A New Vision for Buses: Maximising the Potential for Innovative Bus Solutions in South Manchester
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Stagecoach Manchester A new vision for buses: Maximising the potential for innovative bus solutions in South Manchester Quality Assurance Author PGH Peer Review PT Team Leader Director PGH THE TAS PARTNERSHIP LIMITED SPECIALIST CONSULTANTS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT Stagecoach Manchester A new vision for buses: Maximising the potential for innovative bus solutions in South Manchester Contents Section Page 1 What Is This Document About?.................................................................................................... 3 2 The Work We Are Commissioning............................................................................................... 4 3 Bus Transit.................................................................................................................................... 5 4 Streamline...................................................................................................................................... 8 5 Greenways................................................................................................................................... 10 6 Integrate....................................................................................................................................... 12 7 Bus On Demand .......................................................................................................................... 14 8 What Happens Next?................................................................................................................... 15 The TAS Partnership Limited Specialist Consultants in Public Transport Guildhall House, Guildhall Street Preston, Lancashire PR1 3NU Telephone: 01772 204988 Fax: 01772 562070 Page: 2 Stagecoach Manchester A new vision for buses: Maximising the potential for innovative bus solutions in South Manchester 1 WHAT IS THIS DOCUMENT ABOUT? 1.1 Stagecoach is a major provider of public transport in Greater Manchester, and in the UK as a whole. Our fleet of 640 buses carries 78 million passengers in Greater Manchester every year. With substantial capital investment, management skill and marketing effort, as well as the positive support of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, we have managed to increase our adult full fare passenger numbers by 25% since we purchased the business in 1996. This contrasts markedly with the previous periods when the Passenger Transport Authority directly controlled bus services – see Figure A. Stagecoach has achieved average annual growth of 2.5% from adult passengers but concession passengers – whose fares are set by the PTE – fell by 1.1% per annum. Stagecoach’s success compares with a decline of 4% per annum in the late 1970s and 2% in the early 1980s, when the PTE controlled all services. Figure A: Average Annual Growth 1975 to 2005 3% 2% 1% 0% -1% 1975-1979 1980-1986 1987-1995 1996-2005 Passengers 1996-2005 Passengers Stagecoach AllStagecoach -2% Stagecoach AdultStagecoach Average Annual Passenger Growth -3% -4% -5% 1.2 With this level of growth we believe we can claim success in attracting people to our bus services, many of who previously travelled by car. However our experience in other parts of the UK leads us to believe that we could, in partnership with GMPTE, make a larger contribution to meeting the transport needs of the conurbation. 1.3 The Greater Manchester draft Bus Strategy document is a disappointment. It offers no new ideas or initiatives and appears to seek a downgrading of buses to a secondary role of feeding rail stations. Although interchange with Metrolink and rail is important this only accounts for 4% of our customers and all our passenger growth Page: 3 Stagecoach Manchester A new vision for buses: Maximising the potential for innovative bus solutions in South Manchester has occurred on ‘core routes’ which give the customers what they want – frequent, direct and reliable services. Action is needed to improve services for the other 96% of our customers and to make improvements that will attract more people from cars. 1.4 This document sets out some ideas about how we believe Stagecoach, and other bus operators in Greater Manchester, could maximise its contribution to reducing congestion, expanding the economy and reducing social exclusion. It also identifies how we could work more effectively with our local authority partners to deliver against this agenda. 2 THE WORK WE ARE COMMISSIONING 2.1 Stagecoach has commissioned consultants to come up with new ideas on how we can jointly achieve more from our bus services. The consultants have examined successes and failures in bus services in all parts of the UK, and elsewhere in the world, and have related these experiences to the challenge facing Greater Manchester and the strategies of both national [Department for Transport] and local [Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority] government. 2.2 The initial research has identified five principal themes each of which offer significant potential, and which are now subject to detailed evaluation. A pilot scheme is being specified for each of these initiatives to allow a full evaluation of its potential. Subject to the Business Case analysis now being undertaken Stagecoach is ready to fund investment in these initiatives 2.3 The themes are set out in Table 1 below and are described more fully in the text that follows along with an illustration of the concept. Table 1 : Innovative Proposals for a Greater Manchester Bus Strategy Concept Description High Quality ‘Bus Transit’ Providing a stable, reliable high quality public transport operation on major radial corridors using advanced technology to create ‘bus transit’ operations in partnership with GMPTE Streamline Park & Ride A ‘congestion-busting’ initiative that will offer workers, shoppers and visitors in Manchester City Centre a fast, cost effective and attractive alternative to City Centre parking – improving the competitiveness of the regional centre Manchester Green Routes More effective management of the precious resource represented by major roads, combined with more effective enforcement, learning from London’s ‘Red Routes’ making buses more reliable and attractive, without any significant disadvantages for other road users Local Integrate Better integration of bus with rail and Metrolink where this offers a better service to users and where this can be achieved without denying passengers choice or dictating how they should travel. Bus On Demand Demand Responsive’ local minibus services fully integrated with trunk bus, rail and Metrolink services Page: 4 Stagecoach Manchester A new vision for buses: Maximising the potential for innovative bus solutions in South Manchester 3 BUS TRANSIT Bus Transit - High Quality Optically Guided Vehicle on Segregated Alignment Page: 5 Stagecoach Manchester A new vision for buses: Maximising the potential for innovative bus solutions in South Manchester The Problem 3.1 Plans for Metrolink expansion, which Stagecoach supports, will provide high quality segregated public transport on several key corridors. The plans will still leave many major corridors wholly dependent on buses. Although Stagecoach has had considerable success in increasing bus passengers it is restrained by increasing traffic congestion. Some relief from this congestion would provide the basis for a business case for investment in new bus technology, including electronic guidance, level access, new ticketing technology, alternative power systems and higher quality interiors that would permit a complete upgrading of the service offered. 3.2 This scale of upgrading can only be achieved within a strategic partnership of the operator, highway authority and Passenger Transport Executive. The Bus Strategy is the logical focus for ambitions to achieve this upgrading and Stagecoach would welcome being challenged to meet the aspirations of transport users in Greater Manchester as part of such a partnership. The Concept 3.3 The concept of ‘Bus Transit’ has been successful in other parts of the world in allowing a phased approach to improvement. It is particularly appropriate for corridors with ‘intermediate’ flow levels – greater than those typically satisfied by conventional bus but lower than those needed to justify rail based systems. The value of this type of approach has been acknowledged in GMPTE proposals for the Manchester – Leigh corridor but there are currently no proposals to exploit its benefits in the south of the conurbation. 3.4 Sections of segregated alignment can be used by specially equipped high-quality buses, like that illustrated above. This grows the public transport market, improves services in the short term and allows the investment in segregated alignments to be used effectively immediately. In the longer term consideration can then be given to further upgrading to a wholly ‘fixed track’ system, such as Metrolink. The Issues 3.5 Provision of a high quality service that would attract substantial numbers of car users depends on achieving a quantum improvement it overall service quality. This would be achieved with articulated, multi-door buses using an established optical guidance system. A high quality vehicle, with air conditioning, additional space and full level access for all members of the community would be required. It may be appropriate to move ticketing off-bus [using similar ticketing systems to Metrolink] at the same time. 3.6 Greater Manchester PTE would need to be assured of quality standards and of a high level of co-operation from the operator. This would be achieved