DATA LABEL: PUBLIC

DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORT POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND SCRUTINY PANEL

BUS SERVICE CHANGES

REPORT BY HEAD OF OPERATIONAL SERVICES

A. PURPOSE OF REPORT

To outline changes to the council’s contract local bus services.

B. RECOMMENDATION

Following the termination by First East of their commercial South Queensferry to service, two council bus service contracts linked to that operation have ceased after First served early notice of termination of the contracts. The two services concerned were, in any event, subject to review pending alternative services being designed by September 2014.

Following this review it is recommended that the following proposals are forwarded to Council Executive for approval:

x contract service 1A is not replaced and; x a partial replacement for withdrawn contract service 43 is secured.

C. SUMMARY OF IMPLICATIONS

I Council Values Making best use of our resources Working in partnership.

II Policy and Legal (including The council has a policy of supporting public Strategic Environmental transport services where resources permit. Assessment, Equality Issues, Health or Risk Assessment)

III Implications for Scheme of None. Delegations to Officers

IV Impact on performance and The proposal will not affect the council’s KPI for performance Indicators bus service availability.

V Relevance to Single Public transport support initiatives contribute to a Outcome Agreement number of Single Outcome Agreement aims such as those relating to environmental improvement and increasing economic opportunities and social wellbeing.

VI Resources - (Financial, The council has an annual revenue budget of Staffing and Property) £24,000 for supporting the bus services considered in this report. The proposed changes will provide savings of 18,000. 1 VII Consideration at PDSP None.

VIII Other consultations Council and City of Edinburgh Council were consulted on the withdrawal of service 43 and do not wish to provide any replacement. Finance and Estates Services have been consulted regarding budget implications.

A report to Council Executive by the Head of Finance and Estates on 18 March noted that a further report would follow proposing alternative courses for action for contracts bus services 1A and 43.

D. BACKGROUND

The commercial bus service operated by First Scotland East between South Queensferry and Edinburgh ceased on 19 April. Linked to that operation, two council local bus service contracts have also been terminated. These services are:

x Service 1A an evening town service which operates every 4th Tuesday each month. x Service 43 a weekday peak hour Bo’ness/Linlithgow to South Queensferry and Edinburgh service which is 49% funded by Falkirk Council.

The current contracts were most recently let in October 2012 for a period of one year pending a reassessment of the use made of them by passengers which was known to be minimal and an assessment of the contribution that they make to the overall local bus network.

D1 Service 1A

Service 1A is an anomaly in the bus network in that it is the sole regular council contract service which operates on a cycle other than every week. Passenger data shows that the service often operates without any passengers and, when used, carries no more than four who are now known to have other travel arrangements. It is proposed that this service is not replaced after it runs for the last time on 22 April. This will achieve a saving of £1,000 per annum.

D2 Service 43

Service 43 is also lightly used carrying an average of eight based passengers in any week over the four bus journeys provided per day. This service is provided by buses positioning themselves into and out of operation for the former First commercial South Queensferry to Edinburgh services to and from their depot in West Lothian. The commercial service ceased on 19 April. Outside of West Lothian, a new commercial service 40 between South Queensferry and Edinburgh has recently started which is operated by Stagecoach and this runs every 15 minutes.

An interim arrangement has been provided to maintain travel opportunities for West Lothian residents pending approval of a long term solution. This arrangement provides two Linlithgow to South Queensferry Taxibus journeys on weekday mornings to connect with the new commercial service at South Queensferry for onward journeys to Edinburgh. In order to achieve the connections at South Queensferry the timetable of the replacement service have changed slightly.

2 No replacement has been provided or is proposed for the terminated evening journeys, an existing contract service can provide connections at South Queensferry with an unchanged council contract service 23.

A longer term solution for the lost morning journeys is proposed. This involves the amendment of the timetable for the council’s existing contract service 23. At present one journey, leaving at 07.00, terminates at Linlithgow at 07.31 and the vehicle forms the 07.32 return journey to Bathgate. By extending the Bathgate to Linlithgow journey through to South Queensferry a connection with the Stagecoach service can be made at 07.56.

This proposal brings the advantages of providing a peak service to South Queensferry from Bathgate and Linlithgow compared to the current first journey on service 23 which terminates there at 09.56.

In amending this timetable the 07.32 Linlithgow to Bathgate service cannot operate without the addition of a significant extra resource and this service will be withdrawn. As there is another contract service operating as service 449 already running from Linlithgow to Bathgate at 07.46 an alternative provision already exists for users and this withdrawal can be accepted.

The previous service timetables are shown in Appendix 1. The timetables for the new services are shown in Appendix 2.

