Ipswich Buses Update
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Transport & Infrastructure Group Update Ipswich Buses Overview 100% owned by Ipswich Borough Council Supports our shareholders values, national living wage & a disability confident employer Own board of directors and management team One of only 9 remaining municipally owned bus operators 75 vehicles – one of the cleanest bus fleets in East Anglia with 68% Euro V or Euro VI Employs 183 staff including 146 drivers across two sites 8 million passenger journeys per annum 1.5 million litres of diesel a year Route network covers Ipswich, East Babergh, Essex & Colchester Home to School contracts include local authority & local private schools Blue chip customers include Greater Anglia, Amazon & Transport for London Members of the CPT, ALBUM, CILT & Suffolk Chamber of Commerce Ipswich Buses – Recent Developments Major review of Ipswich network in 2018 which pre Covid delivered year on year growth Contactless payments introduced in 2018 New management team appointed in early 2019 with a focus to improve service quality and reliability Launched Ipswich Buses APP in 2019 which includes M-tickets, journey planning and real time bus tracking Further expansion with Essex County Council in 2020 on contracted services New features added to APP including live occupancy data to assist with social distancing and help people plan journeys at quieter times Ipswich Buses Today – Current Situation Patronage initially dropped over night by 90% in March 2020 Now operating at 95% of pre COVID service levels Passenger levels are currently at 65% of pre COVID Car usage & congestion appears to have returned to pre COVID levels Local High Streets have suffered due to lockdown Lockdown has accelerated consumer behaviour towards online purchases Lack of destination means less demand to travel Government & Local Authority Funding has been essential to maintain services Followed government guidelines and industry best practice throughout the pandemic 96% of Ipswich Buses passengers comply with facial covering regulations A Declining Industry Contributing Factors & Challenges Rising costs mean rising fares Reduction in funding & reimbursement Increased congestion, badly planned & managed roadworks Car ownership – so easy and attractive Lack of accessibility i.e. times of operation, ticketing & information Anti social behaviour Poor publicity and infrastructure Pop up / App based transport solutions Developers not held accountable and loss of section 106 funding No joined up thinking between stakeholders & various forums Lack of vision, Closure of Bury Road Park & Ride and resistance to reopen it, no Northern Relief Road or suitable solution, no Upper Orwell crossing Closures on the Orwell Bridge cause disruption to our network and can be seen in the spikes on this graph Reversing the Decline Our drivers are one of our most important assets and key to the customer experience Colour coded route branding continuing to be rolled out Opportunities for the Industry “Bus Back Better” – National Bus Strategy For England Enhanced Partnership with local authority being explored Increases in bus priority to speed up journeys Clearer ticketing & publicity Socially necessary services Joined up future local transport Future proofing legislation Support for greener buses and alternative fuels Shape & volume of bus services will be dependant on local economy The future for Ipswich Buses Seize “bolt on” business opportunities that support our core network 3 additional Euro VI Scania Double Deckers to enter service ready for September 2021 Play a key part in the supporting and the regeneration of the communities we service Continue to embrace technology to operate more efficiently and enhance the customer experience Touch on & Touch Off contactless payments with day capping – May 2021 New partner for a workplace travel scheme to be launched in - May 2021 Next stop announcements to be launched on services 1,3,8,12 & 13 – Summer 2021 Retail partnerships Support stakeholders such as Ipswich Central and the “Digital Ipswich” vision Develop work place travel schemes and partnerships, aligning bus routes and times to match key employers requirements Work with developers to create bus friendly developments from day one Sizewell C Continue to explore alternative fuels Any Questions? [email protected].