billions in it?
Oxford should exploit its hydro-electric opportunities. At Sandford-on-Thames weir the former paper mill had turbines producing about 70 Kilowatts. The Low Carbon West Oxford group hopes to install an Archimedean screw at Osney Lock to produce 30 Kilowatts, and I'm told the redevelopment of Osney Mill may include a hydro-electric generator in the old mill-race. I imagine none of this will be enough to run a tram, but I'm sure it will all help to reduce Oxford's carbon footprint.
JanetJ
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8:19am Tue 27 Jan 09
Andrew:Oxford
says...
9:54am Tue 27 Jan 09
Of course I've done a weekly family shop on my own. It's hardly difficult. Boot up laptop, log on to Occado, Sainsbury or Tesco, choose a slot and a little man comes round and delivers it.
The cost of delivery is nothing compared to the time-cost and cost of fuel/parking - as well as the wasted cash on "aisle candy".
Top-ups are, of course, bought by the bagful and carried home by foot or by bus.
It's quite possible to do without a car in this city.
Mary Clarkson
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11:41am Tue 27 Jan 09
Hugh Jaeger
says...
12:44pm Tue 27 Jan 09
Transport is about people's freedom: to choose where to travel and what mode of transport to use to get there. But if too many people choose cars too often the roads choke, we choke and our climate chokes.
Plenty of people can't afford to run a car, or don't want one, or have one but prefer not to use it, or can't drive, or are going for a drink and mustn't drive home. Buses increase people's freedom in all these cases.
A good 'bus service can cut the number of cars congesting our roads. Reduced congestion helps not only 'bus passengers, but also people such as Mary and myself when we ride our bikes. It also helps anyone who for a particular journey really needs to use a car, which may include JanetJ. Hence better 'bus services could benefit her whether she rides on them or not!
Please forgive me for being so optimistic. I love this city of ours but I keep seeing ways we might be able to make it better :o)
Sid Hunt
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1:19pm Tue 27 Jan 09
Hugh Jaeger
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2:49pm Tue 27 Jan 09
Ian Sternberg
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8:32pm Tue 27 Jan 09
Ultimately the whole Bus Industry in Britain should be Nationalised . Bus Services should be massively increased as part of an intergrated Public Transport System , with RMT/UNITE imput into the decision making process .
This kind of intergrated public Transport System with Subsidised Fares will help the environment & will be much more efficient for Passengers to use .
Bogota Bob
says...
4:54pm Wed 28 Jan 09
Ian Sternberg wrote:If I were you, I'd wind the clock back to the 1970s when the "nationalised" National bus company provided 90% of buses across the UK via a confusing network and the trade unions ruled with a tight grip trying to prevent any kind of progress, it wasnt working and buses had been on a decline from the mid 1960's. Staff shortages were dire with people not interested in working and overly slack union agreements which created cushy working conditions. The unions and NBC came up with the idea of making Saturday working optional in the Midlands, it was great because drivers didn't have to work Saturdays - the downside being that 90% of the Midland Red network didn't run.
As a frequent user of The Stagecoach X32 service between Harwell & Oxford - I fully support Hugh's call for extra bus services in Oxford . Ultimately the whole Bus Industry in Britain should be Nationalised . Bus Services should be massively increased as part of an intergrated Public Transport System , with RMT/UNITE imput into the decision making process . This kind of intergrated public Transport System with Subsidised Fares will help the environment & will be much more efficient for Passengers to use .
The NBC robbed its good routes to prop up bad routes to obscure villages with 2 people who used the bus once a week. This annoyed the people who used the frequent services which were cut to use buses elsewhere.
If we must do something, franchising may offer a way forward, where private companies provide quality ensured services like they do in London but this will take a great deal of public subsidy which most of Oxford's bus services don't currently require.
oxfordgirl1974
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3:22pm Thu 29 Jan 09
Those buses were always busy, and now, because the service is not offered, I know lots of people in the North of Oxford, who just get into their cars and go to the supermarket instead.
Hugh Jaeger
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7:28pm Fri 30 Jan 09
Not all journeys between different Oxford suburbs need go through the middle. Why does every 'bus service to the JR hospital terminate there? The JR has routes 14/17A to New Marston, Summertown and Oxford rail station in one direction, and route 10 to Cowley, Cowley Road and central Oxford in the other direction. If these routes were combined in a single loop service, it would link so many parts of east and north Oxford that it could probably run ever 10-15 minutes.
The Cornmarket pedestrianisation in 1999 created gaps of hundreds of metres between stops for 'bus services leaving the city centre in diferent directions. The County Council's Transform Oxford plan to remove 'bus stops from Queen St, George St and Magdalen St will make those distances eaven longer, thus making many cross-city 'bus journeys even harder.
The "Cornmarket Gap" in Oxford's 'bus networks is worst for north-south journeys: the gap between stops in Magdalen Street and St Aldate's is over 500 metres. Transform Oxford would remove the 'bus stops in Magdalen Street and relocate them in in St Giles, increasing the walking distance from St Aldate's to more than 800 metres. That's half a mile between "connecting" 'buses.
Try that half-mile walk with impaired vision, impaired mobility, heavy shopping or small children. Remember to dodge the many cyclists illegally riding along Queen Street and Cornmarket in daytime. No wonder too many people go by car!
This article is about local services within Oxford, but Ian Sternberg rightly points out that many villages and towns in Oxfordshire might merit better services too. Harwell has 2,400 villagers and its X32 'bus service also serves the important Harwell science campus. The X32 runs hourly to and from Oxford, but not after 9pm and there's no Sunday service.
Bus Users UK would like services such as the X32 to benefit from the County Council's £62 million "Access to Oxford" project. ATO aims to improve road junctions on the northern and southern approaches to Oxford, and to help 'bus services to get through the congestion more quickly and reliably.
Oxon CC has asked interested groups including Bus Users UK to tell it what road junction improvements are most needed. BUUK needs helpful comments and suggestions from as many 'bus users as possible, so that it can give the County Council as much detail as possible of current problems and what feasible improvements 'bus users would like.
BUUK Oxford Branch doesn't yet have a local website. Please visit our national website, and if you want to help our work in Oxfordshire please tell our Head Office:
www.bususers.org
faatmaan
says...
10:16pm Fri 30 Jan 09
Hugh Jaeger
says...
6:23pm Wed 4 Feb 09
faatmaan's claim "Waitrose does not prosper in Large cities/towns" contrasts with the facts. Waitrose has branches in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, dozens in London and is just opening a second branch in Bristol.
By comparison with those cities, Oxford is not such a large town. Waitrose thrives in every market town in Oxfordshire and already has many customers in Oxford. Its opening of a store in Headington is a response to customer demand.
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