Travel Log Lewes Newsletter

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1 Travel Log Lewes Newsletter September 2016 newsletter Travelman says Put 13th September in your diary FLASH MOB PROTEST TUESDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER Lot of Lewisians are angry about the effects that the chaos on the trains is causing, not just for commuters but their families. Husbands and wives constantly getting home late and not seeing their children for days at a time, missing family meals and bedtime. So there will be a Lewes Flash Mob: Pyjama Protest in Solidarity for Workers, Commuters & Their Families Outside Lewes Station pm Tuesday 13th September. We will be dressed in our pyjamas with children in pushchairs and on a giant bed. There will be storytime, music, a juggling stilt walker to entertain the children and we'll be handing out leaflets and hot cocoa to commuters. ALL WELCOME, even if you don t come in your PJs. Sadly Travelman will be on the train in Spain on the day. MORE SOUTHERN DISPUTE NEWS The strike is due on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th. Conductors will be on strike both days but ticket office staff are only out on Wednesday. Here is what was on the Southern site on Wed 31st August at 5pm: Wednesday 7 September It is likely that the strike by station staff will have a significant effect on train services as they perform train dispatch at some stations. We do not expect to be able to offer the same level of service we have on other strike dates. Some ticket offices may also be closed. Thursday 8 September There will be no service on some routes and only a limited service on others. Last trains on certain routes will be as early as Last strike day they only offered very limited services between Eastbourne and Brighton in the Lewes area. Looks like less is proposed this time. Kevin Froude of the Cooksbridge Station Partnership, has been making some enquiries of his contacts in the rail company. He has discovered: The company categorically denies that there is any plan to stop conductors selling cheaper tickets on the train, or to financially incentivise them to do so- contrary to my reports last month The company says that the ACAS talks broke down because the RMT wanted to guarantee that a second person will always be on board. Under our proposals, a second

2 person would be on board. However we wanted the flexibility to run a service without a second person, in exceptional circumstances The company is working through detailed plans to ensure that those with accessible needs are able to continue to use the network spontaneously and these plans will consider contingencies for the small number of services that may run without an on-board supervisor Kevin is not sure how the company will deliver on this last promise. Travelman wonders why the company stuck on the second point if the circumstances are really only exceptional, given that the dispute would be over if they had agreed it. NEW WALLANDS BUS ROUTE From 2nd September there will be a new bus route around the Wallands- the first one for many years, if ever. It will be operated without subsidy by Community Transport Lewes Area using one of their mini buses. It will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (not bank holidays) on the following route: Brooks Road (Tesco), Phoenix Causeway, Eastgate Street, Bus Station, Eastgate Street, School Hill, Market Street, North Street, Lancaster Street, Abinger Place, White Hill, The Avenue, Park Road, Prince Edward Road, King Henry Road, De Warren Road, Gundreda Road, Fitzjohn Road, Departures from Tesco will be at 9.30, and It will stop at any safe point en-route. As usual- use it or lose it LEWES TOWN SUNDAY BUS SERVICE Don t forget the Lewes town Sunday bus service. Timetable here: BRIGHTON BUS DISPUTE AND NEW TIMETABLE Travelman is pleased to hear that amicable talks are taking place between Brighton buses and the bus drivers union. Let s hope harmony will be restored. So there is no short term threat to bus services. The company is recruiting, if you fancy yourself as a driver. The summer service ends on September 11th and special summer services like the extra buses on the Eastbourne Coast route will be withdrawn. The buses to Devils Dyke will now only run at weekends. On the 28/29 There are minor timing changes in the morning peak on Mondays to Fridays to improve reliability. On Monday to Saturday evenings the 7.30pm journey from Brighton is extended from Malling Down to Ringmer. You can get a new timetable from the tourist office shortly. The new 28/29 bus timetable is here:

