Transport in Isolated Communities
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Transport in isolated communities: Memoranda Received Key: Item No with a * is a further NEW items are listed below with the number and title in bold, and are available on the Members’ or supplementary item. shared drive (Inquiry/MAS/Written evidence) No. Author TIC 001 Dr Roger Sexton TIC 002 Spectrum TIC 003 Age Scotland TIC 004 West Dorset District Council TIC 005 Public Transport Action Group TIC 006 Jean Keyworth TIC 007 Brian Kennish TIC 008 Ruth Rigg TIC 009 Vicky Von-Hessler TIC 010 Compass Disability Services TIC 011 Appleby Town Council TIC 012 Alex Cook TIC 013 Grave Over Sands Town Council TIC 014 Donna Howitt TIC 015 H Compton TIC 016 Hastoe group TIC 017 Janet Erskine TIC 018 Borrowdale Parish Council TIC 019 Gloucestershire Rural Communities TIC 020 Fellow Travellers Ltd TIC 021 Association of Local Bus Companies TIC 022 Sutton Valance Parish Council TIC 023 Simon Norton TIC 024 Teesdale U3A TIC 025 Chartered Instition of Highways and Transportation TIC 026 ACRE TIC 027 Blanchland Parish Council TIC 028 Rural Community Council of Essex TIC 029 Broomley and Stocksfield Parish Council TIC 030 Community First TIC 031 TravelWatch NorthWest TIC 032 Ramblers’ Association TIC 033 pteg TIC 034 TSSA retired members group TIC 035 Leslie Bowman TIC 036 Hambleton and Richmondshire Rural Transport & Access Partnership (H&R RTAP) TIC 037 Gwen Harlow TIC 038 Fare Enough TIC 039 Seascale Parish Council TIC 040 Northumberland County Council Written evidence from Dr Roger Sexton (TIC 001) 1 I am only dealing with your third question, ‘What are the main challenges associated with providing better and more consistent bus and rail services to isolated communities?’ A Bus Deregulation 2 Buses are the main form of rural public transport. The biggest ‘challenge’(I would use the word ‘problem’) is the lack of public control over bus services. Unlike in the rest of Europe, most British bus services outside London are provided commercially; these services are not planned by public bodies such as a German/Swiss/ Austrian Verkehrsverbund or a Swedish Lanstrafiken. 3 In very rural parts of Britain there may be no commercial bus services, and the Local Authority can then plan the system. But that situation is rather rare. Usually in rural areas (eg in North Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire) there are some commercial registrations which make a planned network impossible. Bus deregulation also makes integration of rail, bus and ferry services impossible. This point is even more important in rural areas than it is in cities. 4 As I have said before, we need regional PTA-type bodies covering the whole country, with control over all local rail, bus and ferry services. See e.g. your 2012 report on competition in the bus industry, my oral evidence at Ev page 14 Q93. I would add that in the Netherlands, there are PTA-like bodies controlling all local public transport, urban and rural. 5 In the context of cycling, we are constantly being exhorted to ‘go Dutch’. The same should be true of public transport. And what do Dutch cyclists do when it rains? Or they have heavy luggage, or they want to go a long distance, perhaps to rural Friesland, or the islands off the north coast? They use their excellent integrated regulated public transport network. And to pay for their journeys, they get out their nationwide ‘Oystercard’, the ‘OV Chipkaart’. 6 Yes, one smartcard for the whole country, both urban and rural and valid on all forms of public transport! Contrast the situation here in urban Nottingham where there are now three incompatible smartcard systems in one city – and that is just for buses! (Trams and trains are not covered.) B Senior Bus Passes 7 A second major problem is the distorting effect of Senior bus passes. Seniors living in rural areas insist on bus services (timetabled to leave their village after 09 30) so they can use their free passes. They reject rail, ferry or shared taxis. That is nonsensical. 8 I would not extend the free bus pass to other forms of public transport. Rather I would replace it with a smart card ‘purse’ valid on all forms of public transport . I would suggest an annual value of £520, (£10 per week.). There would, of course, have to be legislation imposing a uniform smart card system on all operators of public transport. See my written evidence to the 2012 enquiry, page Ev 75 paragraph 15, but note paragraph 6 above. 