Publications
Villages and Beyond: A case study of Connect2Wiltshire
by Alan James, Wayconsult Associates
Commissioned by Wiltshire Council
Published by Association of Kennet Passengers, April 2010
Click on image for full report. Executive summary here.
As local authorities struggle to make savings without cutting front line services Villages and Beyond is an important and timely rural public tranport case study . The subject of the report is the flexible service Connect2Wiltshire which operates in the Pewsey Vale, successor to Wiltshire's Wigglybus. The report shows how rural buses whose prospects are fragile can be made more viable. Fine grain analysis building on focused survey work previously carried out have brought about a suite of options. The most promising could be, for instance, a combination of free ranging taxibuses and straightened out circular routes. So long as overheads are rigorously reviewed, the community brought into the heart of the scheme and services properly marketed in partnership with the operator these options should be tested. Guiding principles to Wiltshire Council are explained in Chapter 8.
A travel information station for Devizes: Feasibility Study
Working document and summary of interim findings
Study conducted by Kennet Passengers - October 2008
The feasibility study investigates costs and viability of a specialist travel centre for Devizes. The work is backed up by a supportive public opinion survey of 118 face to face interviews and a video "Did you know?". The information station project is work in progress but first needs the support of a county wide policy by the emerging Unitary Authority for integration of information, travel, and tourism.
The key message from the report is that a travel centre is the first port of call for finding out how to access Devizes and how to plan better transport links. The report concludes that a travel centre should be hosted by the Tourist Information Centre but that a pilot needs to demonstrate its worth for businesses in the town, tourism, social inclusion and encourage people to consider alternatives to contributing to traffic in Devizes. Kennet Passengers has been working towards a one stop shop for travel information since 2006 with several partners including Community First and more recently Devizes Town Council. This study moves Kennet Passengers one step nearer to fulfilling their ambitions for a virtual station for travel information for Devizes.
Planning for a Step-Change: A passenger Transport Strategy for Rural Areas
by Peter Headicar, Reader in Transport Planning, Oxford Brookes University.
Published by Kennet Passengers - April 2004
Summary avaialable here
Kennet Passengers posed the a question to transport academic Peter Headicar "why is it easier to get from Marlborough to Paris than it is to Devizes, a dozen miles down the road?" The answer describes the way that passenger transport for rural areas is planned, how it is funded and goes on to recommend better structures and the right sort of funding for a step-change.
A step-change in rural transport was promised in the late 1990s to address every growing rural car use and a declining bus network incapable of meeting today's travel needs. New funds such as the Rural Bus Challenge which led to a new generation of flexible services such as Connect2 Wiltshire (formerly Wiltshire Wigglybus). However in 2004 Government withdrew much of these rural transport funds and the prospects of realising the step-change began to recede. This report is an essential accompaniment to any debate on the future of rural transport anda genuine change for greater coherence of the national network.
Joining in Public Transport: Key issues for rural access
by Alan James, EcoLogica (2002)
Published by SWTAR and Countryside Agency
This report charts a vision for rural public transport and its management. It is based on an evaluation of Wigglybus, a project that members of Kennet Passengers were associated with prior to its inception and since. It was written towards the end of its first phase of funding in the Pewsey Vale in 2002.
The key message is: If local residents are able to bring about one of the most outstanding national rural transport projects of its time then there is every reason to believe that rural communities can go further. The scheme shows how a rural service can reach a higher standard of access than the current rural networks which are rarely commercial and are heavily reliant on school transport. The service is addressing the needs of the formerly housebound. To secure its future the service needs to go further and meet the needs of a more car reliant market. The report argues that the key to unlocking high quality rural public transport rests with communities supported by regional and local authorities.
John Stewart (Chair of Campaign for Better Transport) writes in his foreword, the vision is one that doesn't assume that "the private car should be the backbone of rural transport provision with other forms of transport relegated to a residual 'mopping up' role."
Responses
Response to Consultaton on Core Strategy:
Kennet's Local Development Framework
Authors: Association of Kennet Passengers, July 2008
Kennet Passengers recommends that:
(a) the Sustainable Core Strategy for Devizesa should include a public transport plan for bus and rail access
(b) a Community Area Travel Plan, and that
(b) developer contributions should contribute to the above and that contributions should be realistic, timely, and linked to 'bus inflation' (costs which are running higher than the current rate of inflation).
NOTE: Comprehensive public transport and traffic data was not available at the time of writing our response.
Kennet District Council's consultation documents are available here: Making Places for the Future
Other publications
Transport Statistics Great Britain
Department for Transport November 
For those with more than a passing interest in transport. TSGB includes an analysis of trends in transport, attitudes towards transport, accidents and casualties, and patronage of public transport over the years, traffic and vehicle data. The electronic data tables that make up TSGB are available on Department for Transport web-site. This link takes you to the Department for Transport's website.
