Ref. 23354-46There's good news on the buses where increased reliability has spurred more people to use public transport. GILES SHELDRICK reports on why there has been this change in attitude.

MORE people are using buses in congested Swindon, new figures have revealed.

Thamesdown Transport the town's main bus company carried two per cent more passengers in the 12-months to March compared to the previous year. And since January the numbers have risen by five per cent.

The bus company makes around 10 million bus journeys a year and since the New Year has made 200,000 extra passenger journeys, such is demand for the transport.

The figures come against a national trend that has seen bus use outside of London decline, in spite of rising congestion on our roads.

John Owen, managing director of Thamesdown Transport, said: "There are a number of reasons for the growth.

"The improved network of bus services introduced last December has provided new links and speeded up journeys.

"Our continuing investment in new low-floor, easy access buses makes our services available to people who previously had difficulty using public transport.

"But perhaps the main reason has been improved reliability.

"While buses do still get delayed by traffic, roadworks and illegal parking we're now running over 99.9 per cent of our scheduled journeys.

"With the aid of bus lanes more than 90 per cent are within the on-time definition of between one minute early and five minutes late.

"While we're aiming to be better still, this is a considerable improvement on our performance five years ago.

"Swindon's traffic is forecast to grow at double the national average.

"So, if we're not to get gridlock in the future with the damage it will do to the economy and the environment, it's important that we encourage as many people as possible to use alternatives to the car such as walking, cycling and public transport."

Many people have turned to the bus because of their dismay at escalating town centre car parking charges and the rise in the amount of hold-ups and roadworks.

Swindon Council benefits from the town centre car park to the tune of £3m a year and controls some 5,000 off-street car parking spaces with a further 400 in Old Town.

Private parking operators control around 1,000 spaces the majority of which are created around the station and there is a handful of on-street waiting spaces of one to two hours on the fringe of the shopping centre.

But perhaps the most significant reason why people appear to be using the buses is the change of image they are trying to market.

Far from buses being graffiti-strewn, dirty, and full of mischievous teenagers, the buses are trying to promote themselves as a clean, safe and enjoyable environment in which to travel.

Bus driver Robert Fraser, 32, said: "I think our reputation has improved but at the same time congestion in the town has got worse.

"Now a simple two-mile journey can take half an hour and people have to pay lots to park once they arrive in the town centre.

"Most of the buses now go to all the news estates and they stop at convenient places.

"Ultimately I can see congestion charges being introduced because the problem is getting so bad and that will mean more people using buses.

"I've only been working for six months, but already I've noticed more and more people using the buses.

"Negotiating the roadworks though can be a nightmare especially in Old Town where it's absolute murder.

"People know where they stand wit the bus, it's cheap, reliable, clean and very simple to use."