[Albion] The "Official" Albion Fan Advisory Board thread

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Lost Mithras House
No bendy busses for Mill Road.
Bigger crowds.
No Bennett's field (meaning 1901 park at Uni so less Uni parking for others)

 

[The Tactician]

Hello all, Charlie from the Fan Advisory Board here. Our update on fan enquiries surrounding action taken after Ajax game:

Following a number of supporters reaching out to ask for clarity on bans following the Ajax match, the club have responded to state that "club bans and security matters are outside the remit of the FAB and we are sorry we are not able to comment on this further."

The Fan Advisory Board would recommend any individuals who are unsure about disciplinary process or stadium regulations to request clarification from the club.

 

[jackalbion]

Of course they have the 'right' as things stand, but it seems nonsense to me to have a park and ride system that doesn't give priority to people who are actually using the park and ride, many of whom will have a long way to drive home.

There is very possibly a supply problem with buses and drivers but if possible, it would surely make more sense for the club to provide a shuttle service away from the Amex to some convenient Brighton hub, or even somewhere like Lewes station. These buses would rapidly fill up but if they go to places where the buses could fairly quickly double-back to the stadium, it would surely help take the strain off the P and R and trains. I know people always say that we're paying for transport through tickets but I'd have no problem whatever with paying a bit extra for a P and R service I could rely on without having to leave on 80 or 85 minutes. This season I've started using Seagull Travel which is brilliant, but at £23 or so per match it's not a cheap option. Someone in another thread called it a "convenience tax" which is a very apt label.

The problem I know is the supply of buses and drivers, it’s a national problem, if there are engineering works locally and a Brighton home game, the resource is right down to the wire. It’s something that has to be worked on at a national level, we need more workers to do the job, a bit like the HGV crisis just after Brexit. That’s the only way to solve it but that would involve the government being proactive.

 

[jackalbion]

View attachment 170111

Bring back the P bus that went along Portland road and I chundered on when I was 18 just after New Years Eve

 

[dazzer6666]

Of course they have the 'right' as things stand, but it seems nonsense to me to have a park and ride system that doesn't give priority to people who are actually using the park and ride, many of whom will have a long way to drive home.

There is very possibly a supply problem with buses and drivers but if possible, it would surely make more sense for the club to provide a shuttle service away from the Amex to some convenient Brighton hub, or even somewhere like Lewes station. These buses would rapidly fill up but if they go to places where the buses could fairly quickly double-back to the stadium, it would surely help take the strain off the P and R and trains. I know people always say that we're paying for transport through tickets but I'd have no problem whatever with paying a bit extra for a P and R service I could rely on without having to leave on 80 or 85 minutes. This season I've started using Seagull Travel which is brilliant, but at £23 or so per match it's not a cheap option. Someone in another thread called it a "convenience tax" which is a very apt label.

Lewes Station is the same distance from the Amex as Mill Hill P&R so wouldn’t be materially quicker anyway (and would make the traffic at the lights on Village Way even worse), Lewes town/station area could barely cope with a fleet of buses and there’s already a train shuttle going there. Where will the extra buses and drivers come from to run a new service? People walking to Mill Hill or the Racecourse should have the same priority as those parking there— maybe the club should call it the ‘Amex shuttle bus’ so the parkers don’t get annoyed

 

[jackalbion]

Lewes Station is the same distance from the Amex as Mill Hill P&R so wouldn’t be materially quicker anyway (and would make the traffic at the lights on Village Way even worse), Lewes town/station area could barely cope with a fleet of buses and there’s already a train shuttle going there. Where will the extra buses and drivers come from to run a new service? People walking to Mill Hill or the Racecourse should have the same priority as those parking there— maybe the club should call it the ‘Amex shuttle bus’ so the parkers don’t get annoyed

The walkers being the problem is being massively overstated as well IMO. The problem is the bus supply post pandemic/Brexit, that’s what they need to solve. The walkers are not what caused it.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Lewes Station is the same distance from the Amex as Mill Hill P&R so wouldn’t be materially quicker anyway (and would make the traffic at the lights on Village Way even worse), Lewes town/station area could barely cope with a fleet of buses and there’s already a train shuttle going there. Where will the extra buses and drivers come from to run a new service? People walking to Mill Hill or the Racecourse should have the same priority as those parking there— maybe the club should call it the ‘Amex shuttle bus’ so the parkers don’t get annoyed

But at least Lewes has loads of pubs, restaurants, bus routes, and a station. If the Amex was similarly surrounded by bars and cafes, shelter, and different transport options, it would be much less of a problem.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

The walkers being the problem is being massively overstated as well IMO. The problem is the bus supply post pandemic/Brexit, that’s what they need to solve. The walkers are not what caused it.

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.

 

[jackalbion]

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.

Oh yeah I agree, lot of people do this, but it isn’t the problem , the p and r was fine when they had the right amount of buses. If they banned walk ups I don’t think they’d solve anything, it will still be very busy. I used to use the racecourse a lot but I don’t now, the impact of the walk ups are probably negligible.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Hello all, Charlie from the Fan Advisory Board here. Our update on fan enquiries surrounding action taken after Ajax game:

Following a number of supporters reaching out to ask for clarity on bans following the Ajax match, the club have responded to state that "club bans and security matters are outside the remit of the FAB and we are sorry we are not able to comment on this further."

The Fan Advisory Board would recommend any individuals who are unsure about disciplinary process or stadium regulations to request clarification from the club.

This surprised me, so I went looking for the terms of reference on the FAB and clubs’ websites and can’t find any.

Are there any agreed terms of reference listing either the areas that are within scope or listing those out of scope?

If so, could you point me to them please.

Thx!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

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.

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?

 

[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