REF0068

Written evidence submitted by County Council

Cumbria County Council welcomes the opportunity to respond to this inquiry and acknowledges the valuable input from Community Rail Cumbria representing the Community Rail Partnerships for the Cumbrian Coast Line, and Lakes Line. The Council is the Local Transport Authority for Cumbria which is the second largest county in England covering an area of 6,768 km2. With a population of approximately 500,012, Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United Kingdom, with approximately 73.4 people per km2. The larger, urban conurbations are situated around the edges of the county with the National Park occupying a large area in the centre of Cumbria. The main centres of population are , Barrow in Furness, , and with many other smaller towns and villages. The resident population is dwarfed by the millions of visitors who arrive in the county each year, particularly during the Spring and Summer seasons.

Many smaller communities have little or no access to public transport services which can increase levels of social isolation. In addition, the railway network generally services the outer edges of Cumbria which precludes convenient access for many residents. An increasing number of the county’s residents are elderly with a significant proportion unable to drive. Over recent years an increasing trend towards internet shopping and changing consumer habits has resulted in many villages losing some or all of their local amenities including shops, public houses, doctors’ surgeries and schools. Although residents have access to taxi services these may be cost prohibitive due to the length of journey required or availability of operators in particular localities.

The challenges presented above have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early months of the emergency situation patronage levels on public transport dropped significantly with many passengers heeding the Government’s advice at the time to refrain from non-essential journeys. Private car use dropped by approximately 50% in many areas of Cumbria in the early months of the pandemic but in latter weeks has returned to previous levels. Presently public transport use is still reduced currently standing around 60% on the county’s main bus routes although use of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme passes is still around 40% of normal levels. This suggests that while the number of passengers undertaking essential trips to workplaces and education settings is gradually increasing there is a lack of confidence in some older adults to return to using public transport, particularly set in the context that bus travel for this group is generally free of charge.

For the rail network, there has been a gradual shift from the traditional 5 days per week commute, due to changing working patterns and the increasing number of employees electing to work from home, to more use by passengers supporting the leisure and tourism sectors which for Cumbria is one of our most significant economic drivers. Despite the change in travel demand, our tourism sector has been very badly hit - current predictions are for a loss of 23 million visits (-49%), 32 million visitor days (-51%), £1.76billion of revenue (-56%) and half of all jobs (19,000 FTEs) across 2020. REF0068

A local campaign for more support for Cumbria’s tourism and hospitality sector has been launched to provide support through to Spring 2021.

Understandably, the temporary emergency timetable concentrated on providing adequately spaced capacity to get essential workers and returning employees to work however, this wasn’t used to a large extent and resulted in insufficient capacity and frequency to accommodate the upsurge in leisure staycationers to Cumbria from 4 July 2020 onwards.

Cumbria Tourism and the Lake District National Park Authority have indicated that the 2020 tourism season is likely to be extended into the Autumn and Winter months which is likely to boost patronage levels on the public transport networks. At present, usage is reported to be around 35-40% on the rail network but is gradually moving in an upward direction. New approaches such as cycle trains could be considered to support emerging travel demands. More frequent train services ( aim to introduce 2 trains per hour on the majority of lines) is now a priority to cater for increased numbers of staycationers which may well continue to rise as COVID-19 is unlikely to go away quickly. Capacity along the Cumbrian lines is severely hampered due to single line operations, manual signalling and the legacy of a Victorian infrastructure which has had little investment for several decades.

Feedback from passengers and operators suggests that passenger confidence in using public transport is still lacking. A variety of campaign messages have been used by Government pertaining to public transport over the past 6 months ranging from only using if essential to making available for key workers. Reinforcing clear, consistent messaging led by Government and supported by the public transport sector may help to encourage increased patronage in future months. This should provide assurances that the transport provision is safe to use with appropriate levels of cleaning, sanitisation and social distancing.

All messaging should be disseminated via a variety of mechanisms including the print and broadcast media and social forums such as Facebook and Twitter. Communications with major employers are also likely to be beneficial particularly if accessible public transport can be promoted as an incentive to return to the workplace and thus support the local retail and leisure industry - Cumbria is open for business. Financial incentives may also be prudent to encourage increased use of services, exploring options other than the traditional weekday season and saver ticket offer. By providing these inducements some travellers may divert from private car to public transport use as a long-term option.

