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Getting About the Dyfi Valley

1st May 2005

An assessment of local people's priorities for transport

Getting about the Dyfi Valley report cover The Summary is below. For the full report click here [Word doc 812kB] or contact Cyril Evans for a printed copy.

Summary

This report looks at how people in the Powys part of the Dyfi Valley would like to see transport improved. It identifies key priorities for action, mainly aimed at meeting local need although also likely to benefit visitors. Taken together, these actions could deliver a much better transport network, which in turn would bring benefits in other areas of concern to Communities First, especially health, training and the economy.

There is a high level of dissatisfaction with bus services in all areas except Machynlleth itself and villages immediately to the north (e.g. Aberllefenni, Ceinws). Outside these areas, between 77% and 100% of residents say the service is quite or very poor.

The main improvements people would like are:

More frequent buses on main routes, especially Machynlleth Ð Newtown
Some form of community bus two days per week for villages off main roads
Better bus services in the evenings and on Sundays
Buses that connect with trains
Up to date timetables at bus stops, and better information generally
Better maintained buses, with low floor access and space for bikes, pushchairs and shopping bags.

There were many examples of bus timetables that simply did not work Ð for example, allowing either 40 minutes or 4 hours for shopping in Machynlleth, or getting people to work but not back home in the evening, or vice versa.

Train services were felt to be better than buses.The main changes people would like are:

A train request stop between Machynlleth and Caersws
Better train services at weekends and in the evening
Buses that meet trains
An hourly service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.

Conditions for walking and cycling were a cause of much concern.

In villages on main roads, 66% said pavements were quite or very poor; and more than half said traffic speeds were much too fast. People wanted to see:

Foot / cycle paths on main roads, especially from Machynlleth to Penegoes and Derwenlas, and also from Cwm Llinau to Cemmaes Road and in Llanbrynmair. Many people argued for these to be on all main roads, including for example Machynlleth Ð Aberystwyth.
Lower speed limits and better enforcement in Cemmaes, Llanbrynmair, Commins Coch, Derwenlas and Machynlleth.
Better signing and maintenance of public rights of way.
Better cleaning of paths away from the main streets in Machynlleth.

People's opinions were sought about eight specific transport improvements. These were:

An 'on demand' shared taxibus at evenings and weekends on the main roads out of Machynlleth, which 55 Ð 81% of people on the different corridors said they would definitely use, or might use.
Foot / cycle paths to Penegoes and Derwenlas, which 90% of Penegoes residents and 81% of Derwenlas residents said they would definitely use.
A car-sharing scheme, which would be most valuable for the 60% of people with jobs in Aberystwyth, Machynlleth and Newtown, especially those living in villages without a bus service.
Safe routes to school schemes. The most useful parts of these would be foot / cycle paths from Penegoes and Derwenlas (to Machynlleth schools) and a path from the 'Lloyd George' bridge to the village centre (Llanbrynmair school).
A Village Link community bus, which 50% of households in villages on possible routes said they would or might find useful. There was a strong preference for this to run on Fridays or Saturdays (in addition to market day) and to give people 2 Ð 3 hours in town, preferably in the morning.
A car club. The greatest interest in this was in Machynlleth, where 84 people said they would or might find it useful.
Wheels to Work, which about a quarter of potentially eligible households said they would or might use.

The report examined whether small-scale transport improvements could help the environment and reduce traffic. It found that for as many as a third of car journeys to work, drivers were receptive to the idea of travelling by public transport, foot or bike and this was currently possible or could readily be made so.

The main improvements that would facilitate such a shift were:

Targeted information about services that are already available (e.g. personalised journey planners), or information and help to start walking or cycling.
Development and promotion of a car-sharing database.
Outward and return public transport at the start and end of the working day between Newtown, Machynlleth and Tywyn, with interavailable tickets for buses and trains.
Foot / cycle paths between Derwenlas, Penegoes and Machynlleth.

For shopping trips, of which 73% are currently made by car, a home delivery service might be popular and effective at reducing car travel.

Fifteen issues were identified as priorities for future work. These were:

Village Link bus
Foot / cycle paths from Machynlleth to Derwenlas and Penegoes
Development and promotion of a car-sharing database
Better information and marketing of public transport services and targeted promotion of walking and cycling
More frequent bus service from Machynlleth to Newtown, possibly using demand-responsive taxibuses
Saturday night bus or taxibus
Review of existing bus schedules to better meet local need for work and shopping
More accessible buses
Increased speed enforcement and lower speed limits in villages on main roads
Foot / cycle path in Llanbrynmair
Development of the Machynlleth car club
A shopping home delivery service
Hourly train service from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury
Lobbying for a rail halt between Machynlleth and Caersws.