Bus Passenger Survey Information

It is obvious that Derby City Council are fairly keen on the bus lane, perhaps the understatement of the century. Even though there is huge condemnation and the review has been brought due to our safety concerns, the council ploughs on regardless spending more time and money justifying the 'experiment'. So DCC Transport Dept (Regeneration and Community Dept) have commissioned RAMA an independent market research consultancy to assess how 215 bus passengers feel about the new bus lane.......Guess what bus passengers like it!!!!!!
We have asked them to extend this survey to other road users, pedestrians, cyclists and residents and we wait to see what happens here. Here is the letter received today which outlines information about the market research. If you would like to make comments about this please feel email duffieldroadaction@hotmail.com I will forward these on.

Tuesday 3 April 2007

Letter from Chris Hegarty at DCC

Dear Mr Bucknell
Yes you are right we have employed an independent market research company called RAMA to do some survey work amongst bus passengers about the impact of the bus lane on Duffield Rd. The initial survey of passenger reaction in the week the scheme was put in was done by trent at no cost to the council. However as there were some people who said they would produce a biased result in favour of the scheme because it was in their commercial interest to do so we employed RAMA to do this survey on our behalf. RAMA have done a number of projects for us in the past about bus passenger attitudes to services in general and particular projects such as the real time information displays or the proposal to introduce a joint arriva and trent city wide bus ticket. The survey was paid for as part of the total scheme cost for Duffield Rd. This scheme will also pay for other survey work inc the before and after traffic counts etc and the consultation events held last summer. This is pretty much normal practice when schemes are undertaken.

We are surveying bus passengers as these people are the group whose interest seems to be ignored most of the time eg the Drag meeting at St Bendicts where bus passenger were hardly mentioned. All too often the view of householders shop keepers, cyclist, pedestrians and car owners take priority (eg the decision to withdraw the bus lane at Allenton shops) and the bus passengers are seen as an inconvenience who can and are ignored. This survey was an attempt to ensure the bus passenger views were made clear and ensure the argument was not total dominated by
the needs of these other groups. I don't have a problem with other groups being surveyed as well but as my role is to look after the needs of bus passengers this is whom we have surveyed.

Regards

Chris Hegarty |Senior Public Transport Coordinator | Regeneration and Community Department | Derby City Council, Roman House, Friar Gate ,
Derby, DE1 1XB | Telephone 01332 715045 | Minicom 01332 256666 | www.derby.gov.uk
Derby City Council - committed to being an Excellent Council
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