Request to Gwynedd Council regarding Trawscymru T2 timetable changes to restore T2/T1 Bangor to Carmarthen connectivity in Aberystwyth

Request to Carmarthenshire Council for a Trawscymru T1 departure time change in aberystwyth

Request to Carmarthenshire Council for a Trawscymru T1 departure time change in aberystwyth

Dear Stephen Pillinar,

In 2016 the Welsh Government and Ceredigion County Council refused to support a change to the T1 departure time in Aberystwyth from 18.40 to 18.45 in order for the last T2 of the day to from Bangor arriving at 18.40 to connect with the T1 to Carmarthen departing at 18.40. At that time there were 3 partners to the T1 contract (Carmarthenshire Council, Ceredigion Council and the bus provider and the Welsh Government had overall control for the timetable) . The situation has now changed and according to the Welsh Government there are now only 2 partners to each contract, (the Local Authority. and the service provider), and responsibility for the T1 service operation and timetable are with Carmarthenshire Council. (see attached letter dated 05/06/2018 from Simon Jones, Director of Transport, Welsh Government). In this letter the Welsh Government said that “”the operation of each Trawscymru bus service is the responsibility of the relevant contracting local authority . This includes determining the timetable for each Trawscymru service””.

I wish therefore to request that Carmarthenshire Council arrange for a change to the T1 departure time in Aberystwyth at 18.40 I shall cover (1) The History of the original request (2) The new request and (3) The results of 17 T1 service arrival timings at Carmarthen railway station over the past 2 years. This request is made in conjunction with a similar request to Gwynedd Council for a change to the T2 arrival time in Aberystwyth which can be viewed in the attached email below.

(1) The History of the request

On 10/11/2016 I received a reply to a Freedom of Information Request regarding a requested change in T1 departure time in Aberystwyth from 18.40 to 18.45 . The reply was from John Tillman Information & Data Protection Officer for Carmarthenshire Council. My request to Carmarthenshire Council followed a period of requests made to Mr David Hall, the Trawscymru Network Manager, Welsh Government who had said that the time could not be altered for contractual and operational reasons and that the Welsh Government did not hold a copy of the T1 contract document.. The Trawscymru Network Manager referred me to Carmarthenshire Council. who were very open in their responses to my requests and provided the following replies (in red) to my questions (in blue).

(1) Could you please clarify whether all the service delivery partners were issued with a copy of the T1 contract document , namely:

• The Welsh Government
• Ceredigion County Council
• The bus operator

Yes, all providers have received this document.

(2)Can you please provide any text within the T1 contract document that provides evidence that the T1 bus timetable cannot be altered for “contractual reasons”.

There is no such text. There is no contractual reason why the timetable cannot be altered if agreed by all partners, in particular the bus operator who is ultimately responsible for the operation of the service in accordance with their operator’s license.

(3) Could you please clarify whether Ceredigion Council were consulted regarding ““the view of the partners that the 18.40 T1 journey from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen should not be retimed”” . If so which officer of Ceredigion Council was consulted. Can you confirm the name, job title and contact details for the person involved from Ceredigion council

We do not hold this information as the Welsh Government was responsible for consultations.

(4) Could you please clarify whether your authority has discussed the benefits of a change in departure time of the T1 from 18.40 to 18.45 in Aberystwyth.

As above, consultation was undertaken by the Welsh Government and we do not hold this information.

(5) Have Carmarthenshire Council ever objected to timetable changes to the T1 service leaving Aberystwyth at 18.40 for “contractual reasons”.

“”No. In reviewing service changes the Authority would look at the overall implications of such services and discuss the consequences as well as the benefits of any timetable changes. “”

(6) Could you please confirm you are aware that the T1 departing Aberystwyth at 18.40 currently arrives at Carmarthen at 20.36 and the eastbound train departs at 20.47 leaving 11 minutes for passengers to move 20 yards from bus to train and the T1 bus is also travelling after the end of the working day when disruption on the roads is minimal.

Could you please also confirm that you are aware that the T1 arrival at 16.53 at the very busiest time of day connects with the 16.58 train which is the last of the day to Manchester Picadilly leaving 5 minutes for passengers to move 20 yards to reach the train

The Council is aware of the timings of these journeys.

Following questions to Carmarthenshire Council in which there was no clear objection by Carmarthenshire Council to the change in T1 departure time in Aberystwyth , Ceredigion Council were asked to support the change to departure time in Aberystwyth and they refused with statements from Councillor Alun Williams, the Transport representative for Ceredigion Council that :-

(a) “” it will not be possible in all circumstances with factors influencing this include constraints and demands related to vehicles and drivers as well as the desire to maintain other connections.””

