Arriva - A word please?

Disclaimer - this is a post of my thoughts and ideas, while factual inaccuracies may result they are derived from the information available in public,


Arriva the shires we need to talk.

Over the last week you've announced changes to the Dunstable and Luton bus network with a consultation on at the moment. The problem is Houghton Regis News Desk broke the news of this first.

The Luton and Dunstable Busway made some positive changes to journeys for most of us but said busway misses out a lot of important services for the communities the buses serve. This means more stops for some but for now we have some legacy services left, like the 38 and the 24.

Now for many it's done the trick but the legacy services now suffer with dropping numbers, in some cases I see it's going to become unprofitable for them to run the legacy services as it is without changes. Problem is implementation of said changes made things worse for many, for instance. The 38 still runs, but on a 30 min basis over it's 15 minute basis (face it, one slowdown in bury park and everything bunches, and on the old setup it was really bad)

But from March, they want to delete the 38 and offshoot 39 buses. This will be detrimental to many people, from workers getting to the Woodside estate, parents and children going to schools, the elderly requiring medical assistance or rely on the service to be independent and the disabled/vulnerable who would not be able to make it to the busway due to it's distance or it's lack of options for those who require assistance.

The removal of the 38 (ignore the 39 for a moment please) would remove Ashton square, High street north and Houghton Road from any bus services bar council run ones that are not suitable for many commuters and not under the hiphop multi bus ticket scheme in place. cutting off access to three schools, doctors and dental practices, shops and access for those who require a bus service in specific areas.

Now here's the annoyance for me, Arriva have put a dedicated information page online with a survey but the information they've printed out tells you to go online, so those without internet or without the need for a computer will have no voice, plus the survey expires on the 3rd Feb. This is naughty Arriva.
Now for those offline Arriva have sent CBC Travel choices flyers about the proposed changes but as the staff have to be impartial as it's not being run with help from the hub. So unfortunately there's not much they can do bar pass you a flyer, but sends you to a weblink!

Now the community of Houghton Regis and Dunstable is split on the changes, many don't care as the busway serves their purpose and the others are worried as the 38 and 39 is their lifeline out of the home to town, doctors and other services. We'll not go in circles, it seems that's the Arriva Social Media dept's job.

Me and a few others want to represent those without internet access so their voices are not heard and in doing so wish to meet with Arriva staff to talk about this in a decent manner, the image below show's my fruitless conversation!

Well for now we have a few days left to spread the word. If you can help join this page, Tell your family who may be affected by the change, and please fill out the survey


I do have an idea for an alternate route which could fix a few issues for both residents and bring a good compromise.  A looped service, using smaller buses.

Arriva are trailing 7 electric buses in Milton Keynes, the buses previously used on these routes (according to spotters I've spoken to - this may not be gospel) were smaller vehicles, while the route is under trial could we not move the displaced buses here and try a looped service.

The service would serve Dunstable, Lewsey and Houghton Regis, but only certain buses would serve the L&D Hospital. Also on peak times for workers there could be a loop around the industrial estate.

These respective routes would be the
38L (loops to the busway,) similar route but goes to the busway to get back to Ashton Square.
38W for the industrial estate, missing out Lewsey park (a limited service for factory workers so they can interchange with other buses)
38H (loops to either the busway or the A505.) but adds the hospital into the route, the only one on the map that would actually stops directly outside the hospital.

All of these would interchange with other services on Ashton Square and opposite the Quadrant, High St.North, Dunstable, Morrisons in Houghton Regis and finally Dominic Square, Lewsey farm. meaning more services link up together, bringing more revenue for the company and a potentially better service.


Now before anyone says they want a complete service, it's going to be difficult to get this, especially with costs of operations compared to actual users throughout the day, not just in the peak times it becomes clear things do have to change. I wish it could be the same but this is the consequence of a fast services via the busway being introduced.

If you have something to say about this let us know below, and I'll try my hardest to get Arriva to respond!

We have a problem but how do we fix it?

THIS CONTAINS SWEARS - Oh and apologies for the warbling in places. my blogobrain has kicked in!

It's annoying living in a town, yes it's more convenient in some respects with shops nearby and many places accessible for theJess but something in me misses the country life. I no doubt would cope miserably being there but still. Meh. How about the kids though, compare now to the 90's and for children these days it's a different world altogether.

For instance at age 7/8 I was going out to play around Kensworth, Whipsnade and Studam under supervision of my sister, no cellphones (we'd break it) and we'd have to walk sometimes 5-6 miles just to get placed we wanted to go and back. As long as we were home by dark all was good, and if not run home and tell our parents where we are and can they pick us up later and if things change we'll call from a friends house or the nearby farm.

We'd have free reign of the places we'd visit as long as we respected things and when we did play up the whole village knew before we'd even set off home, we usually discovered this by one of our parents driving out to find us and lobbing us all in the car to be torn a new one when we get back, say sorry and be let out again if we could get away with asking.

One of the Places we used to play in is a place known as Studham Dell, although strictly it's located on the merge point of Kensworth and Studham it was our little place we could do anything. Even light fires as we were trusted, if things were to go wrong we told people and got help.
Best part of the dell was how a huge group of us could play there for 12 hours straight have a right laugh and still come home and tell our parents what we did but more importantly we knew it would start all again tomorrow. Safe in the knowledge that everyone knew we were ok and knew what to do in trouble. Yes we were little shitbags at times but what children aren't!

