Bus service criticism continues

Complaints have been made about the infrequency and inadequate capacity of the bus services in Coventry, particularly the number 12 service during peak hours.

Students and other bus patrons who spoke to the Boar have also voiced their dissatisfaction with the incorrect timing displayed electronically at bus stops. “I hate the schedule and the timing – it’s very inconsistent,” said a disgruntled law student who waited patiently for the 8:22am service, only to find it arriving, full, a few minutes later.

Bus service operators have responded to the complaints by taking a number of actions, one of which is a network review of the bus services that is being planned by Coventry City Council, Centro and a number of other stakeholders. Meetings have also taken place between Travel Coventry, Warwick University Internal Communications Assistant Samuel Boulby and Warwick SU President Daniel Stevens.

National Express Coventry have devised a number of steps to address issues raised in a recent meeting.

The bus company has identified the source of the problem with inaccurate arrival time displays to be a technical error with the programming of the system, and is investigating with the supplier.

With regards to the capacity and congestion issues, the bus operator aspires to add two extra buses to the standard timetable from the end of October 2011. Further improvements to the service are also planned, and these changes are expected to be implemented in the next service change the following February.

The Director of National Express Coventry, Mark Kipling, has expressed his confidence in the changes, and stated that the “students and other bus users will see a step change in the quality of the number 12 service”.

However, not everyone shared his confidence. One Economics student said that adding two buses will not resolve the issue, stating that “with the number of students we have, two buses are definitely not enough”.

Nevertheless, despite the occasional hiccups in the bus services, there are a number of students who find the service to be “quite good”.

One student admits that, despite the peak hour hustle, the buses are often on time and can be quite reliable.

“It’s just a matter of sharing the buses, knowing when to avoid it and working your schedule around them.”