9 There might be a case for the smart card ‘purse’ to be larger for Seniors living in rural areas a long way from the nearest large town. However, another advantage of public transport being controlled by a PTA is that the PTA sets the fares. We must put an end to the absurd situation where one sector of the rural population can make unlimited journeys ‘to town’ for nothing, while other sectors (particularly the young and the unemployed) have to pay very high fares. We can only do that by (both) ending bus deregulation and putting some upper limit on the use of Senior bus passes. July 2013 Written evidence from Spectrum (TIC 002) Spectrum, based in Cornwall, are a care provider dealing with people whose condition impacts on their ability to travel on public transport and even these people are having problems securing assistance with transport costs other than through the DLA / PIP route. In the wider community we have people being supported in outreach services who have no ability to migrate in and out of their village other than before 10.00am, firs bus, and 3.30pm last bus which makes for them planning their days activity and skills development a very difficult task to manage. We have the situation in the County where some of the major town have bus and train routes available but the costs of traveling in this manner is prohibitive and where a driver fails to report for work they bus simply does not run, again detrimental to the health and wellbeing of people who need to plan meticulously for journeys. July 2013 Written evidence from Age Scotland (TIC003) We received the notification of the Transport Committee’s inquiry into ‘Passenger Transport in Isolated Communities’. You may be aware that the Scottish Parliament’s Infrastructure & Capital Investment Committee recently held an inquiry into community transport. As part of our campaign, Still Waiting, Age Scotland has been lobbying for a review of the existing National Concessionary Travel scheme in order that this is made more widely available on community transport services. We submitted evidence to the Infrastructure & Capital Investment Committee and, while we are aware that transport in Scotland is a devolved matter, we hoped that the findings of our research and the key questions which it raises may be of interest in your own investigation. A copy of Age Scotland’s submission to the Infrastructure & Capital Investment Committee’s inquiry is available here. If you have any questions in relation to this or would like additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. July 2013 Written evidence from West Dorset District Council (TIC004) Referring directly to your suggested bullet points: 1• How do Government and local authorities identify demand for passenger transport in isolated communities (including rural and urban areas and island communities)? At the moment, very poorly! Local Authorities and local councillors have much information on the locality and need of people requiring extra care packages, but this information is not used (or is not made available) to transport providers. Health and Social Care providers, the Voluntary sector, School transport providers, Church and other local community organisations should be asked to pool their information. 2• To what extent are the needs of different groups of passengers (e.g. people with disabilities, older people, young people) taken into account in determining the provision of public transport to isolated communities? Again, liaison between different agencies would be enormously helpful. 3• What are the main challenges associated with providing better and more consistent bus and rail services to isolated communities? How can these challenges be overcome? Affordability. More publicity as to when buses are available is vital as is co-ordinated thinking as to when people with additional needs are in need. It is recognised that it is uneconomic to provide empty buses but ‘use it or lose it’ initiatives can be helpful if they are continually repeated – though I recognise diminishing returns here! 4• How effectively do Community Transport services address the needs of passengers in isolated communities? How could Community Transport be improved? Direct contact with those identified by the various care-providing agencies and voluntary groups should help identify need and enable individuals to get together so that they can all be transported together. 5• To what extent should passengers in isolated communities be expected to rely on taxis and other demand-responsive transport services? Depends how isolated – and how needy! Taxi provided by the LTA, as happens with schoolchildren, could be a way forward. 6• What are the main challenges associated with funding transport services in isolated communities? How can these services be made more affordable? Ask local groups to get together to ‘save their local service’ July 2013 Written evidence from the Public Transport Action Group (TIC005) Just a couple of comments we have discovered when looking at a better public transport system within our Borough of Telford & Wrekin which is bigger than County Town of Shrewsbury with approximately 103,000 plus 192,000 population in Rural Shropshire. Shropshire is a large County of 3,198 Sq Kilometres (1,235 Sq Miles) Telford is the largest Town of 290 Sq Kilometres ( 112 Sq Miles) Telford & Wrekin Borough which is a New Town built in an old area and also covers 13 rural settlements has a population of 170,000.