TUNBRIDGE WELLS PUBLIC TRANSPORT FORUM

Minutes of a meeting held on Wednesday 1 April 2015 at the Town Hall, Tunbridge Wells.

Present: Councillor Alan McDermott, TWBC (Chairman) Councillor Bob Backhouse, TWBC (BB) Roger Blake, Railfuture (RB) Steve Bowser, Town Forum (SB) Cheryl Clark, Committee Administrator, TWBC (CC) Councillor Mrs Barbara Cobbold, TWBC (BC) Andrew , Access Group (AE) Norman Kemp, Company Secretary, Nu-Venture (NK) Martin Lewis, TW & District Travellers Association (ML) Parish Councillor Charles Mackonochie (Capel Parish Council) (CM) Angus McConchie Network Rail (AM) Philip Lightowler, KCC, Head of Public Transport (PL) Rob Patterson, Business Development Manager, Arriva (RP) Chris Perry, Tunbridge Wells District Partnership Group (CP) Peter Perry, Town Forum (PP) Richard Phillips, accessibility Group (RPh) Benjamin Ward, Southeastern (BWa) Patrick Warner, Business Development Manager, Brighton & Hove/Metrobus (PW) Denise Watts, Chairman, Tunbridge Wells Over 50s Forum (DW) Councillor Lynne Weatherly supporting Chris Perry Andy Wells, Go Coach (AW) Councillor Frank Williams, TWBC (FW) Bartholomew Wren, Economic Development Officer, TWBC, (BW)

Action By: APOLOGIES

(1) Apologies for absence were recorded from: Hilary Smith, TWBC Economic Development Manager; Michael Coggles, Chairman, Access Group; Mike Gibson, Public Affairs Manager, Southeastern; and Mathew Arnold, Arriva.

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

(2) The minutes of the last meeting held on 26 November 2014 (previously circulated) were agreed.

RAIL SERVICES UPDATE

SOUTHEASTERN

(3) BWa updated on performance and advised it was currently the best it had been for 2 years. He quoted the percentage of trains running on time as 93.8% on the Hastings line compared with 86.2% the previous year. (4) Concerning problems of crowds on the platforms at London Bridge, BWa advised that Southeastern had not had any major problems. AM on behalf of Network Rail, however advised that whilst issues had been reported in the press, enhanced passenger assistance was being provided at stations,

1

in a similar manner to that provided during the Olympic Games. (5) BW advised there would be minor changes only in the forthcoming timetable review and these as well as engineering works over Easter and the changes at London Bridge were all covered on the Southeastern Website https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/. (6) CM mentioned current dissatisfaction from the parishes served by the Ashford line, and the need to change at Tonbridge where there seemed to be a lack of trains to Cannon St in the rush hour. He specifically mentioned the 6.33 from , BWa undertook to investigate. Reductions in Southeastern the seating on rolling stock from 3/2 to 2/2 formations were not welcomed. (7) ML recorded thanks for changes made to the 6.28 service to Cannon Street. (8) BWa confirmed that Paddock Wood had become fully accessible on 13 March. Concerns that the lifts were not in use outside staffed hours had been addressed. Southeastern should be contacted direct in the event of further difficulties. (9) AE and ML asked about parking outside Eridge station. BW informed that this was not a matter for Southeastern, and was known to Southern and East Sussex authorities. (10) BB asked about a ticket machine on the Hastings side at , BWa confirmed that this would be one of 63 additional machines which were to be installed by the end of October 2015. (11) CP raised concerns over disabled toilets being out of service on long- distance journeys. He understood the carriages were supposed to be taken out of service in these circumstances, however this was not happening. BWa explained this would not occur if a toilet had to be closed during a journey. BWa also confirmed that all high speed trains were in use at peak times but some trains might be held in depots outside peak. (12) BWa mentioned the introduction of a traffic light (red/amber/green) system within the Southeastern timetable, to encourage use of less busy trains. He also mentioned the withdrawal of the £10 admin fee which has been previously been levied against refunded tickets. (13) It was also noted that Southeastern would be shortly issuing 1000 ipads to station staff, to assist with providing accurate information to customers.

BUS SERVICES UPDATES

KCC

(14) Following recent restructures at KCC, PL introduced himself as the new Head of Public Transport. He informed that KCC had recently submitted a successful bid to the DfT for funding and were looking at introducing an enhanced Karrier service. (15) KCC was also reviewing bus routing issues that been previously raised at the Forum, this was ongoing. (16) PL did not consider it necessary to go into detail on austerity matters, but did confirm that service revisions may have to be made to meet budget requirements. He confirmed that the changes to the administration of the Bus Service Operator’s Grant gave no additional control to KCC, the scheme providing a subsidy for fuel costs incurred.

