Scrutiny Review Panel 2 (Transport) - Minutes - 30 th June 2016 SCRUTINY REVIEW PANEL 2 – TRANSPORT MINUTES Thursday 30 th June 2016 PRESENT : Councillors: Aysha Raza (Chair), Gary Busuttil, Theresa Byrne, Patrick Cogan, Joanna Dabrowska (Vice-Chair), Gurmit Mann, Rajinder Mann, Karam Mohan, Kamaljit Nagpal, Gareth Shaw, Alex Stafford, Lauren Wall and Ray Wall. Co-opted Members Present: John Gashion - Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group (EPTUG) Ealing Officers Present: Harjeet Bains - Scrutiny Review Officer Chris Cole - Transport Projects and Policy Manager Russell Roberts - Acting Manager, Transport Projects and Policy Lee Teasdale - Democratic Services Officer Other Attendees: James Guest - Local Resident 1. Apologies for Absence (Agenda Item 1) There were none. 2. Declarations of Interest (Agenda Item 2) Councillor Ray Wall advised that he was employed by a private company which worked on railway re-signalling systems. 3. Matters to be Considered in Private (Agenda Item 3) There were none. 4. Panel Terms of Reference and Work Programme 2016-2017 (Agenda Item 4) The Chair asked that Members agree the proposed scope of the Panel and asked that Panel Members welcome and agree to the co-option of John Gashion the Vice- Chairman of Ealing Public Transport Users’ Group (EPTUG), who would sit on the Panel as a representative of EPTUG. The Chair advised that the overarching remit of the Panel would be to look at how public transport use could augment and support pedestrians in the Borough, encouraging healthier living and a move away from private vehicles, which in turn would support the local and wider environment. 1 Scrutiny Review Panel 2 (Transport) - Minutes - 30 th June 2016 It was agreed that the scope of the proposed work programme would be fully considered at the conclusion of the meeting. Resolved: That (i) the Panel’s Terms of Reference be agreed; and (ii) John Gashion be appointed to the Panel as the EPTUG co-opted representative. 5. Overview of Public Transport Connectivity in the Borough (Agenda Item 5) The Chair invited Russell Roberts, the Acting Manager for Transport Projects and Policy and Chris Cole, the new Manager for Transport Projects and Policy, due to begin employment with the Council on 4 July 2016 – to present a report which provided an overview of connectivity for public transport in the Borough. Public Transport Accessibility Levels Panel Members were provided with a heat map which analysed Public Transport Accessibility Levels (PTALS) in the borough. Ealing Broadway was highlighted as an area of high accessibility, whilst Park Royal, Norwood Green and parts of Greenford, Northolt, Perivale and Southall were notable for low levels of accessibility. Low- scoring PTALS were usually areas at a significant distance from the nearest rail/underground station and suffered from a scarcity of bus services. Ealing was currently ranked in the bottom quartile of all boroughs for public transport access to further education colleges and open spaces. It was ranked in the second quartile for access to GPs and the third quartile for primary schools, secondary schools, food shopping and access to employment. The relatively poor access to services reflected the high proportion of car use seen in the Borough. The 2013/2014 London Travel Demand Survey (LTDS) estimated that 34% of households in the Borough had no access to a car and over 37,000 (12% of residents) of Ealing’s population had reduced mobility. Around 98% of Ealing’s bus stops were now fully wheelchair accessible (up from just 43% in 2009) but many stations still lacked step free access. With North Acton being the most used of those stations which still lacked such access. Greenford Station had been made step free in October 2015, and feasibility studies had now been drawn up for North Acton, Northolt, Northfields and Perivale Stations. However, local physical restraints and particularly costs were significant barriers to achieving full accessibility at the remaining stations. The quality of the roads and pavements in the Borough were also integral to how people accessed public transport. Ealing Council used independent surveyors to inspect the standard of every road and footpath in the Borough each year, with each of these being given a condition rating out of 100. In the current year’s road renewal budget, £2.9 million was due to be spent on resurfacing roads and £570,000 on pavements. In addition, Transport for London had contributed £766,000 to repair sections of the main roads in the Borough that it managed. 