Merseyside Night Buses

[Raawwwrrr!]

RE: Merseyside Night Buses

(25/08/2016 11:22)Enviro400 Wrote:  I am afraid not.

Freshers are the students with the cash - they will buy bus passes because they don't know the city. Most of JMU's freshers are located in halls in the city or just off-campus (by Taskers, Lime Street, Tithebarn Street, Cheapside etc; while most of Hope's Freshers are located on Campus with free shuttle buses to the city centre campus - they will likely not bother with bus passes, and if they do, they do not account for a big enough market share, plus the night buses do not serve Hope - the fact that the 86C only runs during office hours suggests that Hope campus isn't worth longer operational hours.

By second year, most students live in the Smithdown Road area, regardless of the uni they attend - very few students will pay for a bus pass at this point, most opting to walk or cycle, and will only occasionally pay for a single or return bus fare when it is raining or they are in a rush. .

With many friends staying at either uni (Can't speak for Hope sadly), and myself currently undergoing he final year of a degree I completely disagree with you. It may be freshers who are new to the city, but most student halls are close to a campus, it's usually the second, third and finals that move out and into a house. I've done it and all my friends have done it.

Freshers may spend the cash, but by second year most will be commuting to/from uni and also a part time job (usually based within the City Centre, or if you're lucky slightly closer around Penny Lane or Lark Lane) Not only are you commuting to uni, you're then also commuting to work. If I was studying on LJMU's Brownlow Hill campus, I would not be walking or even cycling from my fictional student house near Smithdown Road, I can highly assure you that I would be getting buses. Particularly as well if my Campus was the science building just near the Mersey Tunnel and Library, I would honestly never walk, regardless of the weather from that side of the city.

The main user of the 699 is Uni Of Liverpool Students who stay at Carnation Halls, and LJMU students who study at nearby I.M Marsh Campus, these are the students that will have Arriva passes. However, the Stagecoach pass is cheaper, and if I lived on Smithdown Road or Wavertree, this is the pass I would go for based on price alone (Not to mention the buses are much nicer this year!).

Regardless, my point was about the viability of students using one night bus over another. It won't happen. If you take Manchester for example, regardless of what pass they have, many students will just get the first bus that comes as it's still cheaper than a taxi. It's also worth noticing that those with a Stagecoach pass (myself included) will often pay for a single fare on the other bus company out of convenience. If I've just missed the hourly nightbus, am I really going to wait another hour or am I going to pay £2ish to get the one due in half an hour? I'm going to pay the £x and go to bed as soon as drunkenly possible (either with or without a takeaway pizza).