ARRIVA

(17) RP commented that notwithstanding the major delays in delivering the Fiveways scheme, Arriva considered that it would make the town more attractive and therefore, be beneficial to patronage. (18) In March 2015 Arriva had taken delivery of 6 new buses to be operated on the 281 service. All vehicles were micro-hybrids fitted with wifi. CP

2

commented that the drivers of the new buses said the position of the wheels meant the buses had difficulty getting sufficiently close to the kerbs to drop the ramps. RP acknowledged this but drivers would do their best. (19) The £1 shopper hopper service between Sainsbury’s and Royal Victoria Place continued to do well. (20) RP informed that from January 2015 there had been changes to the provision of services to Hospital as the s106 funding had ended, there were however, still 6 buses an hour and the evening service remained under contract to KCC. (21) Concern was expressed from some Forum members about the lack of services connecting the Hospital to Tunbridge Wells town centre on a Sunday evening. PP commented that TW was lucky to still have services on this route as they had been so poorly used. He repeated comments made at previous meetings about the lack of marketing and lack of provision of timetable information. It was noted that the previous suggestions had been made to the hospital administration but they had not been taken forward. Arriva advised that they tended to promote leisure and attractions rather than essential services. DW commented that even if they were half empty, the buses to the hospital were much appreciated by those who needed them. NK mentioned that they also provided a KCC funded service to the hospital.

NU-VENTURE

(22) NK reported delays and congestion caused by inappropriate parking, and asked for increased enforcement particularly in Monson Road and Calverley Road, and at previously identified areas in Hawkenbury and Speldhurst. He was also concerned that parking issues would be exacerbated as a result of the recent Government announcement allowing a 10 minute relaxation on parking restrictions. He suggested there should be clearways at all bus stops but both the Chairman and BW considered that was unlikely to be possible.

BRIGHTON & HOVE/METROBUS

(23) PW advised of considerable investment with 24 new double-deckers for Brighton & Hove on the South Coast and 10 new single-deckers for Metrobus, which would provide fleet improvements on routes including to Tunbridge Wells. (24) Brighton & Hove had also introduced an App which provided real time passenger information; feedback was welcomed from Forum members. (25) PW informed that the companies recognised that local authority funding was likely to decrease further and asked for as much notice as possible if/when this is implemented. (26) PW mentioned changes in frequencies on the no. 29 evening services which would affect Tunbridge Wells. Timetables were to be published shortly. http://www.buses.co.uk/

GO COACH

(27) AW informed Forum members of the company’s new website. This provided both timetables and information regarding delays http://www.go- coach.co.uk/, he welcomed feedback. They had a new service 434x running between Bennett Memorial School and Westerham, and from April the 289 would be operating on Saturday as well as weekdays, providing a service between Southborough and Ramslye via Showfields.

3

OTHER BUS ISSUES

(28) BB advised timetables for the 277 for Sherwood from Sainsbury’s had been missing for 6 months; RP informed that these were available. (29) CM asked about some of the access and turning issues that bus operators had reported to the previous meeting. NK advised that the Parish Council had assisted in and there were proposals for improvements in Hawkenbury and Speldhurst. (30) SB read a statement made to the Town Forum by their Transport Working Group and this is attached to these minutes as Appendix A. The comments related also to the TWBC Draft Parking Strategy, which can be found online. http://consult.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/portal/ts/reports/dps2015 (31) ESCC supported bus service revisions - BW advised that the outcome of the consultation / Cabinet Decision had now been published on the web. http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/public/buses/changes.htm (32) Fiveways Improvement Project - BW advised that work was ongoing and due to be completed at the end of April. TWBC had been working with bus operators and thanked them for their support and patience. In respect of the congestion caused by inappropriate parking, BW advised he would speak to Parking Services about enforcement. (33) BW updated that grants of £23k had been made for 6 new bus shelters in Speldhurst, and Cranbrook. The new shelters would be installed in the coming months.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

UCKFIELD-LEWIS FEASIBILITY STUDY

(34) BW referred to the announcement of £100k funding for a further feasibility study. http://www.railfuture.org.uk/article1548-Budget-2015-Uckfield-win

TWBC DRAFT TRANSPORT STRATEGY TWBC DRAFT CYCLING STRATEGY

(35) BW advised that both of these were due to be reported to the Joint Transportation Board on 20 July 2015, documents will be released online in the week prior to the meeting. http://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=186

(36) BB mentioned that the consultation on wheelchair accessible vehicles was likely to be considered at the next Licensing Committee on 21 July 2015.

FORTHCOMING MEETING DATES

 Thursday 2 July 2015 at 6.30pm - Cancelled  Wednesday 4 November 2015 at 6.30pm  Wednesday 9 March 2016 at 6.30pm

4

APPENDIX A

5

6

7

8