Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 This report summarises the annual review of supported bus services and sets out a number of recommendations in light of the available funding as set out in the Service Plan for Transportation & Highways. The report also puts forward proposals for the expansion of Dial-a-Ride bus services and shared-taxi (FareCar) services.

2 RECOMMENDATIONS

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 The Service Plan for Transportation & Highways has identified significant additional service pressures for 2006/07. In order for the Transportation & Highways service to produce a balanced budget for 2006/07, we need to reduce expenditure on public transport services by £173,000.

4 THE REPORT

4.1 Each year Transportation & Highways re-tender bus contracts that are due to expire in the following March. 16 contracts were put out to tender in December 2005. Prior to the issuing of tender documentation, officers consulted with Members, Parish & Town Council's and various stakeholder groups including representatives of the Councils Public Transport Liaison Group, regarding these bus contracts.

4.2 Since December the Service Plan for Transportation & Highways for 2006/07 has been developed and updated in light of the available information. The Service Plan highlights a need to reduce the budget for supported bus services by £173,000 in order to meet pressing budgetary pressures. In view of this officers have developed a Criteria and Value for Money Ranking Framework for all Supported Bus Services. The Criteria set out the circumstances whereby the Council will consider financially supporting a bus service (where funding is available) and the Value for Money Ranking Framework, ranks the relative value of each bus contract. It is proposed that this is used to determine which contracts should be ceased in order to produce a balanced budget for 2006/07.

4.3 The Value for Money Ranking Framework places the 50 bus contracts into 8 categories. It is proposed that rural weekday bus services should be prioritised the highest and followed by the other 7 categories in descending order, with school-day only bus services having the lowest priority. Children currently using these bus services who are entitled to free school transport will not be affected adversely by the proposals set out in this report.

4.4 The school-day only bus contracts carry mainly children not entitled to free school transport. There are 6 school-day only contracts and these cost the Council £157,929 per annum. A total of 22 children entitled to free school transport, use two of these buses and the Education Department currently pay Transportation & Highways £8,778 per annum towards these bus contracts. Discussions have taken place with the Education Department regarding alternative transport arrangements for these 22 children and the estimated cost of these alternative arrangements is £16,287 pa. Consequently discontinuing the 6 current bus contracts would save the Council £141,642 pa.

4.5 This would mean that children using these buses who are not entitled to free school transport, would have to find alternative means for getting to school. The practically of the various alternatives will vary according to individual circumstances and in order to allow time for children and their parents to consider these alternatives, it is proposed that these bus contracts are not discontinued until the end of the current school year, i.e. until end of July 2006. This will reduce the saving in 2006/07 to £91,472.

4.6 Currently the Council has eight Sunday and Public Holiday bus contracts and these cost £78,019 pa. It will be necessary to cut two of these contracts in order to achieve the required savings. Contract 702GA6 provides journeys on Sundays between Ensleigh, Bath city centre and Whiteway at a cost of £7,082 pa. The majority of residents living around the Whiteway end of the route have alternative bus services available. Residents living around the Ensleigh and Lansdown Road end of the route do not have an alternative bus service on Sundays, however the usage of the bus service on Sundays on this section of the route is significantly lower than the Whiteway section of route.

4.7 Contract 713GA9 provides journeys on Sunday evening and all day on Public Holidays between Bathford, Bath city centre and Foxhill, at a cost of £19,760 pa. The discontinuation of this contract would mean that buses would still operate in the daytime on Sundays (as this part of the service operates on a commercial basis).

4.8 The 6 other contracts have also been the subject of detailed evaluation. The levels of usage of these services are good, although not good enough for them to be commercial viable. Many of these services operate in rural areas, there are no alternative bus services provided and they provide good value for the Council in terms of cost per passenger journey. The saving from discontinuing contracts 702GA6 and 713GA9 for 2006/07 would be £19,075 and this would take effect from the end of July 2006.

4.9 Currently nine bus contracts provide bus services on one or two days a week in rural areas at a cost of £65,526 pa. Many of these bus services have been introduced to widen the choice of destinations available from rural villages. However, the usage of four of these bus services is relatively low, giving rise to a relatively high cost per passenger journey. Furthermore, this report includes proposals to expand the provision of Dial-a-Ride into areas where these bus services operate. Therefore the discontinuation of these four bus services will not leave vulnerable residents isolated because the expanded Dial-a-Ride services will be available for residents, subject to the recommendations of this report being endorsed. The saving from discontinuing these four contracts would be £21,684 and this would take effect from the end of July 2006.

