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View Full Version : Public Transport Campaign Group/petition/etc (8 threads merged!)



rfr10
19-Nov-07, 23:01
As the new convener of the Public Transport Campaign Group for Highland Youth Voice, The Youth Parliament of the Highlands, I am keen to improve the public transport service for all young people in the Highlands along with the rest of the committee. To do this we need the views of young people in the Highlands and also for adults to have their say on the transport system aswell. Over the next year, we hope to have as many transport companies as possible on the Young Scot Card and National Entitlement Card scheme offering high discounts for Young People in the Highlands. We will then go on to campaign to attempt to have free transport for young people as the current system is not working. We also hope to consult the bus drivers and their relationship with young people, the safety of public transport, issues with out-of-date timetables, bus stops without timetables and matters relating to other transport types aswell. We currently have a committee of 13 young people from across the Highlands who are very keen to campaign on this issue. We will work with the other campaign groups which are: Health, Media and Schools to improve the Highlands for young people.

We now need your views on how the transport system could be improved for both young people and adults. Please contribute efficiently and your views will be very much appreciated no matter how little you provide. The campaigns will run in conjunction with the UK Youth Parliament Campaigns. Details of the transport campaign can be found at http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/faresfair.html

Thank you for any views in advance. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

rfr10
20-Nov-07, 21:18
Not sure if anyone is interested but anyway.

Currently in our campaign, we have produced a petition which will be sent to the Prime Minister if accepted for the pm.gov petition site. The link to the petition will be posted here and anyone interested in signing it is more than welcome.

That's all for now. Please post your views as asked before. We really really do need them!

Thanks

rfr10
20-Nov-07, 21:38
Two petitions are being created. One to the PM and a seperate to the Scottish Government. The second petition is located at

http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html

PLEASE SIGN IT!

We rely on your support!

hotrod4
21-Nov-07, 07:43
Dont know if this is still relevant as havent used the bus for a while.
While travelling from Wick to Thurso and back for work had to endure nightmare trips on old cold Double decker busses that had barely any headlights on a dark night.These were the busses also used for transporting teenagers to and from College. Dont think they have these now(hopefully) but I would say the first thing needed would have to be safety undertaken by companies who transport passengers.Sometimes I wondered if i would make it home such was the state of these vehicles.

rfr10
21-Nov-07, 17:52
Dont know if this is still relevant as havent used the bus for a while.
While travelling from Wick to Thurso and back for work had to endure nightmare trips on old cold Double decker busses that had barely any headlights on a dark night.These were the busses also used for transporting teenagers to and from College. Dont think they have these now(hopefully) but I would say the first thing needed would have to be safety undertaken by companies who transport passengers.Sometimes I wondered if i would make it home such was the state of these vehicles.

Well, safety is the next thing to deal with in our campaign so let's hope we can do something about it.

So far, not much support on here is being shown which is disappointing really. Within about 19 hours, we have already received more than 30 petition signatures which shows there is a lot of support. By the end of the week, I expect there to be at least 50 signatures which takes us half way from completing our petition. I would really like to see more support on here though if at all possible. Please show your support by commenting on public transport, give your views/ issues and suggest how they can be resolved. We are really putting a lot of effort into this campaign and we expect it to do very well. No matter what age you are, you can still sign our petition online now at: http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html

Please, we really need to see your support. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions by private message or email robin.falconer1@btinternet.com

Thank you.

rfr10
21-Nov-07, 21:32
Just an update for anyone interested to say that we've now reached this weeks target for our petition with 50 signatures. We are well on our way to our total target of 100 and we've still got until the 20th of April to get them!

rfr10
23-Nov-07, 17:11
Once again for anyone interested, we now have over 80 online signatures for our petition and more than 20 handwritten ones which shows we have alot of support and we've already reached our total target of 100 so looks like we'll keep going to see how many more we can get.

If anyone is supportive of this petition, could you please tell friends and family about it and ask them to sign it aswell please. The link has been posted above this post somewhere.


Thank you!

Errogie
23-Nov-07, 23:38
Please remember that most trips are less than 2 miles and that often the best and the healthiest way to do that is by personal, non polluting zero carbon footprint cycling or walking.

So, don't get entirely hung up on vehicles, liberate yourselves from that dependency and push for better foot and cycle paths and places on buses and trains for bikes

rfr10
24-Nov-07, 00:55
Please remember that most trips are less than 2 miles and that often the best and the healthiest way to do that is by personal, non polluting zero carbon footprint cycling or walking.

So, don't get entirely hung up on vehicles, liberate yourselves from that dependency and push for better foot and cycle paths and places on buses and trains for bikes

Fair enough if you didn't want to travel far but I doubt that people who live away out in the country are going to cycle miles and miles to get into town. Also, I wouldn't cycle from Wick to Thurso every day and definitly not from Wick to Inverness. Good comment anyway, yes people should be using bikes more but I haven't been asked to campaign on that. Sorry.


