The infrequent and unreliable bus service is having a damaging impact on people of all ages on the Waterside.  Waterside Changemakers, a grassroots group trying to make life easier in the cost of living crisis, recently surveyed 272 people about the bus service. We heard shocking stories of how the poor bus service is affecting people’s ability to get to work, school, college, and appointments at hospitals and GP surgeries. Waterside residents are even having to turn down job opportunities because they cannot rely on the buses. Nearly two thirds of people say buses are not frequent enough: 44.5% of respondents say availability of buses is ‘Poor’ on the Waterside, with a further 19.5% rating it as ‘Very Poor’. A majority of respondents are also unhappy with the reliability of buses: 36.4% say reliability is ‘Poor’ and 16.5% say it is ‘Very Poor’. The Lymington Times reported here on our survey. Worryingly, 37.4% of people we surveyed have no access to a car and are reliant on public transport.  Without better buses, there is a real risk that smaller towns and villages like Marchwood, Holbury, Blackfield, Langley, Fawley and Calshot are simply going to be left behind.  Buses can be a lifeline, connecting communities, providing better opportunities for work and study, easing loneliness, and improving lives throughout the Waterside.

Our key points: 1.     Winchester Avenue with its high density social/affordable and shared-ownership terraced housing, primary  school, Community Centre and many side roads is an unsuitable, low-capacity road to take this diverted traffic and the result for Kings Barton residents will be:  o   Road casualties - Traffic accidents are likely to increase. o   Community severance - The volume of traffic along Winchester Avenue will make it harder to cross presenting a physical and psychological ‘barrier’ to movement and separating residents from one another and from children’s play parks. o   Noise and Air Pollution and Carbon Emissions - Will dramatically increase, due to traffic queuing in the neighbourhood centre and at access roads and pedestrian crossings.   2.     Traffic will try to avoid delays on the congested Winchester Avenue by diverting through:  o   Harestock and Weeke  where residents will suffer additional traffic on their residential roads such as Harestock Road, Priors Dean Road and Bereweeke Avenue, and o   Headbourne Worthy and Kings Worthy where residents will suffer additional traffic on Spingvale Road, Worthy Road, Wellhouse Lane and Down Farm Lane.   3.     More generally, ALL Winchester residents will suffer from delays in reaching the A34 for travel northwards and residents of Littleton, South Wonston and Sutton Scotney will suffer from delays travelling to the City Centre with additional negative consequences for emergency services.

Crossing Westbourne road at this location as a pedestrian or cyclist can be a scary experience and often involves having to cross in small gaps in constant traffic and sprint out of the way of fast and emerging vehicles. It is hard to judge vehicle speeds coming off Gledholt Roundabout and often vehicles emerge from Grasmere Road without looking for pedestrians crossing the main road as they two are trying to watch for gaps in traffic from the roundabout. This is not helped by the many vehicles that ignore the no right turn signs when emerging from Glebe Street. Personally I have experienced struggling to cross and having to make a dash for it at this junction many times and have heard many others mention similar issues crossing. It is a well known issue for anyone who tries to cross here. It is even scarier for anyone crossing here with children or those less able to cross quickly. This is a busy crossing point particularly for those using Greenhead Park and is in a built up area where the barrier caused by the main road should be reduced as much as possible. This is especially important if we want more people to walk, cycle and wheel rather than jumping in the car for short journeys causing even more congestion on our roads and reducing further the available parking near Greenhead Park. Even worse is the isolation that can be caused by those who don't feel safe not feeling they can get out and about. Amazingly there is already a developed plan to do something about all this. It has already been consulted on twice as part of the A629 Phase 4 project. Unfortunately despite it being 5 years (!) since it was first consulted on in 2019 then again in 2021 the project was paused indefinitely in 2023 on financial grounds. This petition calls on Kirklees Council to fund this particular part of the scheme independently rather than having to wait on funding to become available from the A629 Phase 4 scheme as a whole. It is unknown when, if ever, this funding will become available and the need for work to make this junction safer is immediate.

To encourage adoption of Electric Vehicles reliable charging infrastructure is required outside of the typical commutes to work and home, in particular where vehicles are parked overnight.

Cycling is a low-cost way of getting around London. It is important to ensure that cycling is as accessible as possible. Many people also use cycling as a source of income, as delivery riders for the likes of Uber Eats and Deliveroo. For people who make a living from cycling, having access to secure bike storage means securing their livelihood. Cycling is also by far the most sustainable form of transport. Given the challenges we are facing with the climate, it is important that the barriers to sustainable changes are reduced as much as possible.

Myself and my fiance currently buy the two together railcard, but it costs £30 a year, but we only use it when we buy our tickets at the train station and to show the conductors on the trains going to and coming back from visiting my fiance's family in the Northeast of England and we live in the Northwest. Neither of us can drive. There needs to be more choice as not everyone needs a railcard that lasts for a year especially if the people who use the card only use it once in an entire year.