The available budget for contract service 43 is £23,000 for 2014/15. The marginal cost of amending contract 23 to provide the replacement service is £6,000 per annum.

E. CONCLUSION

Two council local bus service contracts have been terminated by First Scotland East, the current contract holder. Both were services replaced on a one year basis pending further review as both were only lightly, and in one case, sporadically, used by passengers. It is proposed that no replacement is provided for one of the contracts and a partial replacement is made for another which will better integrate with existing commercial and contract bus services.

Overall the proposals in this report will produce an annual saving of £18,000 which will help to balance cost pressures on the local bus service budget.

F. BACKGROUND REFERENCES

Council Executive 21 August 2012

Council Executive 14 March 2014

G. APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Previous Service Timetables Appendix 2: New Service Timetables Contact Person: Ian Forbes, Public Transport Manager 01506 282317 [email protected] Jim Jack Head of Operational Services

Date of meeting: 15 May 2014

3 Appendix 1

Previous timetable for service 1A.

Linlithgow Town Service Linlithgow Cross 21:00 Linlithgow West Port 21:02 Linlithgow Braehead Rd 21:05 Mains Road at Cellars Path 21:07 Listloaning 21:10 Linlithgow Bridge 21:11 West Port 21:14 Linlithgow Cross 21:16

Previous timetable for service 43.

Bo'ness/Linlithgow - South Queensferry/Edinburgh Linlithgow Cross - - 07:13 Bo'ness Bus Station stance 3 06:26 | 19:01 Bo'ness, Harbour Rd 06:34 | 19:09 Blackness, at The Square 06:43 | | Newton Village 06:54 07:25 19:22 Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 07:04 07:35 19:30 Queensferry, Bo'ness Rd 07:11 07:42 19:36 Queensferry, Hopetoun Rd 07:17 07:48 19:40 Dalmeny, Bankhead Rd 07:26 07:57 19:46 Queensferry Rd, at Barnton 07:34 08:04 19:52 Blackhall, Hillhouse Rd 07:47 08:17 19:59 West End, Queensferry St 08:03 08:33 20:07 Edinburgh Bus Station 08:15 08:45 20:17

South Queensferry - Bo'ness (the Edinburgh – South Queensferry section of this journey is operated on a commercial basis.

Edinburgh 17:00 Queensferry, Echline Corner 18:01 Ferrymuir Retail Park 18:05 Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 18:10 Newton Village 18:20 Blackness, at The Square 18:29 Bo'ness, Harbour Rd 18:40 Bo'ness Bus Station stance 4 18:48

4 Appendix 2 Interim Taxibus Timetable

Linlithgow - South Queensferry Linlithgow Cross 06.44 07.15 Philpstoun 06.54 07.25 Newton Village 07.01 07.32 Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 07.11 07.42 Connection with Stagecoach service 40 Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 07.16 07.47 Edinburgh Bus Station 16.55 17.05

Alternative evening connections connecting times from Stagecoach service 40. Edinburgh Bus Station 16.55 Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 17.47 Connection with E&M Horsburgh service 23 Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 18.00 Newton Village 18.10 Philpstoun 18.15 Linlithgow Cross 18.25 Bathgate 18.56

Other connecting times are available throughout the day between service 40 and the council’s contract service 23 from South Queensferry to Linlithgow and Bathgate.

Proposed Amended Timetable for service 23 Bathgate Tesco 07.00 Bathgate South Bridge Street 07.06 Torphichen 07.16 Linlithgow Cross 07.31 Philpstoun 07.41 Newton 07.46 Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 07.56

Scotstoun, S. Queensferry 08.00 Newton Village 08.10 Philpstoun 08.15 Linlithgow Cross 07.32 08.32 Torphichen 07.47 08.47 Bathgate South Bridge Street 07.54 08.54 Bathgate Tesco 07.58 08.58 x Cancelled journey shown in italics x Additional journey shown in bold

5 Timetable for service 449

Bo'ness, Bus Station 07:24 Carriden, 07:30 Muirhouses, 07:30 Bo'ness, Linlithgow Road | Bo'ness, Borrowstoun Road | Bo'ness, Gauze Road | Bo'ness, Grahamsdyke Road | Muirhouses after Carriden Brae 07:31 Champany Inn 07:35 Linlithgow Springfield 07:37 Linlithgow Cross arr 07:41 dept 07:46 Whitecross, at Almond Terrace 07:53 Maddiston, Vellore Road 07:58 Torphichen 08:07 Bathgate, at St David's House 08:14 Bathgate in TESCO 08:19 Bathgate King Street Turning Circle - -

6