Changes to some of Guernsey’s routes have been announced after bus users gave feedback on the existing services.
Proposals had included dropping several “low usage routes”, but those plans have been amended following the public consultation.
A “considerable number of respondents” had concerns with some of the original proposals – with further feedback wanted on some of the updated plans.
Stagecoach
Public transport has seen a crucial reworking over the past 15 months, with a new bus operator announced and a proposed revamp of the routes it runs.
In March last year, Stagecoach took over as the main operator for the island.
Ten months later the States announced plans to “improve punctuality, reliability, and accuracy of the bus timetable”.
What’s changed since January?
The original plan was to combine the 93 and 94 routes by entirely withdrawing the 94 and increasing the frequency of Route 93.
Instead, both the Route 93 and Route 94 will be retained on their existing two-hourly timetables.
This change specifically protects the direct connection from the Airport to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
The States said a majority of responses on the latter issue were from Alderney residents who rely on this service when travelling to Guernsey for hospital appointments.
January’s proposals also suggested Route 60 be axed, and Route 61 be diverted away from less busy stops west of Kings Mills, bypassing Le Coudre and Pleinmont.
This would have significantly reduced direct access from the west coast to St Peter’s Village.
While the withdrawal of Route 60 is still going ahead, the inbound Route 61 has been substantially redesigned compared to the January draft.
It will now operate via Pleinmont, Le Coudre, Longfrie, Le Frie Baton, La Grande Rue, and Perelle before rejoining its normal route, ensuring the vital connection up to St Peter’s Village is maintained.
Plans from the start of the year also saw a wider sweep of low-occupancy early morning services facing cancellation in order to save resources.
Following feedback from early-shift workers, several early morning journeys have been saved from the chopping block, though the 05:30 (Route 11), 06:15 (Route 12), and 05:10 (Route 61) runs are still set to be removed.
The core elements of the January plan, including the creation of the Route 51/52 town circular, the removal of the specialized “S” evening routes, and the shift to on-request paper tickets, all remain on the table.
E&I eager for more engagement
The Committee responsible for public transport is now running a new follow-up consultation on these revised routes before making a final decision.
President of Environment & Infrastructure, Deputy Adrian Gabriel said the feedback from bus users and the wider public has been “invaluable” in their efforts to “refine” the proposals in place.
Deputy Gabriel added they “are pleased” to be progressing with planned improvements which have been “designed to make services more reliable and better suited to people’s needs, while ensuring they remain deliverable at no net additional cost”.
“We want to make sure the final timetable works as well as possible for the community, and I would encourage anyone with an interest to take this opportunity to review the updated proposals and share their views at passengertransport@gov.gg.”
The new timetable, completed following the public consultations, is expected to go live in September.
For those interested in seeing the planned changes in full, or voicing their opinions on the route revamp, there’s more on the States website.