Update: There are now more than 120 online signatures and many paper signatures. All secondary school head teachers have been contacted to promote the petition in all their schools and Young Scot have been contacted to attempt to make the petition Scotland wide.

JAWS
24-Nov-07, 01:56
The best way to improve transport is to provide adequate free off the street parking.
Public Transport is fine provided you only wish to go to the destinations it is provided for and only wish to get there during the times it is available.

Even in a fairly large town or city Public Transport is a joke. Unless, that is, you work from Monday to Friday and during what is laughingly called "The Working Day", which would be better described as the period during which mainly Managers and Office Workers are sat behind their desks.

rfr10
26-Nov-07, 18:02
Another update for anyone interested. I can't see many people who are here but I'll tell you anyway..

We now have over 180 petition signatures in total (This is just from the Highlands)

We have contacted all the Secondary Schools in the Highlands to make all schools aware of the campaign, We've contacted Young Scot to make the petition Scotland wide and also the Scottish Youth Parliament and the UK Youth Parliament to ask them to officially support our petition.

The response is actually greater than expected in such a short time of the petition being set up. Thank you to anyone who has signed the petition reading this. Please anyone who hasn't signed it, could you sign it as wee need as much support as possible. No matter how old you are, you can sign the petition if you agree with what it states.

Thanks!

rfr10
03-Dec-07, 18:44
Just to be clear.

The address on the front page is for the UK Youth Parliament's Transport petition. Could you please sign that petition AND the Highland Youth Voice's petition which is located at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html


Thank you.

rfr10
05-Dec-07, 23:32
PLEASE, only 3 more people are needed to sign the Highland Youth Voice, Public Transport Petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html)

No matter what age you are, you can sign the petition. We need to reach our finalised target of 200 online signatures.

If we can reach this target, in total, we will have 343 signatures

All you have to do is click the link above, click sign the petition, enter your name and email address and you've succesfuly signed the petition. You will not receive any junk email. You will only be sent ONE email to confirm your signature and then you will not be contacted any more with regards to the petition.

PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT- IT WILL NOT TAKE LONG TO DO AND WILL TAKE LITTLE EFFORT.


THANK YOU!

shazzap
06-Dec-07, 00:11
Hope mine helps

rfr10
06-Dec-07, 00:16
Hope mine helps

It certainly will. Thank you very much!

mccaugm
06-Dec-07, 00:17
Duly signed.....good luck with the final signatories.

rfr10
06-Dec-07, 00:18
Duly signed.....good luck with the final signatories.


Thank you!

Well it's gone down from 15 signatures to 6 now within the last 5 minutes so that's great!

anneoctober
06-Dec-07, 00:27
How many required now? Am trying to drum up support from the family!:lol:

rfr10
06-Dec-07, 00:27
Come on, 200 signatures by the end of tonight! :D

rfr10
06-Dec-07, 00:29
How many required now? Am trying to drum up support from the family!:lol:

Only three. Any more will be a bonus!

Thanks!

bluelady
06-Dec-07, 02:51
Have added mine and 3 more from e family, have you enough now?

rfr10
06-Dec-07, 16:49
Yeah, thanks!

We have now met out finalised target. I'll keep the petition open until Monday to see if we do receive any more signatures.


Thanks for everyones help!

anneoctober
07-Dec-07, 20:16
Bumping - just to see if anyone else wants to sign the "ON-line" petition.:D

rfr10
08-Dec-07, 19:48
(Online deadline- MONDAY 10TH DECEMBER)

I'd like to now say a big thank you to the pupils of Wick High School and Lochaber High School for their petition response. 143 signatures were gathered from Wick High School and 384 signatures were gathered from Lochaber High School.

The current online count is 214 signatures bringing the total so far to 741! This is a great response.

If we receive the same amount of support as Lochaber High School from just one more school, this will bring the total to over 1000 signatures!

You can also help us reach this target by signing the online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html

It takes a matter of seconds to sign the petition and you can set your email address to 'private' if you do not wish to be contacted with regards to the petition.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION NOW, IT WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A CERTAIN AGE TO SIGN THE PETITION.

Sign now at http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html

Thank you!

rfr10
09-Dec-07, 12:53
The online petition closes tomorrow. Please get your signatures in. We really really would like to reach 1000. The current total is 743.

Thanks.

rfr10
09-Dec-07, 23:51
As refered to in a previous post.

The online petition will close at 12 am on Monday 10th December 2007.

We are now aiming for 1000 signatures. The current total is more than 700.

With your support, we can reach this target.

Please could as many people as possible sign the petition if you have not done so already. It will take a matter of seconds.

Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/hyvtcg/petition.html

Please, if you are reading this and you want to support us then please sign it.

Thank you.

rfr10
01-Jan-08, 18:35
For anyone interested the recent transport petition by Highland Youth Voice attracted more than 700 signatures and was officially lodged to the Scottish Parliament on 17th December 2007. The petition template can be viewed at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/petitions/pdfs/PE1107.pdf for anyone interested.

Thanks once again for the support of everyone who signed the petition.

rfr10
09-Jan-08, 22:54
From the Press & Journal:



ROBIN, 16, CALLS FOR LOW-COST TRANSPORT


08:50 - 08 January 2008




An Aspiring teenage politician has called on the Scottish Government to reduce the cost of public transport for young people in the Highlands.

Robin Falconer, 16, claims many people aged under 18 in full-time education are disadvantaged by high bus and train fares, particularly those from isolated communities.


He said a change in policy is needed as people aged 16 and over who are still at school have to pay adult fares and many cannot afford it. The Wick High School pupil is also calling for young people with no income to either travel free or pay only half the adult fare.

Mr Falconer, a member of Highland Youth Voice, a 100-member strong parliament-style organisation, has lodged a 788-signature petition at the Scottish Parliament.

The fifth-year pupil says lowering fares would improve the social lives of people from villages and hamlets who struggle to get to towns such as Wick and Thurso, and increase their chances of finding part-time jobs.

A return train ticket from Wick to Inverness costs £19.20 or £9.60 with a rail card. The journey takes around 4 hours.

Mr Falconer, of Moray Street, Wick, said: "A lot of young people who are still at school don't have jobs and are disadvantaged because they cannot afford to pay for transport.

"If the situation were to change, people would be able to get around more easily on public transport which would be good for the environment as there would less car journeys."

Mr Falconer, convener of Highland Youth Voice's transport committee, said pensioners are entitled to discount travel, and young people in certain circumstances ought to be too.

Jamie McGrigor, a Conservative Highland and Islands MSP, said: "The petition is an interesting idea, and I am extremely sympathetic because it will wake people up to how expensive transport is in the Highlands".

Pablo Mascarenhas, youth development worker at Highland Council, said: "The Scottish Government does have a discount travel-card scheme for people which we administer but the terms are set nationally."

The petition is expected to be considered by MSPs on the public petitions committee next month.

rfr10
23-Jan-08, 22:02
For the information of anyone interested. The Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee will meet to discuss the Transport Petition lodged by Highland Youth Voice's Transport Campaign group on Tuesday 29 January 2008 @ 2pm.

If you'd like to watch the live broadcast of the meeting, click on the following link:

http://www.holyrood.tv/popup.asp?stream=http://vr-bng.lbwa.verio.net/committee2 (mhtml:{2AA04E88-0289-4AF1-9CE1-B1C6C56EFB3C}mid://00000015/!x-usc:http://www.holyrood.tv/popup.asp?stream=http://vr-bng.lbwa.verio.net/committee2)

If the link does not work, highlight it, copy it and paste it into your web browser.


If anyone is interested in the final outcome of the petition, I will be sent a letter after the meeting so you can send me an email or private message and I will keep you updated.




Thank you,

rfr10
30-Jan-08, 17:18
If you've been following the petition then you'll know what this message is about.

The Public Petitions committee met yesterday at 2pm in Hollyrood to discuss the transport petition.

The committee's response is stated below:

The Committee agreed to seek responses to the issues raised in the petition from the Scottish Government, Young Scot, Scottish Youth Parliament and First Group plc.

These organisations have been asked to respond by 5th of March. Their responses will then be sent to me for final comments before the next Public Petitions committee meeting where they will discuss the responses given.

If you did not get the chance to see the live broadcast, you can watch it again at:

http://www.holyrood.tv/popup.asp?stream=http://vr-sp-archive.lbwa.verio.net/archive/petitions_290108.wmv

As there were many petitions discussed, the transport petition is not at the beginning, it is near the middle so you can slide the bar at the bottom across. They meet after the break so if you come across some different coloured verticle lines on the video, the petition is discussed right after this.

If you have any questions then don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you.

*Martin*
30-Jan-08, 22:37
I thought this was going to be about the Jeremy Clarkson for PM petition :(

rfr10
30-Jan-08, 22:41
No, sorry to disappoint you :Razz

rfr10
19-Feb-08, 17:15
....IT'S NOT REALLY, JUST A WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO READ! PLEASE DON'T STOP THOUGH. READ ON!


---


PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT THIS AND THINK "BORING" WE NEED YOUR HELP!


Please could you (regardless of your age) give your views on the public transport system currently running in the UK. Whether it is buses, trains, taxis, etc.


