Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the Regional Bus Strategy. 

That the presentation be received.              

The Director of Environment provided a background on the Regional Bus Strategy and introduced Mr. Iwan Prys Jones from Taith. 

Mr. Jones provided a detailed presentation on Taith – Regional Bus and Community Transport Strategy, the main features of which were:-

• Regional Bus Network Strategy
• Wales Transport Planning Framework
• Network Strategy Contents
• Regional Passenger Transport Hierarchy
• Journey to Work Analysis - key flows (2001 Census)
• Journey to Work Analysis – Containment (2001 Census), Flint O-D Pairs (2001) and Mold O-D Pairs (2001)
• Key Employment Areas – Wider Region
• Employment Growth Areas
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (2011)
• Journey to Work – Public Transport Mode Share (2011)
• Bus Routes connecting key centres and frequencies
• Car/public transport journey time comparison
• Key issues for public transport
• Next steps

Councillor Carolyn Thomas asked whether any funding had been carried over from the previous year.  She said that some ambulance service provision was provided by Community Transport and queried whether this was still to be undertaken and whether funding could be sought from the Health Board.  She referred to complaints that she had received about speeding buses and the services running late and asked who complaints should be referred to.  She also commented on the shuttle bus service and asked if its use was to be reviewed.  Councillor Thomas also requested that the presentation slides be emailed to the Committee. 

In response, Mr. Jones said that a small allocation had been carried forward from the previous year but as yet, cut backs on the services had not been as anticipated.  He said that a review of the reimbursement rate for the concessionary travel scheme was to be undertaken by WG which could have consequences for bus services within the County.  He added that a significant amount of work was required with the Health Board to develop the issue of community transport operators providing ambulance service provision.    

In response to the issue of alleged speeding buses by Councillor Thomas, the Transportation Manager said that any complaints about this specific service should be reported to the bus operator or North Wales Police directly as  this was a commercially operated bus service, however, the Transportation Manager noted that she was due to meet the bus operator responsible for running this service this week and would draw Councillor Thomas’s concerns to the operator during that meeting.  She added that she was aware of issues about reliability of some services, the Transportation Manager noted that this item would also be drawn to the bus operators attention this week.  On the issue of the shuttle bus, the Transportation Manager said that a survey would be undertaken.  Mr. Jones also added that Taith would monitor the services so that regular problems on certain routes could be identified and reviewed which could result in funding to an operator being reduced. 

Councillor Paul Shotton said that bus services were profitable on coastal routes but the rural areas relied on the services, however he felt that there was a communication issue as up to 50% of residents did not know that the services existed.  He also asked if ticket integration for bus and rail services had been considered.  Mr. Jones responded that it was important for community transport operators to work together to raise awareness.  He added that the issue of integrated ticketing would be considered.   

Councillor David Evans said that the cost of travel on trains and buses was an important factor as the amount for a family to travel on a bus or train was extortionate.  He suggested that the prices could be reduced during off peak times to allow cheaper travel to encourage use of the services. 

Mr. Jones said that it was a hugely complex area and on the issue of ticketing, he said that there was a need to establish a suite of tickets, such as family tickets, that worked across North Wales and into other areas such as Chester.  He agreed that there were times when the buses were underused but said that the peak time for some buses appeared to be during conventional off peak times due to concessionary bus pass users.  He also agreed that there was a need to make prices cheaper and simpler. 

Councillor Peter Curtis asked whether operators of bus and rail services contacted organisations such as Visual Support or the Deaf Association to identify any problems that arose when using the services.  He felt that the organisations would welcome discussions with the operators. 

Mr. Jones said that it was proposed to develop a series of outcomes and the level of financial support that the operators would receive would be based on the result of the outcomes.  He spoke of a proposal to reduce the level of subsidy that an operator could receive if the bus company did not sign up to the Customer Charter. 

Councillor Ann Minshull said that residents were concerned that the concessionary bus passes were to be withdrawn and had indicated that they would contribute a small fee for the service to continue.  On the issue of empty buses, she concurred with the idea to reduce charges during off peak hours to encourage more people to use the services.  Mr. Jones responded that there were no proposals to change the eligibility criteria for the concessionary bus passes at present, however he added that discussions around the reimbursement to operators for those who used the passes was to be undertaken which could result in a reduction in the number of services if the rebate reduced significantly.  He also confirmed that each operator received their rebate no matter how many stops the user travelled and added that the scheme was designed to leave bus operators no better and no worse off; they received approximately 73% of the cost of the journey back through the concessionary fee per passenger.  The suggestion for reduced fares in off peak hours could be explored as part of the Regional Bus Network Strategy. 

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be received.