Bus/Rail Links in Devon & Cornwall

Ten years later the National Railway Timetable had gained a guide to service frequency for a range of bus links. Bodmin Road (Parkway) to Padstow even had its own table showing intermediate stops at Bodmin and Wadebridge. By 1996 this was reduced to a footnote drawing attention to the Padstow bus link and even this was abandoned the following year.

Since then Great Western Trains have published basic information at first in booklet form and currently as summary information on a large fold out map for different areas. Their South Devon and Cornwall 'Rail&Bus' guide number 4 shows bus links to places such as Helston, Fowey, Padstow, Callington. Launceston, Tavistock, Kingsbridge and Bude. Through fares can be booked at railway stations and travel agents, though not on the buses, to these destinations. Journey details for through bus/rail journeys from Padstow, Bude and Sidmouth can now be accessed on Network Rail's Journey Planner.

In addition to the principal or premier bus/rail links it is proposed that there are two additional categories of bus/rail link. The standard category would be applied to bus services which allow connections during the day, but it would be important for prospective passengers to check service details before travelling. For example the frequency may be only 2 hourly in relation to an hourly rail service and there might be only one evening service. The standard bus/rail link would have relatively high frequencies and achieve connections on this basis.

A third or basic category of bus/rail link would be relatively infrequent services, but ones which provide valuable links. Examples would be the DevonBus 387 which operates once daily Mondays to Fridays from Sidmouth to Taunton railway station and the Western Greyhound 510 from Newquay to Exeter St. David's station via Camelford, Launceston and Okehampton.

Most bus/rail links should be based on the recognition and marketing of bus services which already exist, or ones which could be upgraded to perform a link service. The design of completely new bus services should be minimised, so that existing patterns of custom are not disrupted. A 2 hourly bus service that has run for a decade or more, and which can be extended to link with a railway station, may be more valuable in the long term, than an hourly service initiated on a brand new route with no existing customer base to support it.

The following criteria are sought for the bus links:

• Buses timed to connect with trains,

• Frequent during the day plus evening services,

• Bus times Included in railway timetables and on Journey Planner programs on the World Wide Web,

• Timetable changes to be co-ordinated with those of the railway to ensure accuracy of published timetable information,

• Through bus/rail tickets to be available on all routes whether bought at the railway station or on the bus,

• There should be a main stopping point In town centres, where there is short stay parking available for people awaiting passengers arriving on the bus,

• Local Authorities should be obliged to develop the necessary bus priority measures at road junctions to ensure reliability of the services,

• Statutory Authorities or others requiring road closures should be responsible for liaison with bus operators to ensure that disruption to bus/rail connections is minimised.

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