Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee 7 December 2016

K1 route - TfL proposals for the replacement of ‘Hail and Ride’ sections with fixed stops within the Sunray and Egmont estates. Report by the Head of Environment

Purpose To comment on TfL London ’ proposed replacement of ‘Hail and Ride’ sections of the K1 bus route with fixed stops within the Sunray and Egmont estates. Recommendation That the Committee considers and comments on these proposals as set out in Annex 1 ahead of their consideration by the Residents Committee on 8 December 2016.

Key Points

A. On March 2016 for London (TfL) issued a consultation document on proposed changes to the current bus stopping arrangements for the K1 bus route through the Sunray and Egmont estates. TfL distributed consultation documents to residents, local Councillors and other interested stakeholders.

B. The proposals are for the introduction of nine fixed bus stops (three with bus shelters) in the Sunray and Egmont Estates, in order to improve bus accessibility and reliability, as set out in paragraphs 8 - 13.

C. TfL suggest that the current ‘Hail and Ride’ system is often difficult to access, especially for wheelchair passengers, and London Buses are proposing to switch to a fixed stop system in order to improve access to these routes.

D. The Committee are being consulted on the proposals ahead of their consideration by the Council’s Residents Committee.

Context 1. Since 1987, a number of bus services in the Borough have operated partly on a ‘Hail and Ride’ basis. These services are mostly along residential roads where bus services were introduced for the first time. Since 2000/2001 these services have operated with low floor, fully accessible buses. However, the full potential of these vehicles has not been realised as they frequently cannot pull in close to and parallel with the kerb in order to allow passengers, especially those using wheelchairs, to alight safely and conveniently.

2. London Buses first proposed the replacement of ‘Hail and Ride’ services with conventional fixed bus stops nine years ago. These proposals met with opposition from bus users and local residents alike. The Committee at that time were against the cessation of ‘Hail and Ride’ and its replacement with fixed stop services, due to the loss of on street parking that was required for their implementation.

3. London Buses have now re-considered their proposals. In order to comply with the Equality Act (2010), by making sure that all road users have access to their services, including wheelchair users, they wish to proceed with an amended version of the proposal, including some additional modifications that will mitigate the loss of any on street parking.

4. The K1 bus route also runs through the Maldens and Coombe Neighbourhood, to the east of the Hogsmill River, and sections of the route in that area also operate Hail and Ride. These sections of the route do not form part of the consultation.

Proposal and Options 5. The K1 route runs between Cromwell Road in Kingston and New Malden Railway station. It runs every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday in the daytime, and every 20 minutes during the evening and all day on Sundays.

6. Most of the K1 route has fixed bus stops, but there is a ‘Hail and Ride’ facility on three sections of its route between Tolworth and New Malden. ‘Hail and Ride’ means that buses are permitted to stop at any safe location requested by a customer, so there are no fixed bus stops. One of the ‘Hail and Ride’ sections is in the Sunray and Egmont Estates, along parts of Barnsbury Lane, Warren Drive South and Knollmead, and along the full length of Southwood Drive.

7. TfL want to improve bus accessibility, reliability and information on these roads by introducing fixed stops, and they are proposing to introduce nine fixed bus stops (three with bus shelters) in the Sunray and Egmont Estates. There would be two each in Barnsbury Lane, Warren Drive South and Knollmead, and three in Southwood Drive. There would be some minor associated changes needed to the footways, roads and grass verges, as well as some new or amended restrictions on parking and loading to allow the stops to be introduced.

Benefits of the proposal

8. Improved accessibility – In ‘Hail and Ride’ sections, parked vehicles often prevent buses from accessing the kerb, and even when they can, grass verges (which are common in this area) and other obstructions may restrict access to the bus. This causes difficulties for older and disabled people, and can prevent the wheelchair ramps being used. The proposed fixed bus stops would allow buses to stop next to a kerb of the correct height, with an adjacent hard and level surface, enabling them to take advantage of their low floors and wheelchair ramps.

9. A more reliable journey – The more often a bus stops the slower it becomes. According to TfL, surveys have shown that the K1 route often stops several times in a short distance in this area. Introducing a smaller number of fixed bus stops would improve reliability and allow more accurate predictions of journey time.

10.Reduced traffic congestion – Buses in ‘Hail and Ride’ sections can block junctions if parking prevents them accessing the kerb while stopping. The proposed fixed bus stops and associated changes to parking and loading restrictions are designed to minimise this.

11.Improved safety – Fixed bus stops on a hard surface at a suitable height would ensure that waiting customers are visible to bus drivers and that these users are able to board buses safely. They would encourage people to wait together in a well lit area, increasing their personal safety. They would also allow other road users to predict where buses might stop, thus reducing the likelihood of collisions.

12.Better information – Fixed bus stops would clearly show that a bus service is available. They would have information frames which would display timetables, and diversion notices when needed. They would also allow TfL to provide real time information to customers with mobile devices, ‘next stop’ information on the buses, and more detailed information for journey planning.

13.More clarity – ‘Hail and Ride’ can be a confusing system for those who are visually impaired or have learning difficulties, as well as anyone unfamiliar with the area, as there is no clear indication of where buses will and will not stop. It can also lead to disputes between customers and bus drivers as to where it is safe to stop. Fixed stops would minimise any confusion.

