Lib Dems Call for Interim Queen Street Plans to be Scrapped

3.09.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Apr 2009

Commenting on the County Council's interim plans to remove bus stops from Queen Street, Cllr Roz Smith, Shadow Cabinet member for Transport, said: "The Liberal Democrats have long been calling for improvements in Oxford city centre to help both pedestrians and bus users. But the Tories' half-way house for Queen Street is just not the way to do it. The way the bus stops will be removed but not the buses doesn't make sense. People will have all the disadvantages - and potential dangers - of having buses mingling with pedestrians, but none of the advantages of being able to actually get on a bus.

"Instead we will merely get more congestion and air pollution in St Aldates immediately - to the detriment of that street - and we know that the bus stops removed from Queen Street will eventually be moved again in later phases of the Transform Oxford scheme. How confusing will that be to those who use the buses?

"Also, the idea of re-surfacing Queen Street now, only to resurface it again in a year or two when the buses are finally relocated fully, is a real waste of taxpayers' money."

Cllr Zoé Patrick, Leader of the Liberal Democrats said, "'The Tories say they want to work with the bus companies but show little sign of actually rolling up their sleeves and getting on with it. Instead of complaining about the bus companies, they should be sitting down with them to create a proper partnership. This will enable joint timetabling and joint ticketing, and hopefully then reduce the number of half-empty buses coming into the centre. And this will then make room on the other roads to remove buses completely from Queen Street and allow it to be properly pedestrianised.

"This Partnership needs to be set up urgently now. The aims of 'Transform Oxford' cannot be delivered until the bus companies can work together. I am surprised at the slowness of the County Council in doing this."

Note:

The 2008 Local Transport Act allows bus companies to discuss routes and introduce joint ticketing, without being accused of running a cartel, but only if the Transport Authority - in this case the County Council - is involved in the process, acting as "honest broker", in what is called a Bus Quality Partnership.