The mechanisms for purchasing travel tickets should also be enhanced to improve the customer experience. All railway stations in Cumbria now feature ticket vending machines however some stations with two platforms would benefit from one on each platform to avoid access challenges. In addition, the electronic ticket offer should be enhanced facilitating multi-modal tickets valid across operators and transport types. Train operators should increase the visibility of revenue protection officers to dispel the perception in some groups that rail travel is free. This issue is particularly pertinent at unstaffed stations without access control barriers and on well-used REF0068

services. Investment in such team members will secure the payment of fares and provide a deterrent to those tempted to travel for free in addition to enhancing the financial viability of the service. Cumbria welcomes moves by the major rail operator to introduce flexible season tickets which will help attract commuters who travel less than every day out of cars, and the continued availability of Scholars’ season tickets for rail journeys.

Rail operators have reported to be struggling with staff availability during the pandemic. This is attributed to some employees shielding, caring for dependents and self-isolating due to contracting the virus. Passengers have generally been understanding of this predicament however this flexibility may not be maintained as the economy progresses through the restart phase. Training regimes across the sector are reported as slipping back by around 6 months and there appears to be a lack of staff resilience across providers which can impact on service availability. Unlike the bus sector the rail industry suffers from a lack of surplus assets which can present challenges with breakdowns or in instances where additional carriages are required. Furthermore, the rail industry cannot easily call on extra rail crew because of the need for training on specific routes and traction types. Government funding would be of assistance to the rail industry to ensure resilience with respect to staff and stock capacity and this would also assist continued service delivery during other emergency situations such as adverse weather events. In addition, mutual-aid provision across the sector could be improved with operators agreeing to share staff resources and stock to assist with emergency situations. This will enhance the resilience of the networks and promote healthy working arrangements resulting in less disruption for passengers.

Connectivity between rail and bus routes could be further enhanced by operators working in partnership with their local transport authority – this could be strengthened if the Local Transport Authority was in a position to support funding initiatives. Aligning timetables will encourage increased public transport patronage particularly with seamless journeys across modes. Skip stopping patterns continue to be challenging and deter passengers.

There is still a perception that Cumbria is part of the “Forgotten North” and existing services, facilities, infrastructure needs to be built upon to dispel this notion. The Council welcomes funding opportunities such as Transport for the North’s Integrated and Smart Travel initiative and has recently submitted an Expression of Interest for financial assistance to deliver a solution in partnership with several rail and bus operators. Railway stations should offer safe and secure cycle, motorbike and scooter storage at a reasonable cost if not free of charge. In addition, and particularly pertinent to a rural county like Cumbria, cost effective and secure vehicle parking, including electric charging points, should also be provided where feasible and certainly at major stations. The Council has recently developed hubs at and Workington railway stations with free of charge parking and easy and accessible provision for rail and bus users and there are several opportunities for similar hubs to be developed elsewhere in the county for example Askam in Furness and Kendal. Car parking and drop off facilities are inadequate at many stations, for example Carlisle and Oxenholme, which discourages people from considering using the train. Passenger welfare facilities at waiting points should also be enhanced with safe and comfortable waiting rooms and shelters and public conveniences at stations with REF0068

increased footfall. Importantly, journeys must be reliable with operators striving to achieve improved punctuality to further enhance the attractiveness of public transport. Technology should be embraced to provide real time route information to customers using a combination of electronic displays at the boarding points and information on operators’ websites and mobile phone apps. Above all this information must be accurate. The Council welcomes the work being undertaken by Transport for the North to deliver a solution across their footprint. The same provisions outlined above should also be delivered at major bus stations and interchanges. The county’s biggest operator of scheduled buses recognises the continued value of paper timetables and issues a comprehensive guide to its central Lake District services. This guide is snapped up by residents and visitors alike. The rail operator should also ensure that paper timetables are readily available at information centres and stations.

Feedback from the coach operators indicates that they have not received the same levels of support as the public use bus companies. For 21 of the 22 operators delivering bus services in Cumbria the main element of their business is private hire. These range from providing transport for school outings to day trips and holiday breaks. Given that many of these activities have been curtailed for the past 6 months these businesses have suffered a significant reduction in income which has been slightly mitigated by maintaining a small number of bus services. Many of these operators have also received payments from the Council for delivering school transport provision which has assisted but is no substitute for their usual operating activities. Additional funding for this sector may assist in ensuring that transport provision is available in future years.

