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Do you use the island’s bus service? Have you found yourself getting used to a route in the summer only to find that from September it is no longer operating?

Well now that could change as the island’s Transport Minister has proposed a number of changes to the usual winter schedule.

This will include an extra £14,500 being spent on the winter service than in previous years.

The Minister responsible wants to enhance the service and remove a number of inconsistencies with the summer timetable.

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In May, Connex began running an express commuter bus service to the Airport at 8.10 in the morning.  

Under the proposed changes to the winter timetable, that'll continue and two new services will be introduced.

There'll be an extra bus on the Route 23, at 8:10 which will go to Durrell and back to town. That's been introduced following requests from volunteers working at the zoo.

The 3B service from Liberation Square at 17:25, introduced in the summer schedule will also continue throughout the winter for those travelling to Five Oaks via St Saviours Hill.

Constable Jackson, Jersey’s Transport Minister explained that it was being done due to “demand, we try and respond to feedback from the bus travelling public.”

He went on to explain in more detail that: “In order to improve the service, we have a desire to reduce the car traffic on the road and in order to do that we have to improve the bus service and I’m determined to try and do that within the budget we have available at present.”

Although it is expected to cost £14,500 Constable Jackson believes it will pay for itself in the end. He said: “The route 15 express we instigated this summer has proven to be successful and we hope that will return £9500 of that total and other services have the potential to increase revenue of time as patronage increases and hopefully we’ll be in a break even position.”

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Recently there have been issues raised over a lack of wheelchair friendly busses and not enough busses on key routes.

Constable Jackson thinks that is something that will need to be raised when the contract to run the island’s bus network is next up for renewal.

He said: “It is a question of balance and indeed I think when the bus contract is renegotiated this is a point that needs to feature high on the agenda.

“It is not only wheelchairs but it is pushchairs and luggage on the airport busses. This is an issue we’re addressing and busses are being converted to accommodate this.”

And on the subject of bus capacity, he said: “I think the travelling inspectors report back on bus capacity and we’ve got to work closely with the marketing department as Connex to work out where extra need is required.

“Also Connex will put on extra busses where there is need that is what the inspectors feed back in to the system.

“Capacity is an issue and I’ve noticed from my travelling on the bus that they are well used; and that is what we want, but on the other hand we don’t want them full, we want them to be able to accommodate passengers on the way.”

Have your say

What do you think of the bus network in Jersey? Do you use the bus to get to and from work or do you prefer to take your car?