M I N U T E S Lambeth Public Transport Group Agenda 1
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M I N U T E S Project Lambeth Public Transport Group Reference LPTG Purpose Meeting between public transport Date 29 May, 2003 operators, public transport groups, Councillors, and Council officers in relation to public transport issues in Lambeth. Held at Van Gogh room, Blue Star House, 234-244 Stockwell Road, LONDON SW9 9SP Present: John Stewart (JS) (Chair of Lambeth Public Transport Group), Councillor Andrew Sawdon (AS), Councillor Julian Heather (JH), Phil Thompson (PT) (Interim Head of Transport & Highways, Lambeth Council), Mufu Durowoju (MD) (Principal Transport Engineer, Lambeth Council), Colin Welling (CW) (TfL London buses), Stuart Colley (SC) (Arriva), Matt Ball (MB) (Govia South Central), David Cianfarani (DC) (Pilgrim tours), Councillor Malley (DM), Councillor O’Connell (OC) Distribution: All invitees Ref Minutes Action 1.0 Agenda 1. Introduction & Apologies 2. Updates from last meeting 3. Minutes of Last Meeting 4. New meeting format 5. Rail matters 6. Bus matters 7. Underground matters 8. Any Other Business 9. Date of Next Meeting 1. Introduction and Apologies Apologies were received from: Cllr Lydia Serwaa Cllr Claire Whelan Cllr Darren Sanders Cllr Jeremy Baker Cllr Robert McConnell Cllr Lib Peck Belinda Danino (BD) – TfL buses Phil McKenna – London Underground Mick Hayes – TfL buses Richard Talbot – South Central Page 1 of 8 Ref Minutes Action 2. Updates from last meeting Bus matters- 53 split BD updated the situation by e-mail before the meeting – the split happened on 15 Feb and the articulated buses came to the 453 in March. 3. Minutes of Last Meeting These were generally accepted although there were a few errors to note: Page 4 - Anerley was misspelt Page 4 - Route 36 and 436 do have different methods of payment for fares - artics are cashless but the fares basis (ie: the cost of travel) aren't different. Page 4 - “20% of people have indicated that they would use cashless bus" should read around 20% of people who use buses currently pay cash. Page 4 – bus to night bus - route 159 - Every other bus after 6pm returns to the bus depot and the remaining ones become night buses. Thus there is a gradual reduction in the number of buses. 4. New meeting format JS outlined the terms of reference for the new transport partnership forum which will supercede these meetings from September 2003. The main difference is the public would be invited to this meeting and only half the meeting would be about public transport issues – the rest would be about Lambeth decisions like the Borough Spending Plan, Traffic Orders, etc. MB expressed concerns at inviting the public as well as the operators as they will get side tracked and issues will become longer by asking too many questions. Operators have their own Customer Service Departments for such queries. SC agreed and thought sessions useful in this format. This format may discourage Operator attendance. It was suggested the current style of meeting may still take place as a pre- meeting before a more public forum for all. Some items may also not be for public consumption when being discussed at these meetings. CP CP to ask BD to do a presentation to all on the countdown service at the next meeting. 5. Rail matters Disabled access – Streatham Hill Station This was also mentioned in general at the last meeting on 30th January, 2003 – please see minutes of the meeting. Page 2 of 8 Ref Minutes Action As it costs around £1m to install a lift at Streatham Station, it is unlikely to happen. Update received from Richard Talbot before the meeting - Whilst Network Rail as owner of the railway infrastructure and landlord, will provide technical support to the train companies who operate the stations on a day to day basis, we are not directly liable under the Disability Discrimination Act and are therefore not funded by the Rail Regulator to make stations accessible, except at the 15 Network Rail Major Stations (e.g. Victoria, Waterloo, Gatwick etc.) Update between London Bridge and Tulse Hill rail It was unsure what was meant here. Cllr Meldrum to forward details to either MB or Richard Talbot who will be happy to reply. Need to re-open side entrance to Streatham Common Station This was considered by LBL about 2.5 years ago and a report was compiled but the project was estimated to cost £350k at the time. LBL was prepared to pay one third of the cost at the time. Alan Bedford from the Streatham Vale residents association was also keen to progress this issue and there was a meeting on site to discuss issues. MD also attended a January 2002 meeting about this issue but does not think it will ever re-open as it is non essential. When two entrances are created, security