HOT SPOTS 2007

• Hot Spots Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City
• Hot Spots City of Derby
• Hot Spots Derbyshire

Some of them require political will and considerable investment to solve. Others can be addressed inexpensively with comparatively straightforward measures, and for a few, there may well be an imaginative traffic engineering solution.

But reading through the lists, it also stands out how many times selfish and inconsiderate parking and obstruction by just a few people is causing delay and inconvenience to so many. Not only could bus punctuality be made a whole lot better simply by tackling this selfish behaviour, it would also benefit the community at large.

This year we are pleased to record examples of success – places where going is now easier for buses thanks to the attention of local authorities to matters raised in previous Hot Spots reports.

These days it is accepted that when road space is in scarce supply, it makes more sense to think about moving the maximum number of people rather than the maximum number of vehicles – especially when so many cars still carry only their driver. People are also growing more committed to the idea of choosing, where they can, a means of travel that is kinder to the local environment.

Yet still bus routes are regularly obstructed and brought to a standstill.

Our track record in growing passenger numbers through quality and investment hopefully speaks for itself – but despite that, we are unable to control what we know to be the bus customer’s constant number one priority: punctuality.

If buses can’t get through the jams it is no good trying to grow markets through increased frequency, because the buses will just bunch together – as they can do now on our busiest corridors. If we keep papering over the problem by making journey times longer, we will be less competitive with the car, and fares will also suffer.

This report is circulated to local authorities, agencies, councillors, MPs – people who will appreciate its contents and may well be able to contribute solutions.

We hope that this will be the case.