Written Evidence Submitted by Arriva Group
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REF0091 Written evidence submitted by Arriva Group Introduction to Arriva 1. Arriva is one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing over 46,000 people and delivering 2.1 billion passenger journeys a year, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, across 14 European countries. We are owned by Deutsche Bahn (DB). 2. We are a major train operator in the UK, last year we operated 363 million passenger journeys across 9.7 million passenger kilometres, utilising rural commuter lines through to long distance and inter-urban services. Arriva’s UK rail companies include CrossCountry, Chiltern, Arriva Rail London (“the Overground”) and open access operator Grand Central. Arriva also provides rail maintenance services via our Arriva TrainCare business. 3. We also operate over 5,000 buses across the UK, in London, the South East, the Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East, the North West and North Wales, employing over 15,000 people. Arriva UK Bus also operates the innovative Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) ArrivaClick operations in Watford and Leicestershire. Executive summary 4. The Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated how central our public transport networks are to our way of life, economic prosperity and social inclusion. Buses and trains kept vital key workers moving and provided a lifeline to local communities and the economy. 5. Like other public transport operators, Arriva’s UK and European operations were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuring national lockdowns that took place. As members of the public in the UK followed government advice and remained indoors, passenger numbers fell to extremely low percentages of comparable years. On rail this was as low as 4% and 10% on buses outside London in April 20201. 6. One benefit of these lockdowns was the marked improvement in air quality that towns and cities such as London experienced2. However, these improvements are being lost as lockdown restrictions have changed. In London, nitrogen dioxide levels have rebounded to pre-lockdown levels3. 7. Now is the time to seize the moment and ‘build back better’ for a post-pandemic world. Modal shift to public transport should be at the heart of transport policy and is necessary if the UK is to achieve its climate change targets. Safe, affordable and sustainable public transport should be a clear viable choice for people going about their daily lives in the changed world, helping to create prosperous and greener towns and cities. 8. People have also changed the way they work and travel4. Covid-19 has accelerated the changes the industry was already seeing in regular travel patterns, with increases in flexible working practices and home working being combined with less frequent visits to office and retail locations. Finding longer-term solutions for a changing world will be vital, such as new ticketing and fares products 5. This necessity was recently highlighted by 1 Gov.uk, Transport use by mode, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the- coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic 2 London.gov.uk, https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/dramatic-improvements-in-air-quality 3 Centre for energy and research on clean air, https://energyandcleanair.org/ 4 http://www.passengertransport.co.uk/2020/06/commuters-planning-to-shun-public-transport/ REF0091 the independent watchdog Transport Focus, which conducted research amongst rail customers, showing that almost two in three former rail commuters expect to work from home more from now on. 9. If the country is to thrive in this new world, our public transport systems must be ready to meet its new expectations. This will require a significant acceleration to reform of our rail and bus sectors that was already underway before the pandemic. These reforms of public transport should be customer-centric and support join-up and collaboration across modes, boosting multi-modal journeys and active travel where possible. 10. Reform of the railway must deliver: a. a fares and ticketing system that delivers value for money and suits new working patterns b. a new public private partnership model that leverages the strengths of the private sector, drives out inefficiency, and puts customers and taxpayers even more fully at the heart of service and recognises the impacts of the pandemic c. long-term incentives for operators and a long-term strategic plan that will drive improvements for customers through innovation d. creation of a ‘guiding mind e. empowerment for operators and communities to address local circumstances. 11. Reform of bus policy must deliver: a. close working between the industry and government to accelerate the delivery of the National Bus Strategy that places bus travel at the heart of local and national government planning, allowing the preservation of the connectivity of communities in an economically effective manner b. processes and funding for bus prioritisation infrastructure c. greater use of digitalisation and innovation d. operators the flexibility to swiftly respond to passenger demands. Embedding modal shift and achieving net zero 12. Embedding modal shift will be key to realising the UK’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050 and a sustained economic recovery. 13. In 2018, 28% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions came from the transport sector6. This will need to be significantly reduced if the UK is to hit its net zero target by 2050. 14. Some might argue that climate change targets can be reached by the introduction of large numbers of electric cars on Britain’s roads. While this will help, air quality and emissions are not the only issues which need to be tackled. 80% of Europe’s population is expected to live in an urban area by 20507. Trends in the total population of EU27 and UK from 1961 to 2018 show a decline in the share of population living in rural areas, while towns and cities experienced a smooth and constant increase. 5 Transport Focus, Aug 2020, https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/news-events-media/news/head-out-to-help- out-get-passengers-back-on-board-with-better-fares-deals-says-watchdog/ 6 DfT, Decarbonising Transport, setting the challenge, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878642/ decarbonising-transport-setting-the-challenge.pdf 7 EU Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/knowledge4policy/foresight/topic/continuing- urbanisation/developments-and-forecasts-on-continuing- urbanisation_en#:~:text=Europe's%20level%20of%20urbanisation%20is,a%20smooth%20and%20constant%20 increase. REF0091 15. By shifting towards public transport, not only can emissions and air quality levels improve but congestion can also be reduced. With growing demand for mobility, our towns and cities will become even more gridlocked with privately owned cars, electric or otherwise. Cars currently take up a third of dedicated infrastructure. These cars, however, are on average parked for 96% of the time with only 4% moving or idling on roads8. Road space could be prioritised for more sustainable modes such as public transport. 16. A full double decker bus can take the equivalent of 75 cars off our congested roads, and significantly more from a full (even socially distanced) passenger train. Decarbonisation need not wait for all vehicles to become zero/ultra-low emission. Existing buses and trains already emit far less greenhouse gases per passenger than internal combustion engine private cars. Supporting modal shift and building demand will create the conditions for further investment in zero/ultra-low emission bus travel. Government and local authorities may wish to consider models such as additional parking charges as a delivery model for raising funds for public transport schemes or the greening of fleets. 17. There are tangible economic benefits to removing congestion in urban areas. More people commute by bus than all other forms of public transport combined, generating £64bn in GDP (before the pandemic). Greener journeys suggest that if the trend for bus journey times increasing by almost 1% per annum continues, there will continue to be a loss of access to around 5,000 jobs per year consequently9. 18. There is another added benefit of modal shift: healthier communities. As the World Health Organisation notes, shifting to public transport is associated with a wide range of health benefits, including more physical activity and less obesity by encouraging more active travel10. Reliable public transport should be seen as the backbone of future mobility that integrates provisions for walking and cycling for the first and last mile of journeys. 19. In 2019 Public Health England estimated between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths a year can be attributed to long-term exposure to poor air quality11. As we emerge from Covid-19, only a public transport-led recovery, rather than a car-led recovery, will mean we are not swapping one public health crisis for another. 20. Buses represent 5% of all journeys but represent 3% of all transport related emissions12 making them a relatively low producer of pollution. This will improve further if the rollout of ultra-low and zero emissions buses accelerates. Arriva supports and contributed to the CPT’ ‘Vision for 2030’ plan, which among other things, commits the industry to only purchase next generation ultra-low or zero emissions buses from 2025 (but starting this process by 2023 in some urban areas)13. Arriva has extensive experience with zero- emissions buses. For example, in the Netherlands, Arriva has passed the halfway point in its rollout of electric buses in Limburg. This significant milestone supports the province’s plan for public transport to go emission-free by 2026. 8 RAC Foundation, https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#a5 9 https://greenerjourneys.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TTBusReport_Digital.pdf 10 World Health Organisation 11 Gov.uk, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-health-england-publishes-air-pollution-evidence- review#:~:text=Air%20pollution%20is%20the%20biggest,lung%20cancer%2C%20and%20exacerbates%20asth ma.