Transport for London - Result of Local consultation 14.TfL received responses from 128 members of the public and five stakeholders. They also received a petition representing the views of 524 local residents.

15.Support for proposed changes: TfL asked respondents whether they ​ ​ supported their proposed changes to bus route K1 and have analysed the responses to this question by residential location, by postcode and by health problems and disability.Of the 128 respondents taken as a whole, 58 (45%) stated that they supported or partially supported the proposal, and 37 (29%) stated that they did not support it, with the remainder having no opinion or not answering the question.

16.Of the 29 respondents not directly answering the question, in their written responses 4 expressed clear support for the proposal, 3 expressed partial support, 10 expressed clear opposition, and 12 were not clear about their overall support.

17.Of the 42 respondents stating that they live on one of the roads served by route K1 in this area, 15 (just over one third) stated that they supported or partially supported the proposal, and 27 (just under two thirds) stated that they did not support it.

18.Of the 22 respondents stating that they live in the Sunray or Egmont Estates but not on one of the roads served by route K1, 13 (over half) stated that they supported the proposal, 8 (just over one third) stated that they did not support it, with 1 expressing no opinion.

19.Of the 36 respondents stating that they live elsewhere, 30 (nearly all) stated that they supported or partially supported the proposal, 2 stated that they did not support it, with 4 expressing no opinion or not answering the question.

20.TfL were not able to analyse support for the scheme by residential location for the 28 respondents who did not answer the question “Do you live on one of ​ the roads served by route K1 in this area?”, but 15 of these respondents ​ provided a postcode and so are included in the analysis below.

21.TfL also analysed support for the proposal based on respondents’ postcodes and found that support for the proposal was strongest outside the Sunray and Egmont Estates. There was less support for the proposal inside the Estates.

22.Looking at health problems and disabilities, of the 12 respondents reporting at least some limitation on their day-to-day activities, 7 (just over half) stated that they supported or partially supported the proposal and 5 (just less than half) stated that they did not support it

23.Of the 72 respondents reporting no limitation on their day-to-day activities, 44 (nearly two-thirds) stated that they supported or partially supported the proposal and 26 (over a third) stated that they did not support it, with 2 expressing no opinion.

24.TfL have excluded from this analysis those respondents who did not provide information about health problems or disability or who did not directly answer the question. This includes the 27 respondents who responded only by email or letter. For further details on the comments received, please see Annex 2 ​

Officer Comments 26.Officers understand the reasoning behind the proposed changes, and the Council shares a responsibility in terms of ensuring that all services delivered are done so in a way that is compliant with the Equalities Act (2010). It is also understood that the concept of a ‘Hail and Ride’ service is attractive, as it suggests that along that route bus users can get on and off the bus at will. The reality of the service is different, in that a driver should only stop to pick up or drop off a passenger where it is safe to do so. Effectively this means only where a vehicle is able to pull alongside a section of road with an ‘accessible’ kerbside space.

27.Observations of this type of route show that people tend to group together and wait for the bus at known points along the roads, where the bus can access the kerbside. In some instances, this will occur in locations which are not ideal, and which are coincidental to sections of road where there are yellow lines.

28.Within the current legislation TfL have the capability of introducing a and the associated cage markings without requiring any form of consultation. However, there is a need for them to liaise with the borough’s where there provision of a bus stop requires physical works to introduce hard standings or bus shelters, and where there is an impact on existing yellow line waiting restrictions, where the borough will need to amend the Traffic Management Order (TMO) to reflect these changes.

29.Officers have no highway objections to the TfL proposals; however, it is accepted that the introduction of bus stops will result in the loss of on-street parking spaces, and whilst this is a local issue, considering that the area is already heavily parked, TfL have drawn up proposed mitigation measures (pages 56-67) which offset those concerns.

Timescale 30.If the Residents Committee approves the TfL proposals, it is anticipated that the scheme and the associated changes to the TMO will be implemented this financial year.

Resource Implications

31.These works, and any associated physical works to be undertaken by the borough, will be funded by TfL who have provided additional bus enabling funds to the Local Implementation Plan (LIP) allocation in 2016/17.

Legal Implications

32.Section 65(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 provides that the Council as traffic authority “may cause or permit traffic signs to be placed on or near a road …” in their area. This includes the clearway markings laid at bus stops. Bus stop signs are specifically referred to as traffic signs for the purpose of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 which are regulations made under the Act and are the current regulations dealing with signage.

Equalities Impact Assessment

33.There is an overarching EQIA in place that covers LIP Schemes, and as such individual assessments are not required. However, these proposals are ​ specifically intended to enhance and improve EIA under the DDA.

Network Implications

34.It is not anticipated that the proposals will have any impact on the local road network.

Environmental Implications 35.By regularising the stopping arrangements for this bus route, a slight overall decrease in air and noise pollution may occur. 36.Having assessed the proposed site locations, officers can advise that no trees will be affected by these proposals.

Background papers held by the author - None other that those referenced in the report

Author of report - Younes Hamade - Senior Professional Engineer, ​ [email protected], 020 8547 5922. ​