2 Scrutiny Review Panel 2 (Transport) - Minutes - 30 th June 2016 Crossrail and Heavy Rail Services The introduction of Crossrail services in January 2019 was expected to bring significant accessibility benefits to the five Crossrail stations in the Borough. All of these stations (Acton Mainline, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall) would be step-free and the enhanced service pattern alongside significantly improved journey times into Central London would raise the PTALS in many parts of the Borough. Ealing Bus Network Connectivity Ealing’s bus network was overseen by Transport for London and Ealing officers undertook regular dialogue on services and performance. In December 2009, the Transport and Environment Scrutiny Panel had considered bus service provision in the borough, identifying perceived gaps and unmet links. The recommendations were taken through a Cabinet report which contained a full review of Ealing’s bus network in June 2011. This was followed up by a scrutiny report in February 2014 which focussed upon access to healthcare services in the Borough. More recently, officers had been working with Transport for London to plan for the necessary bus changes to meet the future operation of Crossrail services and the significant new developments in the Borough such as the Southall Waterside (formally Southall Gasworks) development. Ealing residents made around 3.8 bus trips each week on average, this compared to 3.3 for residents of outer London boroughs as a whole. Over 60% of public transport trips starting in the Borough were made by bus. Network coverage was such that approximately 91% of Ealing residents were within five minutes’ walk of bus services and 99% of residents were within seven minutes (at average walking speed). Total bus mileage was planned to be maintained at broadly present levels but additional Transport for London money for extra bus mileage was unlikely to be made available, unless savings in bus mileage were made elsewhere or additional funding was put forward. The cost of any extension to an existing or new bus service was significant and required the generation of considerable new bus journeys to justify the business case. Ealing Tube and Train Network Connectivity Strong east-west connection links were found throughout the Borough, but there were limitations on north-south connections. The costs associated with new rail and tube stations and extensions meant that in order to justify any changes to the existing networks there would need to be significant levels of new or existing development to justify a business case. In recent years, Ealing officers had focussed on improving the reliability and frequency of services. For example, officers had helped to negotiate four trains per hour through Hanwell Station as part of Crossrail plans. Investment in improving train services and capacity continued. Great Western Railway had signed a deal with train manufacturer Bombardier and leasing company 3 Scrutiny Review Panel 2 (Transport) - Minutes - 30 th June 2016 Porterbrook for 37 Class 387 four-carriage electric train, these would join eight previously ordered. Questions The Chair thanked the Officers for their presentation and invited Panel Members to comment and ask questions. Councillor Ray Wall queried when an appropriate West Ealing shuttle service would be in place. It was advised that the service would commence in January 2017. Though the service would still only have two trains per hour it was expected that there would be no more than five minutes wait at the West Ealing interchange. Councillor Wall felt that a better service could be in place and that Councillors and officers should work together on achieving this. Councillor Rajinder Mann asked that thanks be put on record to the departing manager of Transport Projects and Policy, Nick O’Donnell – who had worked closely with several scrutiny panels in recent years. Councillor Mann then noted his concerns around the lack of transport accessibility in the Norwood Green ward, the area had seen the addition of several new schools and new housing to the local infrastructure, yet no bus service at all went through some parts of the ward. The lack of service to Tentelow Lane/Armstrong Way highlighted in the report was noted as an area of particular concern. Councillor Mohan queried whether an estimated timescale was in place yet for a bus connection between Southall Broadway (west of South Road) and Southall Rail Station. There was concern that this would only be implemented once Crossrail and/or the Southall Gasworks/Waterside project were active, which was considered to be too far into the future. Officers stated that they would feedback on this. Councillor Dabrowska stated that as well as lacking north to south routes, there was also a paucity of diagonal routes within the Borough. Officers agreed and stated that this would need to be looked at with Transport for London. Co-opted Member John Gashion spoke about transport accessibility in relation to local deprivation levels. There was a desperate need for new housing, and most recent housing that had been built was in poor scoring PTAL locations. It was contended that there needed to be a more holistic approach to housing and public transport accessibility. Officers advised that deprivation was a factor and that planning colleagues were liaised with. Northolt certainly had concerning areas of linked deprivation and poor transport accessibility.