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Focus Groups: Sheltered Housing complex, Ladybank, Fife
A5.93 On 11 th January 2006 an informal group discussion was held with five members of the Ladybank User Panel 6, at a sheltered housing complex for elderly/disabled residents in Ladybank, East Fife. Ladybank is a small village with approximately 3,000 households and a total population of approximately 6,000. The nearest towns are Cupar (to the North) and Glenrothesis (to the south)- see Fig A5.13.
Fig A5.13: Ladybank local area map
Participants
A5.94 All participants were over 70 years old, with varying mobility restrictions and current users of local public transport services. The group comprised of;
A5.95 Participant 1 (P1): an eighty year old female, with no specific mobility problems. P1 does not own a car and currently uses local bus service about once per week to travel from her home in Ladybank to Cupar for shopping purposes. P1 also travels to Forfar once or twice per month to visit relatives and uses a combination of local buses and rail services.
A5.96 P2: a seventy-nine year old female with no specific mobility impairments. P2 does not own a car and currently uses local bus service about once per week to travel from her home in Lady bank to Cupar, or Glenrothes for shopping purposes. P2 also travels to Edinburgh once or twice per month to visit relatives and uses a combination of local buses and rail services.
A5.97 P3: a seventy-nine year old female, who experiences balance problems which affects her walking abilities and sometimes uses a walking stick when outdoors. P3 owns a car, although currently uses local buses to travel from her home in Kingskettle to Glenrothes or Cupar for shopping purposes once or twice per week. P3 also travels to Perth about once per month to visit relatives using a combination of local buses and trains.
A5.98 P4: an eighty-two year old female, who uses a walking stick. P4 owns a car, although currently uses local bus services about twice per month to travel from her home in Kingskettle to Cupar for shopping purposes.P3 also travels to Perth once a month by train to attend monthly WRAC meetings.
A5.99 P5: a seventy-four year old male, who uses a walking stick. P5 owns a car although currently uses local bus services to travel from his home in Glenrothesis to Cupar about once per week for shopping purposes/visiting friends and to Ladybank to attend meetings once per month.
Evaluation of local bus services
A5.100 Participants were asked to discuss their experiences and perceptions of local bus services servicing Ladybank and surrounding villages.
Summary of local bus services and engineering appraisal
A5.101 Local bus services (numbers 66 and 67) operate by Stagecoach run from Cupar to Glenrothes (via Ladybank) approximately every 40 minutes on weekdays from 7am to 11pm. A reduced service operates on Saturdays and school holidays and only one bus on Sundays. None of the buses are wheelchair or disabled accessible. Additionally, a Go-flexi bus service 7 operates from Cupar to Newburgh (via Ladybank) approximately every hour from 8 am to 9:30 pm. There are also hourly bus services to Edinburgh and Dundee (X54 service, reduced service at weekends) and three services to Glasgow and St Andrews daily (service X24, no service Sundays).
A5.102 The main bus stops in Ladybank are adjacent to the rail station, on Victoria Road, about 10 metres from main station access (see Fig A5.13) and buses from this stop serve Glenrothes, Kingskettle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The bus stop opposite is about 15 metres from the station building and buses from this stop serve Bow of Fife, Stratheden Hospital and Dundee. Both bus stops have shelter facilities, seating and bus and rail information. The Go-Flexi Service F1 serves these stops. Paper based information concerning both bus and rail services are provided in both bus shelters.
Participant's perceptions of local bus services
A5.103 For all participants four main problems were identified with using local bus services.
A5.104 [1] The greatest problem mentioned by all participants' concerned difficulties involved in planning and making 'longer' public transport journeys (involving one or more interchanges).The main problems concerned lack of continuity between different service providers either in relation to different modes (e.g. bus and train), or the same mode. In both instances, this increased the overall journey time required to make these journeys and/or involved long waiting times between different services.
A5.105 As an example, P3 described one journey she had recently undertaken from her home in Kingskettle to Perth which involved six interchanges. P3 drove from her home in Kingskettele to catch the 10:30 a.m train from Ladybank to Perth, for a 12 pm meeting. She caught the 1:45 train back from Perth, which did not stop at Ladybank. She got off at Markinch Rail Station and took a bus to Glenrothes and then another bus to Ladybank, where she picked up her car and drove home to Kingskettle, arriving home at about 5 pm. The average driving time from Kingskettle to Perth is about 30-45 minutes each way.
A5.106 Other participants recounted similar public transport journeys involving one or more interchanges where they had experiences similar delays or increased journey times as P3 above.
