There's a bit of chat on the Dundee thread about bus issues so to stop hijacking of it I've started this one. 

 

Firstly CJT regret having to raise the bus price. However out of 14 trips last season only 7 broke even. Our costs have risen again this season so unfortunately so has the fare. We cannot afford to subsidise buses at this level so they only choice we have is to increase the cost to travel. Even at £20 a head we have a fairly high seats sold bar to hit break even. If we stayed at £15 or even £17.50 very few buses would run anywhere near a break even level. 

As has been stated the bus takes you direct to the ground which should be figured into comparing our price with public transport. On looking today we found the public bus at £28 and the train at £36 return. We have also tried to help families with the introduction of an u14 fare. After you are 14 you can travel unaccompanied subject to conditions. 

We we are going to be conducting market research in the near future. We hope that will include a survey for members on this site. We will also be consulting bus users and also Caleyaway folks that travel to awaydays by alternate means. Please can as many people take part in this consultation as are able. 

We also welcome suggestions of improvements to our travel club. Please get in touch if you have any ideas. 

Thanks 

 

 

Thanks. I don't use the bus myself but do appreciate and understand the hard and sometimes thankless work that the organisers do to try to provide convenient and as affordable as possible transport to away games.

Well done all of you.

I would like to second that.

I remember years ago there used to be a 2 tier system for members and non members. Would that work again? have an annual payment for membership or a means to make a donation.

I wouldnt mind contributing £10 a year for membership to help funds even if I would seldomly use it.

Joining CJT for £1doesnt make much money for anyone.

Could a bus seat be reserved on a diary on this site not just for the next game but for the season if someone wanted to book ahead.

Can we get cheaper buses.

And thanks again for spare time given to make it all run.

I used to use the supporters bus whenever I could when I stayed up north.  Its been a few years now but being over in Bucharest reminded me how fun it can be to travel on a bus to the game with fellow fans.

I know that hiring a minibus isn't much cheaper than a coach but would that be a possibility given the small numbers going on a regular basis? At least that would save some money.  Also I agree with 12th Man re an annual subscription to CJT as opposed to a one off £1 payment.

I remember years ago there used to be a 2 tier system for members and non members. Would that work again? have an annual payment for membership or a means to make a donation.

Yes, that used to be the way for the 'supporters club'. If memory serves me right, the issue was still the same though and buses had to be subsidised by things like booze cruises, discos or other fundraisers. Getting it to break even was a challenge almost every game/season.  

Could a bus seat be reserved on a diary on this site not just for the next game but for the season if someone wanted to book ahead.

We can certainly add the buses into a calendar as far ahead as needed and we can use the RSVP function to show interest in going but payments and the actual bookings would have to be taken using a different method. The system is not setup for ticket sales and the Romania bookings proved to be a little challenging to administer (in a fun sort of way) ! Happy to discuss whatever we can do to help with CJT but I certainly dont have time to repeat the Romania scenario 15-20 times a season (albeit on a smaller scale).

   

 

 

if you have a bus pass its free return all round scotland on city link and 50p booking free on megabus to get two games

Yes this is very true I've done it ...but ...Gold bus or Mega bus doesn't go to Parkhead ,Firhill , Tannadyce, Rugby Park , etc. etc.

By the time you get yourself to these stadiums you will be lucky to have change of £20 ...

 

I'll chip in as one of the people who introduced the £1 fee for CJT membership. IMHO it's a bit of a red herring to put increasing the membership fee as a means of subsidising the buses, which have always been "challenging" to administer and fund. The £1 membership fee was introduced as a means of democratising the trust (as it was then) by increasing the membership. This has happened and CJT should now reflect the opinion of a significant proportion of our support who are members and therefore engaged in their supporters trust. If all of those members were to pay the £10 fee mooted above, they would simply be subsidising the few that use the busses without addressing the core issue of why more people don't use them and it's easy to see how this could create tensions. I also suspect that a significant proportion of the membership would simply default on renewal. It's also difficult to see where a reduced cost of coach hire could be sourced in Highland that would allow reduction of fares. Remember that reduced fares on stagecoach and scotrail are subsidised by the whole network (and by Scottish Government) so they don't reflect a cost model that CJT can hope to come close to. It may be that the creation of a separate arm of CJT that works solely on busses is now an idea, one that doesn't rely on ad hoc subsidy by the membership and which concentrates 100% on getting members to use it and not lose it. Final thought, maybe people ought to consider that the £20 return fare is a service that is worthy of them supporting by digging that wee bit deeper. Aye, you can drink on the train or get a megabus for next to nothing if you have lived long enough but they put nothing back into the trust or the club. Use the CJT buses and it allows them to reinvest that money in ways that benefit all our supports. Your call.

It was only a suggestion but default or not it still gives you extra funds.

If Scotty was to allow an extra icon next to a user name and access to a private diary page, a seat could be booked in advance, (not paid for)the people could pay CJT via PAYPAL etc for the season, even if it was adults £5 pa, via direct depit and CTO could get an email to update the site users..

CJT get a financial cushion and x amount could be used to buy additional shares in the club.

I know its a pity we don't have other clubs as close as the central belt teams which would cost only a few hundred in comparison for an hours travel but if the regulars book ahead then you know what to budget for.

Like I said only a suggestion and well done for offering transport in the first place.