Young People and Transport Consultation
So what did you think?
We knew from talking to young people at the Big Consultation Day that many were unhappy with some aspects of public transport.
What did we do to find out?
During the Easter holidays we asked young people from all over Newport to complete a transport consultation exercise. 62 young people from Newport completed the exercise and expressed their views on public transport. Out of the 62 young people that took part 44 told us that they used public transport regularly.
What did you say?
Most of young people we asked felt that the location of bus stops were ok but you said that it also depended in what area you lived as some areas have less stops.
A large majority young people from all across Newport felt that there were issues about the times of the buses, "we only have a bus every three hours" "buses should be on time"
Some young people felt that there was an issue about the state of some of the buses that they used one young person felt that some were "in poor condition and smelled badly"
When we asked about accessibility of some of the buses the young people recognised that there have been some improvements for pushchairs and wheel chairs but making more improvements in the future was also important to ensure that everyone could access transport.
+ We asked about the cost of transport and there was a split majority between poor and ok. The split was dependant on the area that the young people lived in. not many young people were aware of the saver tickets that are available. Some young people felt that there were issues around the cost of travel and that for some young people it was expensive. One young person told us that "the prices have gone up but the number of buses has decreased in our area"
+ + 22 young people felt that young people behave badly when using public transport 10 young people felt that behaviour was ok and 3 young people felt that behaviour was good. 2 young people suggested that there are ways to prevent or improve behaviour "it’s not very good (behaviour) someone should supervise them". "Its ok, there is cameras on the bus".
+ + We also asked young people how they thought that other passengers felt about young people when they used public transport. 29 felt that older people feel that all young people are troublesome. One young person told us that he felt that other passengers felt "that all young people are vandals". Some young people recognised that other passengers could feel threatened or offended by large groups of young people and admitted that they have felt threatened by groups of young people.
We asked about feeling safe waiting for buses either at bus stops or in the bus station and half the young people we asked stated that it depended on who they were with in the bus station and in what area the bus stop was. 7 young people said that they never felt safe when using either bus stops or the station.
+ + When we asked about incidents of stone throwing, vandalism and graffiti 31 young people said that stone throwing was an issue in Newport. One young person told us that she had been on a bus when the window shattered as a result of a stone and said that it was "Life Shocking".
23 felt vandalism was always an issue on buses and 27 said that they felt it was an issue sometimes.
27 young people from across Newport felt that graffiti was always an issue on buses. A small number admitted to being responsible for some of these incidents and many young people recognised the impact of such incidents, "they have put the fare up to cover the cost" "buses have stopped and fare has increased"
What now?
A copy of the results and this report will be sent to Community Transport who will include young people’s views on public transport in their research. The representatives from NYC [Newport Youth Council] will take what was said to the Young Peoples Partnership who will ensure that it gets passed on to those who make the decisions about areas of transport such as School buses and Public Buses.
For further info or a copy of the results
PLEASE CONTACT:
Lisanne Saladino
Information Shop
133 Commercial St
Newport
Tel: Direct: 01633 259767 Mobile: 07773388358