4.10 The Council contributes towards supported cross boundary bus services administered by Bristol City, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Somerset County and Wiltshire County Councils. Reciprocal arrangements are made with these authorities whereby they contribute towards cross boundary supported bus services administered by this authority.

4.11 Bristol City Council are proposing to withdraw Service 636 (Hartcliffe to Keynsham) because the average cost per passenger on the re-tendered contract has increased to £5.17. At present, the Council contributes 37% of the cost of the 636 contract and to retain it without a contribution from Bristol City Council would offer very poor value for money. However the proposals for the expansion of Keynsham & District Dial-a-Ride, would provide an alternative for residents of Whitchurch affected by the proposed withdraw of bus service 636. Detailed evaluation of the Councils contributions towards the remaining cross boundary bus services have concluded that there is no scope for any other savings to be made.

4.12 A total of ten bus contracts provide bus services during evenings (mostly Mondays to Saturdays), at a cost of £207,375. These evening bus services supplement daytime bus services that operate on a commercial basis. Without these evening add-ons, many people would be isolated during the evenings. They enable young people to pursue social activities independent from their parents. They enable people without access to a car a basic degree of mobility during evenings to pursue leisure and other activities. These evening bus services complement a whole range of Council objectives, relating to healthy lifestyles and social well being. Detailed evaluation of these contracts has concluded that there is no scope for any savings to be made.

4.13 Three bus contracts provide commuter bus services, at a cost of £41,734 pa. Contract 379FP6 provides two morning peak and two return evening peak journeys between Radstock & Midsomer Norton and Bristol. The service is well used and has between 20 and 30 people using it each day. A diversion via Timsbury was instigated as a result of concerns by Timsbury residents regarding the withdrawal of bus commercial bus service 178 by First bus. However, the usage of the service from Timsbury has been extremely low. It is proposed to restore 379 to its former route omitting Timsbury, except for the later return bus in the afternoon, which would run as an extra journey on Service 178 between Bristol and Radstock via Keynsham and Timsbury. First already provide one morning peak bus from Timsbury to Bristol on 178, so the proposed changes will retain a direct peak bus service between those places. Owing to an increase of more than 30% in the tender price for Service 379, it is proposed to make a saving by combining the two morning journeys into one. Detailed evaluation of the other commuter bus contracts has concluded that there is no scope for any other savings to be made.

4.14 Three bus contracts provide urban weekday daytime bus services, at a cost of £181,426 pa. The contract for Park & Ride Service 42 (Odd Down to Royal United Hospital) expires on 31 March 2006. The service was introduced following a successful bid under the Government's Urban Bus Challenge Competition, bringing in £292,000 from central Government and £150,000 from The Royal United Hospital over three years. The service has proven to be very popular and patronage has now grown to over 92,000 passenger journey per annum. This service is one of the key successes of the Transportation & Highways Department over the last three years. The Royal United Hospital are pleased with the success of the service and would like to expand it. Also a satisfaction survey revealed that 100% of 119 passengers interviewed said the service was either `Excellent' or `Good'. The hospital has offered to increase their contribution from £50,000 pa to £65,000 pa. The cost of continuing the service is £92,382 pa, giving a cost to the Council of £27,382 pa and this cost can be contained within the supported bus services budget. This represents very good value for money for the Council and fulfils a number of key transport objectives, highlighted in the Joint Local Transport Plan.

4.15 Contract 720SA8 Bath Circular links up most of the residential areas of Bath to each other without the need to change bus. The bus service also operates into the Royal United Hospital and the University of Bath. The usage of the service is good, however the weight restriction at Combe Down during the last three years has meant that only minibuses can be operated and this has constrained the growth of patronage. It is hoped that the weight restriction will be increased this spring and this will enable the operation of larger buses. This service involves the operation of three buses from around 7am to 9pm, six days a week and currently costs £109,416 pa. The University of Bath has as part of the expansion of their sport facilities signed up to a ten year section 106 agreement with a binding commitment to contribute a minimum of £20,000 pa to the Council for Green Transport Initiatives. In view of the fact that the University are one of the main beneficiaries of this bus service, it is recommended that their section 106 funding is allocated to support the continuation of this service, whereby reducing the financial burden upon the Council by £20,000 pa. Detailed evaluation of the other urban bus contracts has concluded that there is no scope for any other savings to be made.