(b) “”I know from personal experience of using the connection that quite a number of people travelling from Ceredigion use the T1 to link to trains at Carmarthen. My information is that the numbers wanting to link between the T2 and the T1 in Aberystwyth do not come close to matching this””

Contrary to the above statements by Councillor Alun Williams, the Transport representative for Ceredigion Council, that passengers DO NOT want to link between the T2 and T1 in Aberystwyth, I know from personal experience that passengers DO want to link between the T2 and T1 in Aberystwyth and passengers have been extremely distressed by failing to make a connection with the T1 to Carmarthen in Aberystwyth. .

(2) The new request

On 05/06/2018 Simon Jones, Director of Transport, Welsh Government) indicated that there are only 2 partners to each contract, the Local Authority. and the service provider and said that “”the operation of each Trawscymru bus service is the responsibility of the relevant contracting local authority . This includes determining the timetable for each Trawscymru service””.

Providing that Gwynedd Council agree to remove an unnecessary 5 minute wait in Machynleth and a 5 minute diversion off the A487 on the edge of Aberystwyth, ( introduced by the Welsh Government and not by Powys or Ceredigion Councils) , the T2 arrival time in Aberystwyth can be returned to 18.40 .

There are then a number of options to consider by Carmarthenshire Council to restore the T2/T1/train to Cardiff connectivity through Aberystwyth that existed before the T3 Wrexham to Barmouth Service was introduced in 2014 . According to the Welsh Government this is a decision for Carmarthenshire Council and should therefore not be subjected to a veto by Ceredigion Council . The following options are possible and Carmarthenshire Council may have options of their own. :-

Option A. The T1 departure time in Aberystwyth be changed from 18.40 to 18.45 leaving 5 minutes for passengers to catch the last train to Cardiff The Traffic Commissioner’s regulations require that 95% of services arrive at their destination within 5 minutes of their timetabled arrival time. Bus journeys are usually designed with this in mind and it is possible to make up time in the event of delays. The only reason a 95% figure would not be achieved is a major disruption ie bus breakdown, RTC etc. There is little risk to this change. The T1 arrival to Carmarthen rail station at 16.53 at the very busiest time of day connects with the 16.58 train which is the last of the day to Manchester Picadilly leaving 5 minutes for passengers to move 20 yards to reach the train . An 18.45 T1 departure from Aberystwyth would be travelling at a less busy time of day where traffic is lighter, there is no road maintenance etc.

Option B. The T1 departure time in Aberystwyth be changed from 18.40 to 18.43 . This would allow the T1 to arrive at Carmarthen railway station 7 minutes before the train departs for Cardiff. There would be no risk whatsoever of the train being missed unless there was a major disruption ie bus breakdown, RTC etc. A 3 minute connection time in Aberystwyth would be tight, but is no different to the connection time being employed in Carmarthen between the Trawscymru T1C (Aberystwyth to Cardiff) service recently introduced on 16/03/2018 and the Trawscymru T1S to Swansea, which has the same 3 minutes of connectivity..

Option C. The T1 departure time in Aberystwyth be changed from 18.40 to 18.43 and a 2 minute delayed departure under a Quality Partnership Agreement be introduced . In my experience based on using the T2 regularly between 2015 and 2017 this would result in 95% of T2 journeys arriving and connecting with the T1 service.

I would also wish to request the following information:

(a) Do Carmarthenshire Council receive Trawwscymru T1 service bus performance monitoring information from Bus users Cymru ?

(b) If the answer to (a) is “yes” could Carmarthenshire Council provide the most recent report covering the T1 arrival times in Carmarthen ?

(c) If the answer to (a) is “yes” could Carmarthenshire Council provide the most recent report covering the T1 arrival times in Aberystwyth ?

(d) Do Carmarthenshire Council conduct their own investigations of Trawscymru T1 arrival times in Carmarthen ? If so, how often is the investigation carried out , is the data reported and available for examination and when was the last investigation carried out ?

(e) Are Carmarthenshire Council aware that there is no connectivity going North through Aberystwyth on the T1/T2 Carmarthen to Bangor route. ?

