Agenda item

Paul Matthews, Managing Director of First, West of England will give a presentation to the Panel regarding the recent consultation on fares and other matters.

Paul Matthews, Managing Director of First, West of England gave a presentation to the Panel regarding the recent consultation on fares and other matters. A copy of it can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

First West of England

·  Carrying 50 million passengers per annum

·  Operating 100 local bus routes

·  Partners with West of England (WEP) Partnership in the Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN) project

·  Successful bid with WEP for Better Bus Area 2 (BBA2) – devolution of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG)

·  Excellent relations with all WEP authorities and Wiltshire and Somerset councils

The Bristol Experience

·  We received 7,000 responses to the consultation in Bristol which led to substantial changes to fares in the city and the creation of a new Inner and Outer zone for day, weekly and monthly tickets

·  The results were introduced in November 2013: they have been well received by all, including politicians

·  Now have simple fare structure

·  92% of customers saw a reduction in cost of travel

·  50% off for children

·  30% off for 16-21 year olds (with ID card)

Outcomes in Bristol

·  Value for money score (PF survey) shown big improvement

·  Media neutral to positive

·  60% of customers now believe our fares are fairer

·  Up to 10% passenger growth, revenue the same

The West of England consultation on fares

·  Commitment given to conduct further consultation in rest of West of England at time of Bristol launch

·  Need to look at how people travel, and what they want from their buses, so we can design the best solution

·  Have to balance any changes to fares with the costs we face, and ensure we make a profit

The B&NES context

·  More commercial operation of early evening and Sunday services

·  Route simplifications

·  Some higher frequencies on core corridors (173/178/184/379 MSN/Radstock to Bath)

·  Further network review underway to remove loss making services

·  Working with B&NES on alternative day coach parking arrangements

The West of England consultation on fares

·  Questionnaire - online and hard copy. Available from a number of locations, and on-buses

·  16 roadshows being held to ensure people know, special events for councillors and MPs

·  Dedicated website: www.fairerfaresforall.co.uk

·  Consultation period 1 February – 16 March, 1900 responses

Summary of results of consultation

·  90% of those buying singles or returns considered the prices to be quite -32% (25%) or very -58% (71%) expensive

·  74% thought children and students should receive discounts

·  21% wanted a ‘smart card’

·  Desire to retain multi journey ticket

Current Status

·  Internal validation of proposed strategy underway

·  Expected conclusions to be announced within the next three weeks

·  Implementation expected 22 June

Smart cards

·  Full online, on bus and Travel centre top ups from July

·  Bath and other West of England period products on to smart cards in August/September

·  Multi operator cards (Avon Rider family) from August/September

·  Mobile ticketing for students expected from new academic year

Councillor Lisa Brett commented on the work of the Bath Expert Improvement Panel that had been setup and how they were working with First. She added that she agreed strongly that 16 – 21 year olds should receive a 30% discount on fares and posed whether the same rate should be offered to people who are unemployed.

She also wished to highlight the real time information app that was now available to use and asked how he thought the Council could help in the promotion of bus services.

Paul Matthews replied that delivery through partnership was key and said that the Council had been very supportive through the consultation process. He added that their support in any proposed changes would be welcomed alongside making progress on the Bath Transport Strategy.

He said that he would report back to colleagues the comment relating to discounts for the unemployed and thanked Councillor Brett for highlighting the app that is available to use.

Councillor Roger Symonds commented that the Bath Expert Improvement Panel had compiled a list of infrastructure requirements and that the Council had now managed to incorporate the majority of them. He added that the punctuality of services still needed to be addressed and that a review of routes may need to be considered due to the new housing developments across the city.

He stated that that he felt a flat fare structure would be welcomed and that a discount for under 21’s would be of real benefit. He also posed whether a re-allocation of road space was needed – Public Transport / Bikes – v – Cars.

Councillor Douglas Nicol stated that he would like to see free bus travel for young people under the age of 16. He also questioned the conduct of some bus drivers who do not stop when potential passengers signal to them that they wish to board.

Paul Matthews replied that he welcomed the work of the Bath Expert Improvement Panel and acknowledged the need to tackle the problem of punctuality. He added that the option of applying a flat fare was under consideration.

On the matter of driver conduct he said that any such problems needed to be reported so that the incident can be investigated. He added that funding for free travel for young people under the age of 16 was not currently available but acknowledged that they are future customers and work needed to be done to encourage their use of the services.

Councillor David Martin asked if any improvements to the network were planned such as investment on vehicles, lower emission buses, making buses more comfortable and on bus information to let passengers know which stop is next.

Paul Matthews replied that First tries hard to make sure it is in tune with new and future developments and would consider any enhancement to the network as long as it was viable. He added that lower emission vehicles were currently being used on the X39 service and that these vehicles were also more comfortable for passengers. He said that zero emission vehicles were under consideration.

Mr David Redgewell, South West Transport Network addressed the Panel. He said that First and B&NES should look at the success of services in Cheltenham, Canterbury and York if they are to grow the market. He stated that a refurbishment programme for vehicles was required.

He commented that not enough commuters were currently using the bus and of the public that do use the services very few are middle class. He called for the Council to be leading on this work and for them to consider pump priming the vehicle refurbishment programme. He suggested that a large majority of services should have free wi-fi available and access to the BBC News Channel.

He said that services should be promoted to local, national and international tourists and suggested that a discount be offered to disabled passengers.

Councillor Douglas Nicol commented that the cost of a family of 4 to purchase a return ticket from Saltford to Bath was over £20 and that that was simply too much to expect people to pay. He suggested that the number of services provided was increased to generate further funding from the Government.

Councillor Liz Richardson commented that she would like to see fares as cheap as possible for children and young people. She recalled that historically on some routes it was cheaper to walk part of the route and get a taxi rather than use the bus. She added that communities must be engaged with on the services they require.

Paul Matthews replied that they were looking to maintain the discount applied to young people under the age of 21.

The Chair commented that work on the punctuality of services and a reduction in fare prices would be welcomed. She also said that public engagement and joint working between First and the Council must be maintained. She thanked Paul Matthews for his attendance and presentation on behalf of the Panel.