Train travel is expensive, but did you know buying a ticket from a machine at the station could cost you more than twice the price compared to buying online? This is because the best value fares are either unavailable or hidden among several options on many machines. Consumer group Which? found in its research that there were several factors why a ticket machine may be more expensive. Some may not offer cheaper advance fares or split-ticketing, or make off-peak fares less visible. We need to strike while the iron is hot and demand they stamp out this rip-off way of doing business once and for all.

Denmark Hill is the 39th most-visited out of the UK's 2,579 train stations. It serves two major hospitals, the new Salvation Army headquarters and is one of only two stations serving the 11,000 people who live in the Camberwell area. It's also a travel hub for people living in Herne Hill and East Dulwich. It has no signage on its busiest side. If visitors are unfamiliar with the station (as many hospital visitors are), it's impossible to find by sight. It's currently an anonymous brick building on a busy road. The newer, far quieter, side of the station has a prominent illuminated sign. Thameslink refuse to add any proper signage to the busier side on Champion Hill, despite this being to the obvious detriment of hospital visitors and others.

Cost of living and energy prices yet we need our cars to be able to get around and for work but pot holes which don’t get repaired but the uk keep charging us road tax and we must get a mot yearly but the uk with all the money they get can’t repair roads which is costing motorist more money. Either get roads repaired or us the public will start charging and invoicing the UK for all repairs and will take photos of pot holes on the road also we will charge a fee of the time it has taken to stop safely and get to the pot hole for the photo. We will also charge the uk for the uk safe roads.

First Bus have cancelled the 7A school buses which took Oaklands Catholic School children home, from the bus stop inside the school grounds to Cosham. This has been done purely to save money and increase profits by First Bus, with absolutely no regard for the welfare and safety of school aged children. To give you an idea of how many children have been affected by this, First Bus used to supply a double decker and a single bus, which were full of school children. That is approximately 150 children who no longer have a safe way of getting home after school. 150 children are now forced to stand on the main Stakes Hill Road after school. Currently a temporary bus stop due to road works. This is very dangerous on a very busy road with heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic from St Peters Catholic School and Crookhorn High School. The children are spilling onto the road, with teachers acting as wardens to push them back onto the footpath. We have all seen in the local news lately of an increase attempted child abductions of children on their way home from school. Sadly, also an increase of rape and violence, with the latest being the murder of a young woman in Portsmouth only weeks ago. I feel strongly, as does Mr Quinn the headteacher of Oaklands Catholic School, that the children are in danger. Mr Quinn urged parents in a bulletin email to write to our local MP Alan Mak to stop First Bus cancelling the 7A school buses. There have been no additional buses or double deckers put onto the main bus route by First Bus. This has forced parents, who are able, to take and collect their children from school by car. This has substantially increased the vehicle traffic (and pollution levels) in the already heavily congested area during peak times. The school cannot accommodate parking for the parents of the 1000 school children. Parents are now blocking the roads in the surrounding areas and parking illegally in front of the school and next to the temporary bus stop. The school is struggling to cope and resorted to calling the police to manage the illegal parking and dangerous traffic congestion. I fear it is only a matter of time before a child is injured by a car. The school should not have to deal with this added pressure and be left to manage this dangerous situation. It is winter now. Temperatures are freezing and it is dark by 4pm. The buses (number 7) on the main route are inundated with passenger's from Havant and South Downs College, Oaklands Catholic School, Crookhorn High School, and St Peters Junior School, along with regular shoppers and commuters. School children are having three buses passing them that are full to capacity and not accepting more passengers. This means that children are waiting outside in the dark and cold for up to an hour after they have finished school (4:30/5pm). The journey home can take up to another hour for children living in Portsmouth. Children are then expected to have dinner and do their homework. They are losing a lot of valuable time and this is having wider impacts on their education. The children are tired. They are now also late for school most days because they cannot get a space on a full-to-capacity First Bus to get to school on time.

The Isle of Wight, a beloved destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, is currently facing a significant challenge. The primary means of reaching our beautiful island is through the ferry services provided by Wightlink and Red Funnel. Unfortunately, these companies have gained reputations as cash cows for their shareholders, seemingly prioritizing profit over the provision of quality services to both Islanders and visitors. Countless horror stories circulate about passenger experiences on these ferries, and currently, there is no effective system in place to address these complaints, such as a Ferry Ombudsman or Regulator. Despite the urgency of these issues, governments have consistently overlooked them. It is time for our concerns to be recognized and addressed. Whether you are an Isle of Wight resident who relies on these ferry services, a frequent visitor, or even someone considering a future visit, your voice matters. We urge you to sign this petition to demonstrate to our MP, Bob Seely, and the government, that we’ve had enough. It’s time for urgent action in the form of a Ferry Regulator with real power. Your signature can make a difference in improving the travel experience for everyone who visits or lives on the Isle of Wight. Thank you for your support.

The Sidings is a popular spot for lecturers and students from Darlington College to park. The road is often full of vehicles which park on both sides of the roads, this makes it difficult for residents to enter and exit the area. It also makes it impossible for emergency vehicles to enter the area. This situation is dangerous and we are worried that this might cause accidents.