Your feedback - The results

9 April 2024

Thank you for all your feedback and ideal bus journey suggestions. You have all helped us reach a milestone target. This target means that, all of the responses so far received from local residents, indicates that bus fares from supporting passengers would cover 50% of the costs of running this proposed service.

To date we have received a total of 1,854 responses from local residents supporting a campaign for a new bus service between Church Crookham, Fleet/Train Station, Elvetham Heath, Yateley, Darby Green, Blackwater, Frimley Park Hospital and Farnborough.

The majority of responses still support a timetable frequency of every 30 minutes

In the meantime our campaign will continue with the ambition to encourage a total of approx 3,690 supporting responses by the end of August 2024. If we can reach this target it will prove that the demand is out there and help us move to the next stage of our campaign.

 

A name for our proposed loop bus service

Over the previous month we have been asking for suggestions for a name for proposed loop bus service campaign and as a result we received numerous nominations. During April we will be running some Facebook posts to give you an opportunity to vote for these nominated suggestions.

 

Feedback suggestions serving other destinations

Since the launch of our campaign we have also received feedback from residents suggesting other bus service improvements or new direct services serving other destinations from the Fleet and surrounding area, these include: 

--> Aldershot & Farnham (59 responses)

--> Hartley Wintney & Reading (58 responses)

--> Camberley, Bagshot & Bracknell (23 Responses)

--> Hook & Basingstoke (20 responses)

--> Guildford (5 responses)

--> Sandhurst & Crowthorne (3 responses)

--> Odiham (2 responses)

--> Gibraltar Barracks (2 responses) 

--> Zebon Copse (2 responses)

We will still continue to welcome feedback suggestions for improvements or new routes serving other destinations within our neighbouring communities. However, for these ideas to have a fighting chance of success, each suggestion will need a separate campaign with its own self-sustainability target.

Unfortunately, at this time we do not have enough volunteer help to run multiple concurrent campaigns. However, if our original campaign proves a success we will then be in a better position to further investigate all these other suggestions/feedback and run more of these campaigns to help build a better bus future for our neighbouring communities from September 2024.

 

A solution using a community based approach

It would be much easier for an existing bus company to support our campaign, consider our proposals and operate this new bus service based on the feedback and needs of our and neighbouring communities. 

However if no offers are forthcoming we have the remaining options: ask a community transport provider for help or investigate the possibility of creating our own community bus company.

Whilst this may sound like an ambitious challenge, it can be done. Communities in Brighton, Strathaven and Glenfarg have already been successful with starting up and running their own bus companies.

In the meantime we need to encourage more local residents, who are in support for these proposals to send us their ideal bus journey feedback to help us gather the evidence to prove the demand is out there.

If you’re in support of this proposal and would potentially use this service in the future please send us your feedback. Your ideal journey feedback will be put to good use to help shape the route, timetable and help turn this campaign into a success.

We will continue to put your feedback to good use to help build a better bus future for our and neighbouring communities.

 

Supporting a better bus future

To find out how you can help spread the news please visit our Support Our Campaign page or contact us.

 

Your comments

Here are some of your comments...

A Regular service to and from Fleet railway station from Yateley would save a lot of car miles and parking issues.

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I am lucky to be able to get myself to Frimley Park Hospital but if I was unable to drive then there are no options but expensive taxis. Having spent 20 minutes trying to find a space there today I would far rather catch a bus. A regular service that could be relied on would stop the dependence on cars.

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Going to Frimley Park Hospital on the bus would be easier than trying to park when having a hospital appointment

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I know of many elderly people , and people who don't like driving out their own town, who find it very tricky getting to Frimley Park hospital. I would like to give my vote a bus from Fleet to Frimley Park hospital, as it is known to me. It would save so many cars on the road also

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Would love to have a bus from Yateley to Fleet, Lovely place to shop

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The fact that we don't have a bus between Fleet and Yateley is appalling due to the seclusion of Yateley and no real walkable routes or trains as an alternative

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A bus would make it so much easier to get to work at Frimley Park Hospital

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A better bus service from Yateley would make me far less reliant on my car and might even make me give serious consideration to giving up driving altogether.