[Albion] The Fan Advisory Board Thread

[Beach Hut]

You're a train man. You need to be on the P and R buses. I don’t know about Mill Rd but at the racecourse, loads of people get off and set off walking down the hill towards Kemptown, or double-back towards the town centre.

They have paid for their travel concession so what's wrong with that ?

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Nobody is questioning that this happens. We are questioning why you think it should be discouraged.

At the end of the day, everybody will choose how they can best get away from the stadium, and they've all got to be accommodated somehow. If currently 500 'non-parkers' are using each of the Mill Road and Racecourse P&R bus services and you prohibit them from doing so, where do they go? If you just add another 1,000 to the train queues, that isn't ultimately helping to alleviate the overall situation, is it?

And frankly, if someone lives at the top of Dyke Road, why on earth shouldn't they jump on a free bus that takes them almost door to door, instead of queueing to board a train into the middle of Brighton?

I’d like to see P and R buses used primarily for people using the P and R facilities, many of whom have quite long journeys to make once they get back to their cars. If the buses are used by everyone, it becomes impossible to estimate how many buses are needed, hence the delays. I'd have no objection to paying something extra (£5?) for a reliable P and R service that I could book in advance and avoid having to arrive so long before KO. As I said earlier, I’d like to see the club explore the feasibility of higher frequency/faster turnaround non-P and R buses to ferry people away from the stadium, and leave P and R buses for P and R users. For people who live near the P and R sites, they could I suppose also pay the fee and book in advance. At least it would help to estimate and finance a better bus service.

Anyway, it doesn’t affect me any more. I got fed up having to leave before the final whistle to get on the first tranche of buses and avoid a long wait in the cold and/or rain. I use Seagull Travel these days. £23 extra per match but at least I can stay till the final whistle.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Please can you ask if we MUST 100% have to take the shuttle buses at AEK next week?

Thanks.

 

[BNthree]

I’d like to see P and R buses used primarily for people using the P and R facilities, many of whom have quite long journeys to make once they get back to their cars. If the buses are used by everyone, it becomes impossible to estimate how many buses are needed, hence the delays. I'd have no objection to paying something extra (£5?) for a reliable P and R service that I could book in advance and avoid having to arrive so long before KO. As I said earlier, I’d like to see the club explore the feasibility of higher frequency/faster turnaround non-P and R buses to ferry people away from the stadium, and leave P and R buses for P and R users. For people who live near the P and R sites, they could I suppose also pay the fee and book in advance. At least it would help to estimate and finance a better bus service.

Anyway, it doesn’t affect me any more. I got fed up having to leave before the final whistle to get on the first tranche of buses and avoid a long wait in the cold and/or rain. I use Seagull Travel these days. £23 extra per match but at least I can stay till the final whistle.

Even something like the EDF P&R where it is free but you do have to pre-book would help with the situation you're talking about. Don't see anything wrong with people walking to use the service but the organisers knowing how many intend to use it would help ensure they can provide the appropriate levels of service.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I’d like to see P and R buses used primarily for people using the P and R facilities, many of whom have quite long journeys to make once they get back to their cars. If the buses are used by everyone, it becomes impossible to estimate how many buses are needed, hence the delays. I'd have no objection to paying something extra (£5?) for a reliable P and R service that I could book in advance and avoid having to arrive so long before KO. As I said earlier, I’d like to see the club explore the feasibility of higher frequency/faster turnaround non-P and R buses to ferry people away from the stadium, and leave P and R buses for P and R users. For people who live near the P and R sites, they could I suppose also pay the fee and book in advance. At least it would help to estimate and finance a better bus service.

Anyway, it doesn’t affect me any more. I got fed up having to leave before the final whistle to get on the first tranche of buses and avoid a long wait in the cold and/or rain. I use Seagull Travel these days. £23 extra per match but at least I can stay till the final whistle.

Fans already pay a transport levy in their season tickets, or at least, they did, and I don't remember tickets going down since we've been at the Amex. Not everyone parks within the P&R area especially at the Racecourse, because it can get very muddy. People will park in nearby streets, or at mate's houses and use the P&R so still parking and riding. We do pay £5 for Cup games, when transport isn't included in the ticket.

