TONBRIDGE AND MALLING BOROUGH COUNCIL

PUBLIC TRANSPORT PANEL

Tuesday, 21st June, 2005

Present: Cllr M A C Balfour (Chairman), Cllr C Brown, Cllr Miss J R Browne, Cllr R W Dalton, Cllr R A Dorling, Cllr M R Rhodes and Cllr Miss J L Sergison. Councillors Aikman, Heslop, Sullivan and Worrall were also in attendance.

Mr Spalding and Mr Tullett ( Southern Counties), Mr Kemp (Nu Venture Coaches Ltd), Mr Tall (South Eastern Trains), Mr Kings ( Association of Parish Councils), Mr Shields ( Line Commuters) and Mr Cook ().

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs Ridsdill -Smith and Mr McVernon of Network Rail.

PART 1 - PUBLIC

PT DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. 05/013 There were no declarations of interest made.

PT MINUTES OF THE PANEL HELD ON 22 MARCH 2005 05/014 RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Public Transport Panel held on 22 March 2005 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Matters Arising

155 Service /Chatham: Mr Spalding of advised Members that measures, including re-timetabling, to relieve the problems with the 155 service passing through Burham were in hand.

Integrated Kent Franchise: The Chairman noted that the Strategic Rail Authority was expected to announce the preferred bidder(s) at the end of July.

Enforcement Action Against Rail Operators that allow Litter to Accumulate at Stations and Along Railway Banks: The Chairman reported the verbal response to this item by Mr McVernon, Network Rail’s representative. Mr McVernon had stated that, unless an area was easily accessible from a station, trackside litter would be cleared only when the line was completely closed for major works. If any areas were of particular concern to Members, Mr McVernon had offered to let them know when works were scheduled and that area of trackside could be cleared.

It was AGREED: that clarification be sought from the Director of Health and Housing of how Network Rail’s policy chimed with recent legislation that appeared to make the Council responsible for serving notice on Network Rail to clear litter accumulations on their land.

[Post-meeting note: The Director of Health and Housing advised that existing powers contained in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 provided the council with a statutory power to request a railway operator to remove litter from land within 100m of a railway platform to which the public had access. These powers had been enhanced by provision in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. These new powers provided the council with an ability to ask for the removal of litter from track/rail property which was open to the air. The council had to be satisfied that the land in question had been “?.defaced by litter or refuse so as to be detrimental to the amenity of the area.” The new powers would be available later in the year when DEFRA would provide guidance on how local authorities should apply the new provisions. The Director of Health and Housing also advised that his officers were developing positive proactive initiatives with railway undertakers aimed at improving the cleanliness of railway land.]

PT SAFER TRAVEL IN KENT: CRIME AND DISORDER REDUCTION 05/015 PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE: BUS SECURITY

The Panel considered the Report of the Chief Executive describing initiatives taken in the West Kent and Maidstone police areas and noted the favourable reaction to schemes involving policemen and other officers travelling on school buses and to the introduction of CCTV on buses.

Mr Cook of Kent County Council described the recent ‘Safer Travel in Kent’ conference following which an Action Group had been formed. Initiatives being developed included provision of grants for CCTV in buses; publication of a revised Code of Conduct for travelling pupils; and the provision of a Travel Behaviour Slip for drivers to report incidents.

Mr Spalding of Arriva Southern Counties noted that, while it did not cost much extra to buy a new bus fitted with high quality CCTV, fitting the equipment retrospectively was prohibitively expensive.

Mr Tall of South East Trains described the forthcoming recruitment of 40 Railway Enforcement Officers to patrol stations, deterring vandalism and other bylaw infringements.

The Chairman reported a verbal undertaking from Mr McVernon of Network Rail to arrange a visit from an External Liaison Officer to any school that Members thought might welcome a presentation to the pupils on the dangers of misbehaviour on railway land and stations.

Members discussed a successful recent initiative introducing American-style yellow school buses in Newport, and were attracted by the principle of running dedicated buses for each school. Mr Cook of the County Council reported the range of aspects that had to be considered, including, in Kent, the high level of dependence of the bus service as a whole on income from transporting school children. Factors, such as Road Traffic laws giving the buses priority and staggering school hours within a district, affected the success of yellow bus schemes and results had been variable.

It was AGREED that, after consultation, the Chairman would write to the Secretary of State for Transport and to Kent County Council commending the principle of dedicated school buses and supporting further investigation into their introduction.

PT SPECIAL DISABLED PROVISION ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT 05/016 INCLUDING THE PROVISION OF WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE BUSES

Mr Tall from South East Trains described the Strategic Rail Authority’s report ‘Access for All’ following which a grant of £390m had been made to fund access improvements at 2,000 stations. He noted that the Assisted Travel Service was available to help passengers. Members accepted his offer to invite Justin Ryan, the Disability Access Officer, to the Panel’s next meeting in November.

The Chairman reported a verbal contribution from the Network Rail representative, stating that existing stations were exempt from the Disability Discrimination Act’s (DDA) provisions, but that new stations would be fully compliant.

