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

Reply-To: john.mct@

copies Traffic Commissioner , Welsh Assembly Members, Gwynedd Council members, Powys Council members, Ceredigion Council members, Carmarthenshire Council members, Aberystwyth Council members.

Dear Gwawr Owen ,

With respect to the information provided by Gwynedd Council on 28/03/2018 relating to Freedom of Information request T938,  the following replies were given by Gwynedd Council .    Against each reply a comment is included, which reflects recent statements made by Simon Jones (the Director of Transport, Department for Economy and Infrastructure, Welsh Government),  and which requests Gwynedd Council to clarify their answers made on 28/03/2018  :-

Question (1) Are Powys and Ceredigion Councils partners along with the bus service provider to the T2 contract managed by Gwynedd Council?

Reply on 28/03/2018  (1) “Yes”.

Comment (1) The Welsh Government on 05/06/2018 have said that there are only 2 partners in each Trawscymru contract , the Local Authority managing the Trawscymru contract and the bus service provider.

AS MANAGER OF THE T2 CONTRACT DO GWYNEDD COUNCIL NOW WISH TO CHANGE THE “YES” TO A “NO” OR DO GWYNEDD COUNCIL STILL BELIEVE POWYS AND CEREDIGION COUNCILS ARE PARTNERS ALONG WITH THE BUS SERVICE PROVIDER TO THE T2 CONTRACT ?

Question (11) Are Gwynedd Council aware of the published Welsh Government Transport strategy (page 48) which states ”There will be improvements to the north-south TrawsCambria bus service (T2/T1) and improvements will be concentrated on the reliability and journey time on the route?”

Reply on 28/03/2018  (11) “Yes”

Question (13) Did Gwynedd Council propose a change to the T2 departure time in Aberystwyth from 10.05 to 10.00am and if so why ?

Reply on 28/03/2018  “”No but it is effective to have a clockface timetable. Bus is to wait up to 5 minutes for arrival of service T1/T5. “

Comment (13) The Welsh Government on 05/06/2018 have 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.”

AS MANAGER OF THE T2 CONTRACT DO GWYNEDD COUNCIL STILL MAINTAIN THEY DID NOT PROPOSE THE CHANGE TO THE T2 DEPARTURE TIME IN ABERYSTWYTH FROM 10.05 TO 10.00AM ?    IF GWYNEDD COUNCIL STILL MAINTAIN THEY DID NOT PROPOSE THE CHANGE TO THE T2 DEPARTURE TIME IN ABERYSTWYTH COULD GWYNEDD COUNCIL SAY WHICH ORGANISATION DID PROPOSE THE CHANGE TO THE T2 DEPARTURE TIME IN ABERYSTWYTH FROM 10.05 TO 10.00AM?

Question (14) Did Gwynedd Council propose a change to most of the T2 arrival and departure times in Dolgellau which resulted in the planned timetable wait of the T2 in Dolgellau being increased from 5 minutes to 10 minutes If so could Gwynedd Council give the reason they were proposed ?

Reply on 28/03/2018 (14)     “No”

Comment (14) The Welsh Government on 05/06/2018 have 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.”

AS MANAGER OF THE T2 CONTRACT DO GWYNEDD COUNCIL STILL MAINTAIN THEY DID NOT PROPOSE THE CHANGES TO THE T2 TIMETABLE ON 01/01/2018?

Question (15) If the answer to (14) is “No” could Gwynedd Council say which organisation proposed a change to most of the T2 arrival and departure times in Dolgellau which resulted in the planned timetable wait of the T2 in Dolgellau being increased from 5 minutes to 10 minutes and could Gwynedd Council give the reason these changes were made ?

Reply on 28/03/2018  (15)  “Operational changes to ensure connectivity with T3.”

Comment (15) The Welsh Government on 05/06/2018 have 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.”

AS MANAGER OF BOTH THE T2 AND THE T3 CONTRACTS DO GWYNEDD COUNCIL STILL MAINTAIN THEY DID NOT PROPOSE THE CHANGES AND COULD GWYNEDD COUNCIL ANSWER THE ORIGINAL QUESTION AND “SAY WHICH ORGANISATION PROPOSED A CHANGE TO MOST OF THE T2 ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE TIMES IN DOLGELLAU” ?

Could Gwynedd Council please also look at the following requests in relation to the T2/T3 services.