3 General timetable are here: BUS TO ALFRISTON AND EASTBOURNE, AND CUCKMERE BUSES Richard Goldsmith of the non-profit Cuckmere Bus writes: You may already be aware, but I thought I would let you know that Compass Buses are to stop operating the Saturday service 125 from the 5th September, but they will be continuing the Monday to Friday service. Cuckmere Buses are pleased to announce that we will be taking over the operation of the Saturday service, but to a revised Saturday timetable: By the way it is our 40th anniversary on the 26th October We are obviously proud of the service we have given to the communities in and around the Cuckmere Valley during this time and also how the organisation has developed over the years. We now operate 8 buses and have 55 volunteer drivers on our books, but we always need more, especially as we are now taking on this extra service. We have around 220 duties a month to cover and we do sometimes struggle to cover all of them, especially during the summer. Perhaps you could put a paragraph in your newsletter asking for volunteer drivers, if you are able? We would love to see some from the Lewes area. We attend the Hailsham Farmers Market every month with a bus, so that potential volunteers can try driving around a safe off-road area before they commit to anything, if they want to WALK OF THE MONTH I ve promoted this one before, but it is a lovely walk, and you can do it right out of your doorstep The Battle of Lewes and the Battle of Offham Combe: A walk following the fortunes of Edward, son of King Henry 111 in the battle of Lewes, with additional stories of battles in access land. Townscape, downs, woods and rivers and a fine walk to remind you how lucky we are to live here. LEWES TOWN WALKS Avoid the frustration of motorised travel, and learn more about Lewes by signing up to one of the conducted walks being held in in the town as part of this year s Heritage Open Days(8-11 September), which has been organised by the Friends of Lewes Join The Flint Man(aka David Smith) who will be looking at different styles of flint work around the town(saturday 11am), Arthur Franklin will take you on the Priory trail(saturday 2pm), and Kevin Gordon will conduct you around quirky Lewes(Sunday 11am & 2pm). Walks last around 90 minutes, so some stamina is required, together with sensible footwear All the walks are free,but numbers are limited, so sign up beforehand to ensure a place: details on- - or pick up a leaflet at the tourist office or Town Hall -where you can also view other local events over the weekend

4 RACECOURSE BRIDLEWAY OBSTRUCTION We tend to take our footpath and bridleway network for granted, forgetting that much of it has had to be fought for, with landowners trying to block routes, deter people from using them, or even denying their very existence. Travelman has been reading about the battles to secure the rights of way down the sides of the Ouse from Lewes to Newhaven, which took place in the 1950s and were bitterly contested at the time. Things can still be bad. In 2015 Travelman reported 174 footpath and bridleway problems in East Sussex as part of the Ramblers Big Pathwatch campaign. Because of the number of activists in the area, things around Lewes tend to be a little better than average. But landowners are still on the lookout for chances to put off the public. For example, at Lewes racecourse the landowner has roped off part of the bridleway. The right of way descends from the downs and follows the old racecourse on the east side. Just before the old grandstand the main right of way goes straight ahead, following the racecourse down towards the prison. This section of the right of way has has been roped off, forcing walkers, cyclists and equestrians wanting to follow this route to make a diversion. You can see a picture here: / /?type=3&theater If you have had to go round this obstruction please make a complaint to the East Sussex Rights of Way team at rightsofway@eastsussex.gov.uk Please do this if you come across any other problem with a right of way in East Sussex. Don t leave it to someone else. Experience shows that the more complaints the council gets the more likely they are to take action THE CLARION CYCLE CLUB Are you a left-wing cyclist? Do you like easy, train accessible cycle rides at a leisurely pace? The Clarion Cycling Club was founded in 1894/5 as an offshoot of The Clarion weekly socialist newspaper edited by charismatic journalist Robert Blatchford. Unlike other Clarion organisations, the Cycling Club survived through the 20th and into the 21st centuries. For more information see the national website (A short history is also available on this website; go back to the About tab and click on The Clarion Movement.) The Brighton and Hove Section was formed at the end of February An earlier Brighton section disappeared in the 1950s(?).At the moment they are concentrating on organising fortnightly rides. Usually these involve meeting at a railway station. For this the basic principles are: Start at a relatively civilised time Avoid busy roads, long or steep hills as far as possible