(f) Do Carmarthenshire Council hold a copy of the Bevan Foundation Review into Trawscymru and the Welsh Government Transport Strategy. ? If so are Carmarthenshire Council aware of the Key Action in Welsh Government Transport Strategy to “improve reliability and journey times on the Carmarthen to Bangor route ?

(g) Have Carmarthenshire Council considered a Quality Partnership Agreement in Aberystwyth to allow the T1 to wait for the T2 service from Bangor. ? (This action would be pointless going North as there is no connectivity)

(h) With respect to the T1 Aberystwyth to Carmarthen service are Carmarthenshire Council a member of a Trawscymru Service Delivery Group for the T1 and if so which other Trawscymru Services are involved in that group ?

(i) Have Carmarthenshire Council been asked to join a Trawscymru T1C , T1S Service Delivery Group and if so when is the group expected to meet ?

(j) Are Carmarthenshire Council aware that passengers on the T2 from Dolgellau arriving in Aberystwyth at 9.30am cannot use the T1C 9.30am departure from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen/Cardiff and therefore cannot connect with the T1S service from Carmarthen to Swansea which is managed by Carmarthenshire Council ?

(k) Would Carmarthenshire Council support a change to the T1C departure time in Aberystwyth from 9.30 to 9.25 in order for the connectivity time in Carmarthen to the T1S to be increased from 3 minutes to 8 minutes.

(3) The results of 17 T1 service arrival timings at Carmarthen railway station over the past 2 years

Addendum 1 Arrival times of the T1 Aberystwyth to Carmarthen service at Carmarthen railway station between July 2016 and now.

In 2016 I requested that the T1 departure in Aberystwyth be changed from 18.40 to 18.45 to allow connection with the T2 arrival from Bangor at 18.40 or alternatively the 18.40 T1 departure time to be delayed by upto 5 minutes to wait for the 18.40 T2 arrival under a Quality Partnership Agreement in the same way as the T2 services delayed their departures in Dolgellau to wait for late T3 services from Wrexham. This change would have resulted in 5 minutes of connection time of the T1 with the train in Carmarthen. The Trawscymru Network Manager refused to take either of these actions because he said the T1 needed 10 minutes to connect with the last train to Cardiff. The Trawscymru Network Manager refused to examine T1 arrival times at Carmarthen railway station in order to assess whether it was possible to change the T1 departure time in Aberystwyth from 18.40 to 18.45 .

I have therefore conducted my own investigation on 17 journeys from Llanrhystud to Carmarthen using the T1 service (9.40 or 10.40 departures from Aberystwyth) between July 2016 and now with the following results

1 T1 service arrived Carmarthen railway station 2 mins early

3 T1 services arrived Carmarthen railway station 1 min early

2 T1 services arrived Carmarthen railway station on time

6 T1 services arrived Carmarthen railway station 1 minute late

3 T1 services arrived Carmarthen railway station 2 minutes late

1 T1 service arrived Carmarthen railway station 4 minutes late (service was 9 minutes late when it left Llanrhystud)

1 T1 service arrived Carmarthen railway station 13 minutes late (delay between Pencader and Carmarthen – driver apologised due to low loader delivery for a wind farm)

The above shows that all T1 services arrive at Carmarthen railway station well within 5 minutes of the published arrival time . The only exception to this is where an unexpected event occurs such as an RTC, bus breakdown or as in the case of the service 13 minutes late the road blocked by escort vehicles/police. Even where a bus is late at the start of a journey the timetable should be designed to allow the service to make up time on the rest of the journey and this was the case with the service that arrived 9 minutes late in Llanrhystud but made up 5 minutes of time on the rest of the journey and arrived only 4 minutes late at Carmarthen railway station . The above timings were on journeys in the morning during a working day when traffic on the roads would be high. The T1 journey which I asked to be changed (departure in Aberystwyth to be changed from 18.40 to 18.45) is one that is running in the evening when traffic is light, no road maintenance is taking place and hold ups would be minimal. Based on the above evidence there was no basis for the Trawscymru Network Manager to refuse to make the change from 18.40 to 18.45 and he should have been able to quickly do a similar investigation to the one above on the 18.40 Aberystwyth T1 departure.

Addendum 2 Arrival times of the T1c Aberystwyth to Cardiff service at Carmarthen on Saturday 23/06/2018

Depart Llanrhystud 9.50 (4 minutes late)

Depart Aberaeron 10.04 (4 minutes late)

Depart Llandysul 10.33 (1 minute late)

Arrive Carmarthen 11.04 (2 minutes late)

Yours Sincerely ,

Dr John McTighe