The first month of new bus runs is a challenge, not only in ensuring that volunteer drivers get to know the eight daily route variations, but also as we’re unsure how many passengers will get on at each stop.
“The first two weeks operating have seen lots of residents watching the bus curiously as it has gone through towns and villages. It’s only when you see this you realise many of the places we now cover simply haven’t had any form of bus service in over a decade!”
Andrew Kerry-Bedell, bus project manager and WSCC Councillor for Bourne
According to the volunteer Bourne minibus drivers the most popular routes are the regular runs into Emsworth high street and to the big Tesco Extra, which also gives easy access to Havant Town centre.
“It’s a case of trying out daily routes and timetables to see where most people get on the bus and when. Even with parish and resident feedback we’ve had to second guess a lot of the stops. We don’t know what will work best until the bus has run for a month or two. Once we’ve seen what travel patterns emerge the beauty of this service is that we can easily change stops and times to best meet local resident needs.”