5 Distances of miles (or less particularly in winter months) Return to Brighton station before dark in the winter. Anyone who wishes to is welcome to join rides; it is not necessary to join the Clarion in order to participate. Safety is, of course, a paramount concern but everyone participates at our own risk. Lewes members tend to join rides that start east or north of Brighton. Full details are at Perhaps, with the upsurge of left-wing activity in the town, Lewes needs its own branch? In the 30s there were Clarion Walking clubs too. Perhaps we need one of those. CYCLE SEAHAVEN ACTIVITIES The ever active Cycle Seahaven group have a number of activities planned for September. Details here: READERS WRITE SOUTHERN BOOKING OFFICE Howard Taylor has ed about Cllr Catlin s piece last month to say: I agree with Cllr Catlin about the middle paragraph. However the third para says ensuring that passengers receive the best possible service To me that means having a ticket office. We would not think much of a hotel where we book online, arrive, put our booking ref in a machine which gives us a card with room no. and leaves us to it., neither can it possibly be good service not to have a person present who can help older or handicapped person obtain a ticket or deal with any issues about late or cancelled trains etc. Sue Priest said: How about ticket offices accepting money for tickets staffed by helpful people who know what they are doing? Do passengers really want a modern options service, which just means offering online options on a possibly crap website!!! Manek Dubash commented: Just in response to your request for opinions about the rail regulator and 21st century ticketing, as a regular reader of Modern Railways, I've read that future franchisees will be mandated to provide alternatives to the rigid season tickets - and provide eg carnets or other forms of tickets that suit the modern, less regimented form of travelling (as we all become part-time or self-employed workers - god help us). However, travel on the national rail network is way more complicated than on London's system, so the ability to provide an Oyster-style ticket is limited - or just very very complicated, from a technology perspective. Short form: don't hold your breath. Not that I think this will stop GTR closing ticket offices because, as you rightly point out,

6 they've every incentive to cut costs and none to consider revenue-raising. So I don't think the ORR is behind the ticket office closure - that's pure GTR. THE NEW CINEMA AND PINWELL LANE Arnold Simanowitz commented The new cinema will be a great asset for the town. However it may cause traffic chaos for those who live in Pinwell Road as well as those who regularly use it. No provision has been made for those visiting the cinema or the new café. Of course most Lewes citizens who live nearby will walk. Where is everyone else going to park? The only (temporary) solution would seem to be for the cinema to have some arrangement with network rail to allow either free or discounted parking in their car park on production of (perhaps in the car window) of some sort of receipt. This happens in many other facilities in the country. Is anyone working on it? FLYING Ann Link had something to say about flying: Most of us only take one or two flights a year at most, but we re taxed the same as the tiny minority who fly all the time. Here s a better way: replace the current tax on flights with a fairer system that taxes people according to how often they fly. Afreeride.org is campaigning for this change. WHAT POLICIES FOR EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL? There are elections for county council members next May and parties and independents will now be thinking about their manifestos for the election. The county council is very important for travel because it is responsible for policy on bus services, cycling and walking as well as policy on roads (apart from trunk roads like the A27). It also attempts to influence government on things like Gatwick Airport expansion and the dualling of the A27. In the hope of influencing them, here is Travelman s wishlist An end to the system where the Cabinet can over-rule the full council.this is not strictly transport related, but it is deeply unfair that a full council of elected members can vote against things like the recent cuts in bus services and the closure of the Pells school, only to be over-ruled by a small cabinet appointed by the largest party (which in the case of East Sussex does not even have an overall majority) An end to the policy whereby roads are exempted from cuts in spending- resulting in even bigger cuts in other areas. The county should abandon its obsession with roads and, in particular its support for turning the A27 between Polegate and Lewes into a dual carriageway. Working towards an end to the current bus system subsidy which allows commercial operators to run profitable services and trouser the profits, whilst the county has to pick up the tab for unprofitable services. An alternative to this is the system where companies

7 tender for a selection of routes, as is done in London.So companies might be asked to tender for running the services into Brighton, but also the Lewes suburban bus services and some country routes.this would allow the profitable services to cross subsidise the others.there are opportunities to work towards this system but the council is not interested in exploring them. The county should abandon its support for the expansion of Gatwick airport. The county should recognise the importance that cycling and walking facilities have for tourism, economic development, health promotion and counter-pollution and should promote these.in particular, the regular cuts in the rights of way budget should be reversed. GOT SOMETHING THAT OTHER PEOPLE OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT? Send it to me at travelman@travelloglewes.co.uk Deadline for each issue is the 25th of the month before. SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING Spread the word please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might like it. If you would like to get your own copy of the newsletter each month visit and sign up using the form on the home page Left the area? Bought a Hummer? Mailbox too full?. Unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this newsletter. FACEBOOK The Travel Log Facebook page is now at It will be used for latest updates between newsletters. So if you visit the page and like it you will get updates TWITTER For even more updates you can follow Travel Log