becomes a bigger issue as gates and more staff are required. Update received from Richard Talbot before the meeting - This is a long standing aspiration dating from well before the privatisation of the rail industry. There is no obligation on any party within the rail industry to reopen this access point, which was closed in approximately 1992, following vandalism and at least one mugging at the top entrance. Should sufficient external funding be forthcoming to achieve the refurbishment and re-opening of the entrance, there might still be concern about increased operating cost of the station. The limited funding currently available within the rail industry is focused on essential schemes to support the industry’s aim to provide a safe, reliable service to passengers. It is most unlikely that the industry could fund reopening of Eardley Road entrance. The cost of the project is not known, but could be in the region of JH £500k. JH to talk to Cllr Lumsden about possible funding as the investment will be beneficial to the residents of Streatham Vale. Antisocial behaviour in stations – eg. Streatham MB Hiring security guards at stations is one suggestion to try and curb anti- social behaviour. The example at Streatham probably refers to either a Page 3 of 8 Ref Minutes Action space under the stairs on the London bound platform or in an alcove on the Tulse Hill bound platform. MB to talk to the station Manager at Streatham about the situation. MB thinks CCTV cameras and better lighting are a part of the upgrade programme for the station. Update received from Richard Talbot before the meeting - Network Rail is working hard on numerous crime reduction initiatives, with our industry partners, the BT and civil police forces and local authorities. Intermittent engineering works on Thameslink It was unsure which part of the line was referred to here. Cllr Meldrum to forward details to either MB or Richard Talbot who will be happy to reply. When this happens, frequent bus replacement buses are used to compensate. Kings Cross station will be partially disrupted at Christmas when a route will be split into two. Richard Talbot has more details about this including alternative routes. Removal of slam door stock from London Bridge Services The programme to remove all slam door stock from London Bridge services will begin in the south and then move east to London bridge. John Speller announced that by July 2005, all slam door stock will be replaced. More details should be available soon. The sliding door stock will be the first to be refurbished and should be done by the end of the year. LBL Improvement to Thameslink Sunday service This was raised as an issue because many Thameslink services finish around 5pm on a Sunday. A separate meeting needs to be organised between LBL and Thameslink to discuss. The contact details given at the meeting by MB for Thameslink are Peter Lane MCIT AIRO Train Planning Manager Thameslink Rail Ltd Friars Bridge Court 41-45 Blackfriars Road London SE1 8NZ Cleaning of trains on the Croydon – London Bridge service (via Streatham) It was suggested all south London trains should be re-furbished as many south London services, particularly weekend services, are shabby and dirty. The new trains are generally harder to vandalise, with the use of CCTV cameras and the inside of the new trains are safer and lighter. LBL Page 4 of 8 Ref Minutes Action It was suggested a separate meeting outside this meeting should be held to discuss rail issues only in detail between London South Central, Station Managers and Lambeth. This will be to discuss overall station improvement plans and services within Lambeth and is likely to be an on site meeting. 6. Bus matters Proposed P5 extension from Stockwell to Battersea Update received from BD before the meeting - We are still trying to work to get this up and running. After further consideration of physical issues, we are looking at whether Union Road can be served in both directions. LBL Although BD is still keen to extend route P5, MD highlighted extension of the route would depend on retaining funding from TfL for the scheme which includes Larkhall Lane, Jeffrey Street and Union Square. As the money was not spent before the end of the last financial year, LBL now have to justify by August 2003 that it can be spent. Service proposals for Summer 2003 Update received from Belinda Danino before the meeting - I am concerned that Lambeth doesn't seem to have responded to our consultation documents which asked for views on our proposal for the P5 extension, our proposal to extend route 255 from Clapham Common to Stockwell and our proposal to extend route 50 from Streatham Garage to Streatham Hill. JH agreed the 255 should be extended to cover overlap as the current route is too long.