The Department of Community, Culture and Leisure is pleased to announce that following public consultation in February and March 2010 a new bus network will commence operation on Monday 13th September 2010. Mrs Brenda Cannell MHK, Member with delegated responsibility for Public Transport within the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure commented: “We have conducted a comprehensive consultation with passengers, user groups and public bodies to find out how the bus service is being used and what they require from it. We have carefully considered the responses from our passengers and reviewed our plans and worked out a new network which will hopefully reflect the needs and requirements of our passengers” The public consultation identified that whilst the bus network had been unchanged for many years, the locations, requirements and social habits of passengers had changed. The development of new housing and business areas have meant that routes can now be improved. The demand for leisure travel, particularly on Sundays and later at night means that service times have also been improved. The routes and timetables that describe this new and improved bus network cater for these changes. Among the features of the new network are: ·Increased services during the evenings and Sundays ·Improved late night services from Douglas on Fridays and Saturdays: these will be known as ‘Night Owl’. ·Key destinations such as Noble’s Hospital and the Airport will see a better service, with more areas having direct links to the Airport and Hospital. ·Routes and timings have been simplified so that most major roads will now have a regular service. Mrs Cannell added: “We appreciate that our passengers’ requirements are for ever changing and will closely monitor the impact of the new bus network to ensure that passengers’ expectations are delivered. We will continue to respond to new needs when identified in an attempt to deliver the best possible service for all of our passengers.” New timetables detailing all route information will be available from the Welcome Centre and all main bus depots and rail stations from Tuesday 7th September. To help explain new routes, route maps for Douglas, Onchan, Peel, Ramsey and an Island map will also feature in the new timetables. The first run of timetables will be in A4 size, with the traditional A5 size being available soon. Dedicated staff are in place at the Welcome Centre on 662525 to answer any queries about the new bus times. The Welcome Centre is open from 0800 to 1800 Monday to Saturday and from 0900 to 1400 on Sundays. The Department is also publishing its response to the comments received during the consultation. The full document is available online at www.gov.im/consultations. The Minister for Community, Culture and Leisure, Hon David Cretney MHK, concluded: “Whilst our key focus has been to improve passenger services I was very keen that this new bus network should allow us to make major savings in our annual running costs. I am acutely aware of the need for us to meet the challenges of the current financial climate and am very pleased that we have been able to match improved services with improved efficiencies. I want to thank all our staff for their cooperation in achieving this. I would in particular like to thank the workplace representatives of Unite the Union and their Regional Industrial Organiser, Steve Salter.” -Ends-