We were classed by the posher people of studham (this place was literally moments away from a rich hamlet who hated kids having fun, so much so that they would chase us away from the footpath) as trouble makers. Our weapon of choice was to listen to music, yeah fair do's it was a mix of drum and bass and things like this but we were always respectful of others around us while making merry. Even the police left us alone!


Roll on to 2014 and we've got a generation of kids who are constantly seen as troublemakers thanks to the hoodie culture. Yes a fucking garment means you're judged guilty by association, similarly teenage kids today are trying to find their footing in a digital world where things change around you by the second, where the trend is not what you wear but what privacy leaking instant messaging Platform you're using and the swag you have! (Why swag yolo bollocks, why??????)

It really is a sad place to be in where the welfare of children is still uncertain thanks to the progression of technology and the amazing gift of being able to interact with anyone around the world. Yes the internet is amazing but how it's used now will no doubt change the way it's used in the future. With the creation of some of these services I won't lie it worries me that today's youth may be blissfully unaware of what dangers that may be lurking around them without realising it. The internet is changing at a breakneck pace and the boundaries that were pushed by the pioneers are now abused by some developers who see the youth as money and a wealth of free personal information to sell on!

And then there's the ever growing pressures on teens to be something special to their peers. As set by our lovely media, government and the schools. The schools are not completely to blame here but some of the things children are taught is set by how much money the government will give them based on the performance of the schools exam grades, one school has even cut study leave here to make sure they get the grades that'll ensure the get the best grades. Best not to worry about the stresses of the kids, despite three in every classroom having a diagnosed mental health issue. The kids are the reason you get the money. They should in my opinion be given more support to flourish in their exams to try and reduce the stress!

Then we have the getting out and doing things, for many their idea of going out is chatting on snapchat or playing games on Steam, which is really sad but at the same time reflects the way young people are tarred with the same brushes these days, don a hoodie and you're a thug. Try and help someone and they think you're up to no good they cannot win. Yes I understand there are some absolute little shitbags out there but the justification of placing all teens on one shelf annoys the hell out of me. Nobody did this to me and my friends when we were younger and we were in some cases down right nasty just like everyone can be at times I suppose.
Those who do go out as I mentioned are tarred so it's sad to see, hence many prefer to stay in groups or stay inside. Meaning many are not as active or imaginative as they could be, that is really sad to me.
I'm if we look deeper into it, the world will see it as a generation thing. But that is a double edged sword now. As the kids are ready to defend themselves and are taught to stand up for their rights while at the same time the judgement of the same kids happens when they try and defend their rights. In many cases by those who are scared of change and the good or bad it may bring. Any changes should not be at the expense of our youth. Kids today need more support in my eyes, the fact is many hidden talents are ignored due to the fact they are judged by appearance and what the mainstream media thinks of them. Hence if one pulls out the stops to show they can stand up and be counted it's a trivial news story! Ignoring the dozens of others who do good.

I wonder what we can do to change this as right now I'm unsure, in part due to concerns kids are not getting the ability to do things they can do or feel proud of. There are some projects willing to help kids and teens do things like the RockCorps where in exchange for free gig tickets they help out and see the effect on the community it has, depending on where they are held.
Then there are projects like the Houghton Regis Adventure Playground built upon the foundations of previous playground projects where the kids take charge and work together to get a place to be proud of and at the same time they will respect as they help develop it. Meaning they have somewhere safe away from prejudicial judging for being young. I'm sure this emphasis on communities working together was seen in a long closed project in Marsh farm, Luton (I have contacted the relevant people about this for confirmations)

Actually why can't we as a community look at creating a similar community based group as Marsh Farm have? It's relevant as it would help the community as a whole and no doubt would change the perception of many in the town, or even combine it as a group effort between Dunstable and Houghton Regis bring two communities together and collaborate with other community minded people and get into it.
Right that's it, I've got to drop some emails.


If you have any input or ideas on how to help support youth in the area please say so in the comments below and I'll include them if relevant.

Paul

Road Safety Fail?

You all know i'm a cyclist. Confident enough to take control of my lane where safe to do so, but with enough respect for other road users that I'm glad it's rubbing off on locals. I'm not perfect at it but Willing to learn from and fix mistakes I make.

But there are places where nobody bar the planners need to apologise for.

Houghton road's new modifications are horrically dangerous to cyclists.

Look at the image below (click it for larger) where the cycle lane moves to and from the pavement to where the flow of traffic goes over said lanes. 

These lanes in green are to protect less than confident cyclists. but in reality they are poorly designed. i've been hooked by cars where the chevrons kick out suddenly and most drivers move suddenly with them. Right over the cycle path and over the other cycle path as they've put it on a corner.

Imagine pulling out thinking it's safe to do so as your following the lane (many kids do this as there are many schools around this road) and being under a 38 bus or a Meeks of luton wagon for following the path set by the planners. Well it's a severe possibility I've witnessed at least 3 near misses this month alone

Secondly the angle of the pavement and cycle path merging is stupidly small on the approach to the junction. the path widens 20 ft after the cyclist has entered the joint use area. Also the drop in the pavement is too small. resulting in sharp turning or near missing the fence. And for cyclists using trailers it's miles too tight and could result in tipping it over.

I will be presenting this to houghton regis town council as well as I don't wish for anyone to be hurt. But this does need to be looked into.

Paul