(1) DO GWYNEDD COUNCIL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE T2 CONTRACT TO ANY OTHER ORGANISATIONS IN ADDITION TO LLOYDS COACHES AND IF SO COULD GWYNEDD  COUNCIL NAME THOSE ORGANISATIONS WHO RECEIVE A COPY?    DO GWYNEDD  COUNCIL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE T2 CONTRACT TO THE TRAWSCYMRU NETWORK  MANAGER OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON WITHIN THE WELSH GOVERNMENT?   COULD  GWYNEDD COUNCIL PROVIDE THE TEXT OF ANY PART OF THE CONTRACT  DOCUMENT THAT DEALS WITH WHICH ORGANISATION HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TIMETABLE AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAILY OPERATIONS AND  RESPONSIBILITY FOR the bus route?

(2) DO GWYNEDD COUNCIL RECEIVE COPIES OF REPORTS OF THE WORK OF BUS COMPLIANCE OFFICERS  ON T2 AND T3 BUS PUNCTUALITY AND RELIABILITY FROM  BUS USERS CYMRU?

The reports record for Trawscymru services the percentage of services which arrived within 5 minutes of their published arrival time

(3) ON THE LAST T2 SERVICE OF THE DAY , WHERE THE ARRIVAL TIME WAS CHANGED FROM 18.40 TO 18.50 ON 01/01/2018 COULD GWYNEDD COUNCIL SAY WHICH ORGANISATION PROPOSED THE UNNECESSARY 5 MINUTE WAIT IN MACHYNLETH AND THE DIVERSION OFF THE A487 ON THE EDGE OF ABERYSTWYTH THROUGH THE VILLAGE OF COMINS COCH AND THE WAUNFAWR HOUSING ESTATE ?

COULD GWYNEDD COUNCIL  PLEASE ARRANGE FOR THE UNNECESSARY 5 MINUTE  WAIT IN MACHYNLETH AND THE DIVERSION OFF THE A487 ON THE EDGE OF  ABERYSTWYTH THROUGH THE VILLAGE OF COMINS COCH AND THE WAUNFAWR  HOUSING ESTATE TO BE REMOVED AND THE T2 ARRIVAL TIME IN ABERYSTWYTH  RETURNED TO 18.40 ?

This request to Gwynedd Council will be accompanied by a request to  Carmarthenshire Council to change the departure time of the T1 service from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen (currently at 18.40).to make the T2 and T1 connecting services which will be of benefit to Gwynedd residents wishing to travel between Bangor and Carmarthen where they will be able to connect with the last train of the day from Carmarthen to Cardiff. (see Addendum 1)

Before the T3 Wrexham to Barmouth service was introduced the last T2 of the day from Bangor left Dolgellau at 17.20 and connected in Aberystwyth with the last T1 departure of the day to Carmarthen at 18.40.    Following the introduction of the T3 Wrexham to Barmouth service in 2014 the last T2 of the day from Bangor left Dolgellau at 17.35 (not 17.20) and arrived in Aberystwyth at 18.40 so that connection with the last T1 departure of the day to Carmarthen at 18.40 was intermittent .   On 01/01/2018 Gwynedd Council changed the T2 timetable .   For all T2 departures from Bangor the departure time was brought forward by 10 minutes , the journey time between Bangor and Porthmadog was increased by 10 minutes and the total journey time between Bangor and Aberystwyth was increased by 10 minutes, but the T2 arrival times in Aberystwyth remained the same .   This 10 minute increase in journey time on 01/01/2018 was to cater for future delays when work on the new bypass between Caernarfon and Bontnewydd would start  (Construction could start in November 2018 !! ).  The one exception to the 10 minute increase was the 18.40 T2 arrival in Aberystwyth where_ the departure time from Bangor was brought forward by 10 minutes, the journey time between Bangor and Porthmadog was increased by 10 minutes and the total journey time between Bangor and Aberystwyth was increased by 20 minutes (not 10 minutes) so that the T2 then arrived in Aberystwyth at 18.50 and connection with the last T1 departure of the day to Carmarthen at 18.40 was completely impossible.   The extra 10 minutes of journey time on the last T2 of the day was due to delays introduced on the last 15 miles before reaching Aberystwyth.  An _unnecessary 5 minute wait in Machynleth and a diversion off the A487 on the edge of Aberystwyth through the village of Comins Coch and the Waunfawr Housing estate were introduced.   Powys Council have said they did not request the unnecessary 5 minute wait in Machynleth and Ceredigion Council have said they did not request a diversion off the A487 on the edge of Aberystwyth.    Could Gwynedd Council  please arrange for the unnecessary 5 minute wait in Machynleth and the diversion off the A487 on the edge of Aberystwyth through the village of Comins Coch and the Waunfawr Housing estate to be removed and the T2 arrival time in Aberystwyth returned to 18.40 ?

