BUS USERS UK Campaign
Latest Press Releases
The Newsletter: Bus User
Bus Users Surgeries
You can help!
How do I join?

We aim:

• To strengthen the voice of bus users in the discussion of public transport issues

• To increase the influence of bus passengers on local and national decisions affecting bus services

• To develop good communication between bus companies and their passengers

How does BUS USERS UK work?
Bus services are local by nature, and have different strengths and weaknesses in different locations. So:

• We help set up local bus users groups
• We organise local bus users surgeries, where passengers can get to talk to their bus managers and local government officers, tell them what they think — and hear their viewpoint, too
• We arrange meetings with bus companies and local authorities
• We help with local problems, both for individuals and for groups
• We are represented on the Bus Appeals Body
• We encourage and promote good practice in the bus industry

BUS USERS UK Campaign
We lobby local and national Government for measures to help to improve bus services for everyone. These measures include:

Traffic schemes which help the bus.
Bus lanes, traffic lights that see the bus coming and turn to green and lots of simpler measures that just make it easier for the bus: these things all help to give passengers a quicker journey and make services more reliable and cheaper to run — and therefore keep fares down. We also want to see buses able to get right into shopping centres, close to railway stations and other places where you need to be.

Stricter quality standards.
Some bus companies are very good, but let’s face it — others need to improve. We want to see high standards of bus service, and in places with more than one company we want to see competition that benefits everyone, not destructive competition where everyone’s a loser.

Adequate support from public funds and lower fuel taxes.
Buses can provide the answer everyone’s looking for to reduce traffic congestion — so we want to see more support from local and central government to help bus services and we want to see lower fuel taxes for buses to encourage bus companies to provide high-quality services which are easy to use and reach the highest environmental standards.

Better co-ordination.
This means bus operators working together to give you a better service, better connections with rail services, better waiting facilities, information that you can find easily, understand and rely on, and through tickets for journeys involving more than one bus or bus and train.

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Bus Users Surgeries
We organise ‘surgeries’ aboard a bus parked in the town/city centre all over the country. These give passengers chance to meet and discuss their concerns with the people responsible for the provision of local bus services. Operators are expected to follow up the surgery sessions with a letter to every passenger that does not receive a full answer on the day. We write to everybody a few months later to see if they are happy with the response and to invite them to a follow up meeting. A report on the meeting is sent to all those bus users who respond to our invitation.

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Bus User
BUS USERS UK produces a newsletter, Bus User, four times a year, which is FREE to members

Editor:
Stephen Morris
PO Box 119
Shepperton TW17 8UX

Bus User contains 32 pages of feature articles and news about current issues and developments in bus travel throughout the UK as well as reports about BUS USERS UK activities. There is a members’ letters page.

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Good Practice Guide
Gavin Booth, BUS USERS UK Chairman and well-known transport journalist and bus passenger, has produced a compilation of passengers' views of good practice; a new edition is due during 2007.

Go to the Good Practice page for full details

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Download New Deal for Bus Users (PDF 45k)
To view the file you need to use Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Download it free of charge here.

You can help!
‘By becoming a member of BUS USERS UK, you can work with us to get the voice of passenger heard where it counts and help us get a better deal for buses and their users. Encourage your friends, relations and other passengers to join the BUS USERS UK locally.’

says Dr Caroline Cahm MBE, MCIT, President of BUS USERS UK.

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How do I join?
Easy! Just print out and fill in the form and send it with your subscription. You’ll find details on the form.

Membership is available to anyone who uses buses for whatever purpose. It doesn’t matter if you only use them occasionally. It’s also open to groups of bus users and organisations who share our concern for better public transport.

Bus companies and local authorities which share our desire to improve communication with passengers and who support the Confederation of Passenger Transport’s Code of Good Practice can take out associate membership; please write to us for details.

Click here for a printable membership form

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