29 April 2010
The Free Bus Day last Sunday (25 April) saw a 55% increase in the number of passengers using the bus network.
The event, organised by Transport and Technical Services (TTS) in conjunction with Connex, attracted 5,274 people on to the buses – an increase of more than half on average figures for Sunday's at this time of year.
Free bus day was held to encourage more people to consider bus travel as a good alternative to taking the car. It also coincided with the Tour de Bretagne cycle race and the double decker bus trial.
Due to the Tour de Bretagne race at Gorey, routes to the east were particularly popular and additional services on route 1a to support the increase in passengers on route 1. At total of 1,671 passengers travelled on routes 1 and 1a, an increase of 1,093 on the same Sunday last year.
The double decker bus also proved popular with 423 passengers travelling on its services from Liberation Station to St Aubin. Surveys undertaken on the bus during the day indicate that about a third of people on the double decker were not regular passengers on that route.
Managing Director of Connex Transport Jersey Ltd, Eric Le Roux, said “It is very pleasing to see that so many people took advantage of the free bus day. We hope that this initiative, combined with the high profile double decker trial, will encourage more people to think about bus travel as a realistic alternative to travelling by car. We were also delighted to be able to support the Tour de Bretagne Cycle Race through the provision of additional services to Gorey.”
TTS Minister, Connétable Mike Jackson, added “We are working with Connex and delivering improvements to the bus service. Last Sunday was about tempting more people to use the bus and it is really encouraging to see that the public responded. I hope that those passengers who were not regular bus users will use public transport more often.”
gov.je