(4) COULD GWYNEDD COUNCIL  PLEASE ARRANGE FOR THE CHANGE TO T2  DEPARTURE TIME FROM 10.05 TO 10.00AM MADE BY GWYNEDD COUNCIL ON  01/01/2018  TO BE REVERSED AND PUT THE T2 DEPARTURE TIME BACK TO  10.05AM  ?

The 10.0 am T2 departure from Aberystwyth to Bangor was changed to 10.05am by the previous  Transport Minister , Edwina hart (see attached letter reference EH/01450/16 dated 29/04/2016).   On 01/01/2018 Gwynedd Council changed the T2 departure time in Aberystwyth from 10.05 to 10.00am. This change reversed the decision taken by the previous Transport Minister, Edwina Hart .

Three minutes is not enough to guarantee connection with the 9.57 T5 arrival in Aberystwyth from Cardigan . This particular T5 is a service not unlike the T3 Wrexham to Barmouth service, where a large proportion of the journey is as diversions off the main route to the coastal villages of Aberporth and Newquay. .   Gwynedd Council as contract managers of both the T2 and T3 contracts have made sure that the T2 services are held back by 10 minutes to wait for the T3 from Wrexham and T2 services also have a further 5 minutes wait under a Quality Partnership Agreement to wait for the T3 from Wrexham. If 10 minutes is required for the T2 to connect with the T3 then 8 minutes for the T2 to connect with the T5 is not unreasonable and the T2 departure time in Aberystwyth should be put back to 10.05am .

On 28/03/2018  Gwynedd Council tried to justify the change to a 10.00am T2 departure time in Aberystwyth by saying it is effective to have a clockface timetable. The following statement is taken from the documentation of the Traffic Commissioner.

“COMMISSIONERS ARE OF THE VIEW THAT IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO OFFER PASSENGERS A TIMETABLE THAT CAN NORMALLY BE ACHIEVED RATHER THAN ONE WHICH IN THEORY RELIES UPON CLOCK FACE HEADWAY “WHICH IS EASY FOR THE PUBLIC TO REMEMBER” BUT WHICH RARELY ACHIEVES ITS  ASPIRATIONS.”   Could Gwynedd Council  therefore arrange for the T2 departure time in Aberystwyth to be changed back to 10.05 ?

(5) COULD GWYNEDD COUNCIL  PLEASE CONSIDER A DIRECT ROUTE FOR THE T3  SERVICE BETWEEN LLANGOLLEN AND WREXHAM ON THE A5/A483 SAVING 15 MINUTES IN JOURNEY TIME?

COULD GWYNEDD COUNCIL  PLEASE ALSO CONSIDER REMOVING THE QUALITY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE T2 AND T3 SERVICES IN DOLGELLAU?

The Quality Partnership Agreement is ineffective as the T3 service from Wrexham is frequently more than 15 minutes late into Dolgellau and T2 services are therefore being held back unnecessarily.  The 15 minute delays to the T2 in Dolgellau have seriously disrupted the connectivity between T2/T1 in Aberystwyth and in reply to Question (11) on 28/03/2018  Gwynedd Council indicated they were aware of the published Welsh Government Transport strategy (page 48) which states ”There will be improvements to the north-south TrawsCambria bus service (T2/T1) and improvements will be concentrated on the reliability and journey time on the route.“  The published Welsh Government Transport strategy has not been employed by Gwynedd Council with the 15 minute delays to the T2 services in Dolgellau and this is all the more surprising since the 15 minute delays are to the detriment of Gwynedd residents wishing to use the T2/T1 route between Bangor and Carmarthen.

Gwynedd Council should also be aware that the No 5 service by Arriva  runs from Llangollen to Wrexham using the same route as the T3 via ruabon station and Johnstown .   It operates every 15 minutes/half hour (24 services per day in both directions) and takes 35 minutes. (Exactly the same time as the T3 which also takes 35 minutes ).    The Trawscymru T3 service could easily employ a direct route between Llangollen and Wrexham on the A5/A483.   This would save 15 minutes in journey time which would mean a more sensible arrangement could be put in place in Dolgellau avoiding the 15 minute delays to the T2 services in Dolgellau and allowing restoration of connectivity on the T2/T1 Bangor to Carmarthen route in Aberystwyth.

Yours Sincerely

Dr John McTighe

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.