A5.107 This problem appeared to be particularly relevant to rural locations and several participants making comparisons to public transport provision in more urban areas, being more 'integrated' and 'user friendly'. Several participants also commented that both local bus services and rail services had being progressively cut back over time and the situation had become progressively worse.
A5.108 [2] Several participants also complained about the frequency or lack of services especially at weekends or evening times where a reduced service or no services were available. Again, several participants referred to an urban/rural divide and felt aggrieved that they were being 'penalised' for living in a rural area, compared to those living in larger towns/cities.
A5.109 [3] A third problem concerned physical access to/from buses due to participants having to negotiate steps. This problem appeared to be common amongst older/mobility impaired travellers with several participants also mentioning friends/relatives who also experienced this problem. P2 and P3 commented that the newer Flexibuses were all fitted with ramps which made access much easier both for them and other elderly people, and stated that all buses should be upgraded to these standards.
A5.110 [4] A final problem identified by all participants concerned the behaviour of bus drivers, who tended to 'pull away' as soon as they boarded without allowing them sufficient time to reach their seats safely. This appeared to happen on a frequent basis and three participants mentioned instances in the past when they (or friends) had being injured as a result. Two participants mentioned they had complained to bus drivers at the time, and received apologies, although, had experienced further instances from other drivers.
A5.111 No problems were mention by any participants concerning the actual bus shelters, although three participants complained about the information provided. These complaints concerned both the font size of some information which was too small and also the positioning of some timetables (too high) which made reading harder.
Rail services
A5.112 Participants were also asked to discuss their experiences and perceptions of rail services, serving Ladybank and surrounding villages.
Summary of rail services and engineering appraisal
A5.113 Rail services operate from Ladybank to Edinburgh (Southwards) and Dundee Perth and Inverness (Northwards). There are approximately four trains per day, Monday to Saturday, with no services on Sunday.
A5.114 Ladybank rail station is situated centrally within the village on Victoria Road (see Fig A5.13). Timetable information is available on both platforms, at the bus stops, at the ticket office and by using the free telephone service on Platform 2. There are waiting rooms situated on both platforms. Free parking is provided adjacent to the station (Platform 2) for 20 cars with one designated space for Blue European Parking Badge Holders.
Fig A5.13: Ladybank Rail Station layout and surrounding area
A5.115 To access Platform 2, the main entrance users are required to traverse a set of 12 steps (see Fig A5.14). To reach Platform 1 from Platform 2, users are required to traverse a subway, comprising of approximately 25 steps down and then up to platform. Platform 1 can also be accessed via Pitlessie road (using a dirt path), although this access is unsuitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility difficulties.
Fig A5.14: Steps leading up to Ladybank rail station
User evaluation
A5.116 All participants commented on the lack of disabled access to Ladybank Rail Station due to the main steps leading to Platform 2 and also the subway connecting platforms 1 and 2. This problem appeared to be common for a lot of the stations operating on this line, with Markinch and Cupar Rail Stations also mentioned by participants as non-disabled accessible or problematic to access.
A5.117 As with difficulties accessing buses, many of the comments were made in relation to others (friends/relatives) suggesting access to the station was a common problem to elderly users.
A5.118 Several participants complained about the frequency of services (only 4 per day) which was linked to comments made earlier regarding interchange difficulties planning and making longer journeys.
A5.119 All participants were satisfied with the actual train services in terms of reliability, comfort and cost.
Walking conditions
A5.120 Participants were also asked to discuss their experiences and perceptions of walking conditions. All participants were familiar with the walking conditions in Ladybank and were asked to discuss their perceptions of walking conditions specifically on streets leading to bus shelters and the rail station on Victoria Road.
Engineering summary
A5.121 Pavement surfaces on the roads leading to/from Ladybank Station are a mixture of tarmac and conventional paving slabs, and were of variable quality (see Fig A5.15). There are no crossing facilities along the main routes leading to/from the railway station or bus stops.
Fig A5.15: Pavement area on Commercial Road
User evaluation
A5.122 Several participants complained over the narrowness of pavement areas on Commercial Road (the main approach road) to Ladybank Rail Station. In some cases this was due to physical design (see Fig A5.15) which was compounded by cars parked on the pavement areas (see Fig A5.16)
A5.123 Several participants also mentioned specific areas where pavement surfaces were cracked and uneven. This presented a tripping hazard for them and two participants' recounted instances where they or their friends had tripped/fallen due to pavement defects.
A5.124 Several participants commented on the lack of crossing facilities in Ladybank (and other villages) and stated they sometimes felt a bit unsafe and vulnerable when crossing roads.
Fig A5.16: Pavement area on Commercial Road (leading from rail station)
Fig A5.17: Section of pavement area on Commercial Street (leading from rail station)
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