The problem is not fans but lack of bus drivers, who found they could earn a lot more money driving lorries.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Please can you ask if we MUST 100% have to take the shuttle buses at AEK next week?

Thanks.

No, we obviously don’t have to get the buses to the ground because it would be impossible to administer. It’s for the convenience of the police rather than the fans. The return journey is a different story of course as we’ll be a captive audience and much easier to control and direct.

 

[jackalbion]

I’d like to see P and R buses used primarily for people using the P and R facilities, many of whom have quite long journeys to make once they get back to their cars. If the buses are used by everyone, it becomes impossible to estimate how many buses are needed, hence the delays. I'd have no objection to paying something extra (£5?) for a reliable P and R service that I could book in advance and avoid having to arrive so long before KO. As I said earlier, I’d like to see the club explore the feasibility of higher frequency/faster turnaround non-P and R buses to ferry people away from the stadium, and leave P and R buses for P and R users. For people who live near the P and R sites, they could I suppose also pay the fee and book in advance. At least it would help to estimate and finance a better bus service.

Anyway, it doesn’t affect me any more. I got fed up having to leave before the final whistle to get on the first tranche of buses and avoid a long wait in the cold and/or rain. I use Seagull Travel these days. £23 extra per match but at least I can stay till the final whistle.

Where are they getting these buses from? It would have to come out the available buses for the Park and Ride, therefore still having a long wait. I think I've said it before but these problems are not something the club can solve in the short to medium term, if at all, its in the hands of local bus operators, local rail operators and ultimately the government.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Fans already pay a transport levy in their season tickets, or at least, they did, and I don't remember tickets going down since we've been at the Amex. Not everyone parks within the P&R area especially at the Racecourse, because it can get very muddy. People will park in nearby streets, or at mate's houses and use the P&R so still parking and riding. We do pay £5 for Cup games, when transport isn't included in the ticket.

The problem is not fans but lack of bus drivers, who found they could earn a lot more money driving lorries.

I’d like to have the option of paying a little more, being able to book in advance, and receiving a better, more reliable service. If there’s a driver shortage, let’s hear the club say it, and appeal for assistance. There must be trained drivers out there who would be able to help, including the newly retired etc. It’s the fact that there’s so little public comment made by the club management that is frustrating. I’d like a far more proactive, creative, collaborative approach to help improve the transport issue. There will always be a bottleneck of sorts as you have 30k people leaving at once but I’m convinced we could improve the situation with a bit of creative thinking.

 

[dazzer6666]

I’d like to have the option of paying a little more, being able to book in advance, and receiving a better, more reliable service.

That's a taxi

 

[Bob!]

That's a taxi

Or Seagulls Travel....



.....oh

 

[spoonie]

Please can you ask if we MUST 100% have to take the shuttle buses at AEK next week?

Thanks.

we don't - someone emailed supporters services I also spoke to a couple of Groups of Man City fans in Manchester last month they came over and Genuinely seemed interested on how we were finding European football and both groups separately said one of the 1st things you will work out is DO NOT GET ON THE BUSES they suck the fun out of the whole experience and after the shambles of Marseille when so many missed kick off and now with Athens saying we have to go up there almost 4 hours before kick off I think they might just be right. Stay in the city, have a few beers and some good food in the sunshine then jump on metro or an uber to the stadium is our plan.

 

[jackalbion]

I’d like to have the option of paying a little more, being able to book in advance, and receiving a better, more reliable service. If there’s a driver shortage, let’s hear the club say it, and appeal for assistance. There must be trained drivers out there who would be able to help, including the newly retired etc. It’s the fact that there’s so little public comment made by the club management that is frustrating. I’d like a far more proactive, creative, collaborative approach to help improve the transport issue. There will always be a bottleneck of sorts as you have 30k people leaving at once but I’m convinced we could improve the situation with a bit of creative thinking.

