Commuter flows without a bus (or rail) link

[Olympian]

RE: Commuter flows without a bus (or rail) link

(11/02/2016 11:27)knutstransport Wrote:  I was just looking at the Cheshire East local plan and noticed it says there is a significant commuter flow between Warrington and Cheshire East, mainly Knutsford. Yet there is no proper direct public transport link between Warrington and Cheshire East.

I then noticed in another place it referred to one between Handforth and Trafford. Now with the 130 and 88 bus routes being half-hourly that is possible to do on public transport but the lack of integrated ticketing between an Arriva bus and a GHA bus doesn't make public transport attractive.

It also identifies a lack of jobs in Alsager, Congleton, Middlewich, Poynton and Sandbach while an 'abundance' of jobs in Crewe, Handforth and Knutsford, so there's perhaps potential flows which don't exist because of a missing link. Re-opening the Middlewich branch line would help get people to the jobs but maybe a Congleton to either Wilmslow or Knutsford bus alongside the existing services would help?

Does the plan say that Cheshire East propose to provide any form of public transport to enhance this flow ? All it really says is that either: there are better job opportunities in warrington for the inhabitants of Knutsford or that the 'abundance' of jobs in Knutsford are being filled by people from outside Cheshire East. What it should be saying perhaps is what is needed are better services to Knutsford from WITHIN Cheshire East, perhaps Alsager-Congleton-middlewich-Knutsford and a Crewe-Sandbach-Middlewich-knutsfrd.
Whilst reopening the Middlewich branch might help people get to Knutsford it would surely undermine the existing local bus services towards crewe, were there is currently 3 buses per hour.
Realistically, people are not going to commute anywhere by public transport within the shire counties due to the poor provision of local bus services bearing in mind that most people do not work or live in town centres anymore. For most people the commute will involve 3 journeys each way: home to home town; home town to work town; then work town to place of work. With no integrated ticketing that'll cost at least £45 to £55 a week assuming that you still have buses before 0700 & after 1800 to make it possible of course ! (still can't believe that the last bus out of Northwich to winsford is 1753, what happens to all those buses that finish in Northwich after that time ?)
As for the abundance of jobs in crewe - where are they. Whenever I visit the town it looks more and more derelict. From what I remember of the plans even the 2 office blocks by the bus station were going to come down when the bus station is redeveloped. Cheshire east did provide a service ('well used' according to there reports) to the Businees Park in Crewe (that pink thing operated by D&G) but even that stopped when the funding ran out.
As a matter of intrest how many members on here could commute from home to work and back entirely by public transport ?