There are a number of transport services provided on Cumbria’s lakes including Derwentwater, Coniston Water, Ullswater and Windermere. Although the majority of passengers are tourists a small number of individuals use these services as part of their commute to and from work. Due to the movement restrictions introduced during the early months of the pandemic many of operators suffered a significant fall in patronage as services were temporarily stopped during what would be a traditionally busy Spring and Summer season. These attractions contribute to the viability of the local economy supporting other businesses such as local shops and catering establishments.

Due to Cumbria’s rurality in many localities a timetabled bus service would not be commercially viable. The Council supports a variety of community transport options to serve the more sparsely populated areas of the county. This includes a voluntary social car scheme, community minibus hire, pre-booked timetabled minibus routes and taxi driver provision. Payment is facilitated via a smartcard and provisions are implemented in partnership with local individuals and community groups. In addressing the local transport offer the Council engages with organisations including Cumbria Mobility Network and Community Transport in Cumbria. In many cases local groups are best placed to inform the Council about the requirements for their community, access funding and monitor the provisions implemented. It may be that engagement such as this can be utilised to address some of the transport challenges presented by the pandemic particularly with changing travel behaviours. The Council embraces funding opportunities available to improve the local transport offer and in Summer 2020 submitted Expressions of Interest to the Department for Transport REF0068

with respect to the All-Electric Bus Town Fund and the Rural Mobility Fund. The former, if successful, will deliver a new fleet of electric and hybrid buses and associated infrastructure improvements for Barrow in Furness. The latter, should the Council’s submission receive the funding, will act as a pilot to deliver transport into 4 market towns from the surrounding rural catchment. In addition to this, the Council is playing a proactive role in bringing forward a series of projects to support green recovery and create the conditions that will enable people to transition back to public transport. The Council has received Government support for a number of these projects, which include the Carlisle Station Gateway, various Town Deal proposals which include sustainable transport and improvements to the Cumbria coastal railway line. As communities recover from the pandemic at a different pace locally led and delivered solutions may be prudent in encouraging the use of public transport.

One potential solution may be to re-regulate bus services and remove the franchising system for rail operators, the latter which has effectively been undertaken on a temporary basis. In areas such as Cumbria many communities not served by timetabled bus services as these are not financially viable for the private operators to maintain. By re-regulating the industry, operators may be compelled to cover both profitable and unprofitable routes. Another potential solution may be to introduce a charge for English National Concessionary Scheme passes, in a similar approach to rail cards, with reciprocal arrangements between different nations in the United Kingdom. Any income derived from this could be ring-fenced for improving public transport. Aligned with these suggestions it may be possible to use technology to make the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme pass issuing authority responsible for payments to operators wherever the card is used rather than the payment falling on the authority where the card is used.

With respect to environmental challenges when calculating carbon emissions for local authorities, vehicle emissions fall into scope 2 but this very often excludes the regular commute. It may be that emissions reporting could be standardised to include this and not just business mileage. The current climate can be seen as a good time to start building consumer confidence both in domestic and business transport for a low carbon future. Increase in support and incentives for switching modes and behaviour change will be required by consumers to deliver the decarbonisation of transport. Increasing market confidence is essential especially with uncertainty surrounding electric vehicles. Indications are that, in order to achieve a net zero carbon position by 2037 Cumbria must reduce the carbon intensity of driving by 50%. In a rural county this will obviously be a challenge and Government policy will need to support the right infrastructure in rural areas to help achieve this. From a rail perspective, providing more capacity on electrically powered trains could prove to be attractive and help achieve the carbon neutral aim. There are potential opportunities to increase rail freight thus reducing road congestion and carbon emissions.

In summary the COVID-19 pandemic provides opportunities to reshape the public transport offer across the United Kingdom. Clearly there will need to be a major “push” when the time is safe and ready to attract customers back to all forms of public transport and there is a role for Government in such an aspiration. Maybe time to re-examine real time running information, particularly for buses at stops and REF0068

stations. Confidence must be rebuilt and this can only be done by providing an attractive product that appeals to customers. There are real challenges to maintaining public transport networks, with the move to home working and home deliveries in urban areas, and a loss in confidence of the elderly who depend on rural transport, which also depends on their usage to remain viable. There is also a that traffic levels seem to be returning to normal faster than public transport, with people driving for leisure, rather than for work, which challenges the decarbonisation agenda.

In a diverse county like Cumbria, the Council is aware that a variety of solutions will be required to address the requirements of individual communities and their residents, visitors and the workforce. The key theme is to deliver a reliable, cost effective and sustainable offer in consultation with existing and potential users and the wider community. We would be delighted to provide further background information should this be required.

September 2020