4.16 There are five bus contracts that provide rural weekday (every weekday) daytime bus services at a cost of £189,949 pa. The Chew Valley Explorer bus service 672 and 674 were developed from a long-established supported rural bus service running between Blagdon, the Chew Valley and Bristol. A partnership of the Council, North Somerset Council and Community Action was successful in winning funding from the Government's Rural Bus Challenge competition in 1999 and again in 2002 to enhance the quality and frequency of the service, through both capital and revenue funding. This bus service is the principal bus service for the Chew Valley villages, as there are no commercial bus services provided by bus operators in this area.

4.17 The current bus contract expires at the end of March and there will be only a relatively small amount of the Bus Challenge revenue funding left. The Government have now abolished this funding mechanism and there are no other suitable external grants available to continue the service in its current form. Consequently it will be necessary to reduce the service to a more limited, but more financially sustainable level of service. A public consultation exercise has been carried out and the number and nature of comments received demonstrate that there is a high level of public interest in this bus service among local residents and service users. Tender prices have been received from bus operators and it will be feasible to continue the service in a reduced format by the continuing to allocate the £30,000 pa the Council has contributed over a number of years and through contributions made by North Somerset, Somerset County and Bristol City Councils, subject to approval by these Councils.

4.18 In respect of the capital Bus Challenge funding, there is approximately £185,000 unspent and this funding can only be used for enhancing bus services in the Chew Valley in accordance with the conditions of the grant. It is proposed that these funds be used in the following way. The current buses in operation are now five years old, they have very high mileages and will shortly need a major mechanical overhaul to maintain them in servicable condition. The new bus contract is based on a one bus operation. It is proposed that a new bus is purchased with a slightly larger seating capacity at a cost of approximately £90,000. This will help to maintain a high quality service for the Chew Valley for several years to come. With regard to the remaining £95,000, it is proposed to use this to purchase new minibuses to facilitate the expansion of Dial-a-Ride services across the Chew Valley. In accordance with the proportion of the Chew Valley within this authority and the proportion within North Somerset, it is proposed that £65,000 be allocated for this authority and £30,000 be allocated for North Somerset Council. Further details regarding proposals for expanding Dial-a-Ride in the Chew Valley area are set out in paragraph 4.22.

4.19 Bus contract 757SA8 provides the main bus service for Combe Hay, Wellow, Shoscombe and the Orchard Way Estate at Peasedown St.John. The cost of continuing this service has increased to £50,000 pa and in relation to the area served and the number of passengers, this represents poor value for money for the Council. Officers have identified a combined solution to meet the needs of the current users and wider community, through alternative means of transport. This involves the discontinuation of this bus service and replacing it with a shared taxi service (FareCar), a one day a week bus service to Radstock, Midsomer Norton and Tesco and the expansion of Midsomer Norton & Radstock Dial-a-Ride to the villages in between Bath and Midsomer Norton & Radstock. The shared taxi service would operate on a similar basis to the service introduced by the Council for the Langridge and Northend area, last year which has been very well received. This service would cater for the off peak journeys into Bath and operating it on three or four days a week would cost approximately £15,000 pa. The current 757 bus service provides a Tuesday only bus service to Tesco which is well used as it enables villagers to make essential food shopping trips. It is recommended that this one day a week part of the service is retained at an estimated cost of approximately £5,000 pa.