Although Highland Youth Voice aim to resolve the issues faced by young people, we now need the views of people from all generations to match similar issues with young people.


Public Transport was voted the main issue faced by young people in the Highlands at a previous Conference in Carbisdale Castle. The Youth Parliament set up campaign groups to deal with the 5 main issues faced with young people across the Highlands of Scotland. Some of the issues expressed by young people are listed below:



Transport companies not accepting Young Scot/ National Entitlement Cards.

Companies accepting Young Scot cards not offering enough discount.

Over 16’s still paying full adult fares even if they’re in full time education.

Need of taxi vouchers- council subsidising costs.

Free transport for all young people as current system is not working.

Buses in some areas not running frequently enough. Only buses running, leave far too late or return too early.

Safety on buses. Some buses have seatbelts that don’t work and others don’t have any seatbelts at all!

Bus stops without timetables/ old timetables causing confusion.

More buses for schools incase you’re late for the first one.

Bus timetables change in some areas for winter/ summer.

Inconvenient times for the time of year.

The issue currently being dealt with is the fact that over 16’s still paying full adult fares even if they’re in full time education. A petition was set up and lodged at the Scottish Parliament in January this year.



How many of the issues stated above would you say are similar to the issues faced by adults/ pensioners. Would you say you are generally satisfied with the transport service provided or are there certain things you would change. Do you have out of date timetables in bus stops where you live? Do you agree with the fact that you can get a return ticket to Glasgow/ Edinburgh from Inverness than a single from Wick/Thurso to Inverness?




Please give as much information as possible stating the basic facts, keeping to the point briefly and give your overall opinion on the types of transport you use, why and why you don't use other methods.




Some pointers to get you started:

Cost / Free transport
Entitlement Cards
Safety
Comfort
Frequency / departure & arrival times
Timetables
Hygene / smoking in taxis
Drivers, friendly?
Ease of use / booking system for tickets
Any other points...You don't have to comment on all of the above but please give as much information as you can. It will be very very very much appreciated and what you say will be taken into account and not ignored.





IMPORTANT!
By giving your opinions on the transport service, you agree to your responses being used in surveys by Highland Youth Voice, for your responses to be made available publically, for your responses to be used by Highland Youth Voice public transport campaign group and for your responses to be passed onto officials in transport, parliament and government. If you do not wish for your comments to be used in this way, please state so in your response. If you would like to be kept updated or take part in further surveys, please provide your name and email address (preferably in a private message) .


Thank you to anyone who makes any comments.

rfr10
19-Feb-08, 18:39
Or if writing it in private would make any difference to the amount of responses then you can email me @ robin.falconer1@btinternet.com or send a PM!

EDDIE
19-Feb-08, 19:24
Well i would say to any young scot thats not happy with public transport to buy a push bike the exercise will do u good young people spend for to much time sitting down playing with there game consules and dont get enough exercise.
its ok saying get the government to pay for it but its people like me that pay taxes to the government that funds these things when it comes to funding or subsidising things im all in favour of doing it with pensioners that have worked all there life and deserve perks like that after working all ther days

rfr10
19-Feb-08, 19:53
Well i would say to any young scot thats not happy with public transport to buy a push bike the exercise will do u good young people spend for to much time sitting down playing with there game consules and dont get enough exercise.
its ok saying get the government to pay for it but its people like me that pay taxes to the government that funds these things when it comes to funding or subsidising things im all in favour of doing it with pensioners that have worked all there life and deserve perks like that after working all ther days

It is unlikely that anyone will have enough time or energy to cycle from far away places. For example from Wick to Inverness or for people who live away out in the country to get into towns to see friends, cycling would not be an option.

People always talk about cutting down on pollution by using public transport but young people are put off using transport because of the price so instead use cars. Many young people wont even be able to afford the cost of transport. They should be encouraged to use public transport rather than using cars. Young people who have jobs but live out in the country cannot afford to be constantly travelling back and forth to work as most are paid on the minimum wage or just above and for the likes of me who has to be travelling frequently to Inverness to attend meetings, I cannot afford it. Pensioners and young people are both at a disadvantage when it comes to transport. Most young people will not have jobs to pay for the transport as they are putting their time and effort into their schoolwork. The cost of transport could easily be much much cheaper but it's the competition with different companies now that raise the price as I believe the transport service used to be owned by the government and there would have been the one single company travelling. What would you say on average it costs to travel by car to Inverness, £20-30? Bus companies charge this ammount PER PASSANGER and if they have say, 20 passangers, this mens they will be making over £400 per journey that's on average £133 per hour assuming that it takes about 3 hours to travel to Inverness by bus.

It's all right for the likes of adults who have professional jobs who can afford the travel but young people do not have the sufficient funds to pay for this. £15 per person to travel one way to Inverness by bus is far too high a price to pay.