I understand you'd like that, there have been proactive, creative and collaborative approaches, but its just how the country is at the moment, not just the transport industry. What hope is there when you have a prime minister saying we are the nation of the car or something along those lines. The way transport planning works is you have to make whatever you have work with the resource you have, and run services based upon that and demand. There just aren't the trained drivers out there to help and the ones that are, have found better paying jobs and don't want to give those up.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I’d like to have the option of paying a little more, being able to book in advance, and receiving a better, more reliable service. If there’s a driver shortage, let’s hear the club say it, and appeal for assistance. There must be trained drivers out there who would be able to help, including the newly retired etc. It’s the fact that there’s so little public comment made by the club management that is frustrating. I’d like a far more proactive, creative, collaborative approach to help improve the transport issue. There will always be a bottleneck of sorts as you have 30k people leaving at once but I’m convinced we could improve the situation with a bit of creative thinking.

The bus companies are saying there's a driver shortage. There are adverts on the B&H buses every day. Why should the newly retired spend thousands on taking a PSV licence to drive a few weeks of the year, at unsocial hours?

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I’d like to have the option of paying a little more, being able to book in advance, and receiving a better, more reliable service. If there’s a driver shortage, let’s hear the club say it, and appeal for assistance. There must be trained drivers out there who would be able to help, including the newly retired etc. It’s the fact that there’s so little public comment made by the club management that is frustrating. I’d like a far more proactive, creative, collaborative approach to help improve the transport issue. There will always be a bottleneck of sorts as you have 30k people leaving at once but I’m convinced we could improve the situation with a bit of creative thinking.

You’ve basically described Seagulls Travel.

As a user of ST I don’t think it’s right that I can’t divert my travel subsidy (c£50 of my season ticket) towards the cost of this, considering they are an official club partner

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Even something like the EDF P&R where it is free but you do have to pre-book would help with the situation you're talking about. Don't see anything wrong with people walking to use the service but the organisers knowing how many intend to use it would help ensure they can provide the appropriate levels of service.

That would work much better if the stewards there actually checked that people had pre-booked their tickets. While they check the car park tickets, nobody bothers checking the bus ticket you are supposed to show and just wave you on. At recent games I have seen loads of people just walk up and jump on and I would be surprised if they have all booked.

 

[dazzer6666]

That would work much better if the stewards there actually checked that people had pre-booked their tickets. While they check the car park tickets, nobody bothers checking the bus ticket you are supposed to show and just wave you on. At recent games I have seen loads of people just walk up and jump on and I would be surprised if they have all booked.

Maybe they already allow for walk-ups within the overall bus capacity planning anyway..... isn't it simply a case of buses running for a certain time period. Bet they're not all full.

Shuttle buses should be freely available to anyone - we're all contributing to the cost.

 

[jackalbion]

Maybe they already allow for walk-ups within the overall bus capacity planning anyway..... isn't it simply a case of buses running for a certain time period. Bet they're not all full.

Shuttle buses should be freely available to anyone - we're all contributing to the cost.

Anyway isn’t most of the problem with the buses traffic when it comes back on the return dead leg, surely adding more buses is just going to make the traffic worse.

 

[Horses Arse]

Anyway isn’t most of the problem with the buses traffic when it comes back on the return dead leg, surely adding more buses is just going to make the traffic worse.

Bus lanes and the police doing something about the slip road to prioritise the buses would help - let them up the left hand lane to turn right at the roundaout would be great. There's always a couple of motorcycle police sitting on their arses letting people cut in dangerously, they could do something useful instead. (Caveated by they are working really hard, we don't know the constraints they work under, teams of people doing the right thing etc etc etc)

 

[dstanman]

Club must know how many walk on's there are at top of Mill Road. Could they put on a couple of double deckers that go via the bypass straight to top of Mill Road and then used to support Race Course P&R. Would take a bit of pressure off Mill Road single deckers.

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Where are they getting these buses from? It would have to come out the available buses for the Park and Ride, therefore still having a long wait. I think I've said it before but these problems are not something the club can solve in the short to medium term, if at all, its in the hands of local bus operators, local rail operators and ultimately the government.

What's changed since last season when a full compliment of buses got fans to the Spurs game with no trains?

Or even the (i think, one possibly two) games this season when both EDF park and ride and Pyecombe were open?