4.20 During the morning and evening peak service 757 has an average of 12 people travelling into Bath. It is not possible to accommodate these people on the proposed shared taxi service because the maximum seating capacity permitted by taxi and private hire operators is 8 seats. Therefore two separate runs would be required to accommodate the 12 passengers and this would not be cost effective. A much more efficient approach would be to expand Midsomer Norton Dial-a-Ride from a one bus one driver operation to a two bus two driver operation. This would cost an additional £20,000 pa revenue plus the capital costs of an additional 16 seat minibus at £65,000. The additional revenue cost can be accommodated through the release of funds saved from the discontinuation of service 757 and the capital costs can be provided through the Councils annual Local Transport Plan capital settlement provided by central Government. As part of the arrangements with Midsomer Norton Dial-a-Ride for the expansion of their scheme, an expanded Service Level Agreement would set out a requirement for the Dial-a-Ride to operate a morning peak journey from Shoscombe, Wellow and Combe Hay into Bath and a return evening peak journey every weekday (excluding public holidays). In between these journeys the Dial-a-Ride would operate a conventional Dial-a-Ride service for the villages between Bath and Midsomer Norton & Radstock. To cover the geographical area it would be likely that the Dial-a-Ride service would serve clusters of different villages each day a week. The principal destinations would be Midsomer Norton & Radstock, however it is envisaged that the Dial-a-Ride would also take customers into Bath on certain days where there is sufficient demand. The revenue cost of this combined transport provision would total approximately £40,000, giving a saving of £10,000 over the cost of continuing bus service 757. This saving would be allocated towards the £173,000 saving required as set out earlier in this report.

4.21 The Council's Integrated Passenger Transport Board has been developing plans for the expansion of Dial-a-Ride, following the recommendations of the Overview & Scrutiny Review of Passenger Transport. Paragraphs 4.19 and 4.20 set out a proposal for expanding Midsomer Norton & Radstock Dial-a-Ride, through the reallocation of funds currently used to provide bus service 757. The financial situation is further improved by recent confirmation by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) that they will be providing a grant to the Council of £20,000 for 2006/07 to support Midsomer Norton & Radstock Dial a Ride. The SWRDA have recently taken over the role of supporting small transport projects previously administered by the Countryside Agency.

4.22 Paragraph 4.18 sets out proposals for the allocation of capital Bus Challenge funding received from central Government for the purchase of a minibus to facilitate the expansion of Dial-a-Ride in the Chew Valley area. While it would be possible to set up a new Dial-a-Ride just for the Chew Valley area, it would be more financially efficient to expand one of the two existing Dial-a-Ride schemes, due to economies of scale. Informal discussions have taken place with Keynsham & District Dial-a-Ride regarding expansion into the Chew Valley. The Dial-a-Ride have been operating successfully for two and a half years and are keen to expand their service to the wider community, however they are keen for suitable people living in these areas to get involved in organising and managing the expanded serve by joining their organisation as a Trustee or volunteer driver / escort. The revenue cost of expanding the service into the Chew Valley area would be an additional £15,000 pa. It is recommended that this funding be sort through a minor revision to the allocation of grants to Community Transport Groups. This would not threaten the viability of any of the Community Transport Groups, although for some groups they will need to increase their charges / fares to customers.

4.23 With regard to establishing a Dial-a-Ride service for Bath, the feasibility of using spare capacity within the Councils in-house passenger fleet is currently being evaluated and a fully costed business case will be submitted to the Council's Integrated Passenger Transport Board for consideration in March 2006.

6 RATIONALE

6.1 Additional budget pressures identified in the Service Plan for Transportation & Highways for 2006/07, has resulted in a need to reduce budgets in a number of areas including the supported bus services budget. A Criteria and Value for money Ranking Framework has been developed to prioritise the supported bus service into 8 categories and this has been used to identify how the budget saving should be made.

6.2 Through a combination of the allocation of capital funding provided by Central Government and the re-allocation of a small amount of Council revenue funding, it has been possible to bring forward proposals to expand the provision of Dial-a-Ride across most of the rural part of the authority area. This will help to meet a number of policy objectives in relation to improving rural accessibility and combating social exclusion.

7 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

7.1 The need to make an overall saving in revenue budgets, places limitations on the number of alternative options available.

8 CONSULTATION

8.1 Consultation was carried out with stakeholder groups in October regarding the bus contracts due to expire this year. It was not known at that time that a reduction to revenue budgets was needed. Since October the Service Plan for Transportation & Highways for 2006/07 has been developed and updated in light of the available information. The full impact of the budget pressures for 2006/07 was not known until January and consequently it has not been possible to consult with stakeholders regarding the discontinuation of bus contracts. However in relation to the school-day only bus contracts the proposal is to continue them until the end of the current school year in order to given ample time for service users to make alternative arrangements.