Mr Spalding of Arriva Southern Counties advised that legislation required all buses to have low-floor easy access by 2016 and that all new buses did comply. Commercial constraints meant that grant funding from Government and Kent County Council under schemes like ‘Urban Bus Challenge’ and ‘Kick Start’ was necessary to supplement bus companies’ investment in these new buses.

Mr Kemp of NuVenture reported the operation of a new fleet of fully accessible buses on route 123 through and West Malling.

Mr Cook of Kent County Council reported a bid for funding a ‘Kick Start’ scheme to equip buses on a 208 service between Tonbridge and Pembury Hospital. He noted that the DDA did not cover transport vehicles directly because there could be other ways of providing a service, such as the Kent Carrier Network for wheelchair users, which was an underlying service for trips to hospital for Burham residents.

PT INSTALLING INFORMATION SYSTEM AT STA TION 05/017 Mr Tall of South East Trains advised that information systems would be installed at Barming and at East Malling Stations by 30 June. The audio- visual display would be on one platform only at each station.

PT LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 05/018 Mr Cook advised that Kent County Council was inviting capital bids for Public Transport improvements to include alongside existing schemes in the Local Transport Plan. Members agreed that the invitation would be extended to all councillors, and suggestions coordinated over the following two weeks for further consideration.

PT BUS SERVICE UPDATE 05/019 Mr Cook from the County Council noted the new issue of the Kent – Public Transport Map. He described the issue of tenders for services 58 and 158 and the school service from Farleigh Coaches from Ditton to Wrotham School, (covered by the County Council on a short term basis), anticipating that the services would start at the beginning of the school term in September. Changes in services would be announced in the Press, by notices along existing service routes and to parish councils.

PT PROVISION OF CLEARER TIMETABLES ON, AND INFORMATION 05/020 ABOUT, ALL BUS ROUTES TO HOSPITALS

Mr Cook of the County Council reported that the Transport Act 2000 had imposed a duty on the County Council to publish an Information Strategy to specify the type of information operators provided. The Local Transport Plan was to fund the provision of real-time passenger information systems and had provided new bus shelters at Maidstone Hospital equipped with the system. He also described a pilot scheme in East Kent, gradually being rolled out in West Kent with the issue of an information leaflet about transport to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. In the longer term, bus stops in rural areas might be fitted with code numbers which could be texted for information on the next bus due.

Mr Spalding of Arriva Southern Counties described the development of a timetable in a simplified format and noted that the first such timetable would be distributed at the end of the Summer for the Pinnacles bus route in Tonbridge. He mentioned that maintaining timetables displayed at stops was problematic and that passengers could get timetable information by telephoning the Travel Line number, displayed at each stop.

Members discussed the lack of a direct service to Maidstone Hospital from Tonbridge and Mr Spalding of Arriva Southern Counties described the problems in including the hospital in existing routes, and his efforts to find ways of providing a better link. Mr Kemp of NuVenture Coaches mentioned the Transport Forum at the hospital, set up under the Social Inclusion arm of Maidstone Borough Council. Members agreed that officers should find out more about the Forum and report back. Members also discussed the Tonbridge service to Pembury Hospital and looked forward to the Travel Plan to be submitted as part of the new hospital development on the site. Members agreed that hospitals might be the most suitable source of specific travel information for their patients and visitors.

PT BETTER BUS SERVICE FOR PRATLING STREET RESIDENTS AND 05/021 UPDATE ON PROVISION OF BUS SERVICE BETWEEN TESCOS, LUNSFORD PARK AND EAST MALLING

Members agreed that these items be answered by correspondence with the Member raising them, and that in future, Members would raise detailed queries (copied to other Members) with Mr O’Brien, Principal Engineer (Transportation and Security),who would try to resolve the matter by correspondence.

PT ANY OTHER BUSINESS: 05/022 FREE CONCESSIONARY TRAVEL

Mr Kemp of NuVenture Coaches noted the extension of free concessionary travel from April 2006.

PT RURAL TRANSPORT WARDEN 05/023 Mr Kemp also noted the appointment of a Rural Transport Warden for the Ryarsh 58 service, under a scheme funded by Maidstone Borough Council, Kent County Council and the Kent Development Agency working with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.

PT REDUCTION IN GREENLINE MAIDSTONE - COMMUTER 05/024 SERVICE

Mr Spalding of Arriva Southern Counties explained that the commuter service between Maidstone and London that had operated for 15 years, would be curtailed with effect from 27 August 2005. The number of peak time journeys would be halved and off-peak journeys withdrawn. The service would no longer be termed ‘Greenline’, but

would be run by ‘New Enterprise’ from Tonbridge. All customers would be informed of the changes well in advance. In response to a Member’s question, he noted that although there was a demand for the service, journey times had been affected for a two year period by roadworks on the route, and that the rail alternative had improved recently.

PT 'GOING YOUR WAY' PROMOTION 05/025 Mr Spalding described Arriva’s publicity initiative sending residents a copy of their local timetable and money-off vouchers for bus journeys.

PT DATE OF NEXT MEETING 05/026 Members noted that the next meeting of the Panel would take place on 8 November 2005.

The meeting ended at 2051 hours