front page of Plymouth evening paper BH monday:
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?command=newPage&nodeId=133164&contentPK=10858943
NIGHT BUSES IN WAR ON VIOLENCE
12:00 - 30 August 2004
Night buses to take clubbers home from Plymouth city centre could become a permanent fixture following a successful start to a pilot scheme.
Police and late night revellers have backed the scheme, aimed at cutting drink-fuelled violence by getting people out of clubland and home. It was piloted over the bank holiday weekend and will continue next weekend.
Four buses, manned by police and special constables, ran from the city centre to Ernesettle, Southway, Estover and Chaddlewood.
Superintendent Rob Cooper, deputy commander of Plymouth BCU, said: "I would like the buses to continue after the pilot period. The officers see it as a good idea because it gets people moving away from the clubs. And the feedback we've had from people using the buses is that they welcome it.
"The idea is to get people out of the clubs and on their way home as quickly as possible and provide transport to reduce the opportunity for confrontation and disputes to occur. We would hope these two weekends will prove the idea is a good one."
The buses, offering clubbers an alternative to hanging around waiting for taxis, run from the section of Union Street between Western Approach and Derry's Cross. They leave at 1am and 2.15am and cost £2 per person regardless of destination.
Sgt Russ Sharpe, neighbourhood beat sergeant for the city centre, said: "It's not just a matter of getting rid of trouble makers - I see it as getting rid of potential victims. It's about getting people out of the city centre safely. There's just not enough taxis in the city centre at that time of night to cope with the numbers of people. You get people having to wait maybe two hours for a taxi and they start walking around.
"You get streams of people going up and down Union Street looking for taxis and there's always potential for trouble in that situation. I think we may need to move the timings of the buses so there's one near to 2am and another one a bit later."
The buses, provided by Citybus, are running on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights during the two-week trial. The police and Plymouth City Council - who have teamed up to provide the service - will meet after the pilot to evaluate its success and decide on the scheme's future.
After a slow start with only a handful of people using the service on the first two nights, things picked up on Saturday - by 2.15am yesterday queues were forming and buses were full.
Among those using the night bus was 18-year-old Stacey Herbert from Thornbury. She said: "I'm on my own, but I feel quite safe on the bus. I feel a lot safer on the bus than I would walking around looking for a taxi."
But taxi drivers said they were unhappy about the night buses as they threaten their Friday and Saturday night trade.
One driver told the Herald: "I think it's depriving us of work."
Police officers and special constables have been present on the buses during the trial period to keep an eye out for trouble. But Sgt Sharpe said this was unlikely to contine and alternative security ideas would need to be explored - possibly using club doormen or a security firm.
He said: "We won't be able to provide the police presence on the buses - that's just for the trial. We would like them to run without us because we need our officers available to respond to incidents when they occur. One option is for the night clubs to provide door staff to man the buses. People going to the club could pay a small levy on their ticket to cover their journey home."
Night buses will run again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week.
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similar thread to one on here already.
So what happens when these queues of [edited by admin] up trouble makers cant get on the bus as its full?
personally i would never get on one, any young woman by herself would be stupid to get on one as well.
the areas the buses go are all in the outskirts of the city, nice £9 - 10 fares. so i can see some of the black cab boys not being too happy about it.
i thinks it just a case of wait and see when the first mass brawl on a bus happens and what they decided to do afterwards.
[["You get streams of people going up and down Union Street looking for taxis and there's always potential for trouble in that situation. I think we may need to move the timings of the buses so there's one near to 2am and another one a bit later."]]
a lot of HC and PH stay out of union st after midnight cos of all the trouble you get down there. our company will not pick up from there after 1 am.
[[Among those using the night bus was 18-year-old Stacey Herbert from Thornbury. She said: "I'm on my own, but I feel quite safe on the bus. I feel a lot safer on the bus than I would walking around looking for a taxi."]]
she could alway pre-book a car to take her home before she leave home or wait in one of the PH offices close to the area. our office is just a 2 minute walk up the main road on the end of union street, she can sit there, have a coffee and be looked after by our security staff and CCTV. always beats me the number of people who walk right past the office and then try to flag you down at the roundabout next to it.
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