Developing successful visitor bus services in National Parks and other special landscapes 1 Acknowledgements This toolkit was produced by New Contents Forest National Park Authority, funded through the Department Introduction for Transport’s Two National Parks 5 LSTF programme. Benefits 6 Thank you to everyone who contributed information and ideas, Routes including: Richard Johnson, Colin 8 Speakman, Ed Beale, John Davies, Matt Kitchen, Bryan McFarland, Partnerships 12 Emma Moody, Owen Roberts, Mark Holroyd, Maria Taplin and especially Tendering 13 Lynn Sloman. Photos: New Forest National Park Authority, Marketing Nat Taplin, Brighton & Hove City Council, DalesBus, 14 Baytrans, Go Lakes/LDNPA, Stagecoach, Southern Vectis, Pembrokeshire County Council. Journey © New Forest National Park Authority 2015. 20 Income 24 Summary 27 Case studies: 30 Breeze up to the Downs 30 DalesBus 32 Gower Explorer 34 Needles Breezer 36 Lakes Connection 38 New Forest Tour 40 Pembrokeshire Coastal 42 2 3 Introduction welcome on board Buses give visitors a chance to break out of their cars, meet local people and take in the view. Visitors exploring by bus typically spend more time in local villages and attractions – spending more money and getting more out of their visit. The best visitor buses turn the The case studies show that visitor bus journey into an attraction in its own services can succeed in a variety of right – with friendly drivers, scenic different situations: where passengers routes, panoramic windows and links are mostly local residents (as in the to walks and attractions, as well as South Downs); where passengers discounts and incentives to reward are mostly staying visitors (as in travellers. Pembrokeshire); or where passengers are mostly day visitors from This toolkit is a practical guide to surrounding cities (as in the setting up and promoting successful Yorkshire Dales). visitor bus services in National Parks, AONBs and other special landscapes. One key thing which all these The toolkit’s suggestions are based services tend to have in common is on experience from the New Forest a champion – someone who believes National Park and six other well- passionately in providing great bus established visitor bus services from services for visitors and local people. around England and Wales. If that person is you, then I wish you the best of luck! Our experience shows that it is possible to develop commercially- Nat Taplin viable visitor bus services in popular Sustainable Transport Officer destinations. This has already been New Forest National Park Authority achieved in the Isle of Wight, the March 2015 Lake District and the New Forest – all showcased in this toolkit. 4 5 Benefits making the case As you’ll to need to find £50,000 or more to get a new service off the ground, you’re likely to have to make a case for it. You’ll need to win support from within your own organisation and from other partners. Here are some of the benefits n taking cars off the roads – reducing a successful visitor bus service congestion, pollution and carbon can deliver: emissions (it is estimated that the New Forest Tour saved 226,000 car n helping to safeguard the miles in 2014) tranquillity of the area by reducing the visual clutter and noise n widening access to the pollution of cars (visitors often say countryside, especially the elderly traffic spoils their experience) and low income families – around two thirds of passengers on visitor n increasing visitor spend with local buses don’t have access to a car businesses – research shows that (29% of Brighton’s Breeze up to people visiting by bus spend more the Downs passengers would than people visiting by car (surveys otherwise stay at home). on the Gower Explorer and DalesBus both reported £3 spent Another key factor is that the locally for every £1 of subsidy) service can become fully or largely commercial within a few years – meaning that the subsidy can come to an end but the service lives on… 6 7 Routes Left: The Dambuster Shuttle planning your route The length of your season This is the main way you can control the cost of the service. What days of Before you get out your OS map and highlighter pens the week and times of the year are to start planning your route, do a bit of research into you likely to have enough passengers your customers: to fill your buses? How many people live in and around Work out your top USP (unique Daily the National Park? selling point) The length of your route A daily service has the benefit of Day visitors – where are they from, It could be: n How long does the route providing a regular, visible service when do they come? take, allowing time for stops and to win over the maximum number of n a spectacular mountain pass or congestion? How many vehicles are locals and visitors during the peak Staying visitors – where do they stay, coastal road needed to run a regular service? (a summer season. Running just for the where do they go? n a famous heritage site or attraction leisurely 30 mile route might take 75 school summer holidays might make What are the key hubs and hotspots? minutes each way – needing three sense if you’re aiming at families, n a tour of the most popular buses to provide an hourly service) or you can extend into June and This doesn’t need to be too villages/sights September for walkers, couples exhaustive – you’re just trying to n Where possible you want to follow n a long distance footpath and retirees. work out the places most people go the scenic roads with the best views n on their days out. an iconic landmark/heritage site. n Weigh up the benefit of a longer Weekends only Make sure that your buses will be This USP is the hook on which to route, all the way from a large town If you’re looking at a longer season, running from where people are to hang your route, your identity and or city, against a shorter ‘shuttle’ then running weekends only makes where they want to go. You’ll want your marketing. service within the National Park sense. A typical season for many your route to include: n Bear in mind trees… branches may weekend services is May half term n Main towns in or just outside the need to but cut back to fit double to end of September, or Easter to National Park decker buses, especially open- October. toppers. The highway authority has n Key arrival points (car parks, rail a statutory duty to do the necessary stations, bus hubs) TOP TIP Timetable The Needles Breezer on the tree cutting, but won’t welcome the An hourly clock-face timetable makes n Holiday parks, campsites or Isle of Wight has exclusive extra cost! clusters of hotels/B&Bs access to the National Trust’s it easy for people to understand. A great trick if you can swing it is Needles Battery – the only Even with fewer buses, aim for a n Honeypot villages to negotiate exclusive access along regular timetable and avoid variations other access is a one mile walk n Major visitor attractions a scenic route which is otherwise and footnotes if possible. each way – a key selling point closed to traffic – like the Dambuster Make sure the timetable is realistic n Iconic landscape features for the service. Shuttle in the Peak District which runs – can be driven at a leisurely pace, along Ladybower Reservoir when it is n Top view point/picnic spots allowing for people getting on and closed to cars at weekends. n Popular walking routes. off, congestion, and layover time at each end. 8 9 10 11 Tendering finding the perfect partner Try to build a really good, open working relationship with your chosen bus operator. Find an operator with a can-do attitude who will invest time, effort and money into the service with a view to establishing a commercial (or semi- commercial) route and reaping the benefits. You could work with the Passenger Types of tender Transport team at your local authority Minimum cost to handle the tendering process, You pay a fixed price to the operator or you may want to do it yourself. but you get all the ticket revenue – The Department for Transport has so the cost is variable – you take the Tendering produced a handy guide risk/reward. Road Passenger Transport Contracts – Best Practice Guidance (you’ll find Minimum subsidy it on Google). Here are a few options: You pay a fixed price to the operator, n but they keep all the ticket revenue If there’s a particular operator – so the cost is fixed – operator takes you’ve already got in mind, you could the risk/reward. go straight to them for a ‘de minimis’ tender (just the one quote). DfT ‘Sliding scale’ Partnerships guidance is that this should usually be You may be able to negotiate a making friends for contracts of no more than £30,000. hybrid with the operator, where the n amount of subsidy you pay them If there’s an existing bus route reduces according to how much you think can be adapted or ticket revenue they take. Like this: It’s important to build good relationships with all the key developed into a more appealing players – local authorities, key organisations (such as visitor bus service you could provide Total ticket Operating ‘kick start’ funding – subsiding the revenue subsidy a tourism partnership or the National Trust) and visitor operator to serve a particular site, attractions. run on Sundays, or more frequently Less than £20,000 – combined with a marketing £10,000 You may also want to sound out thing is to find some key allies who push, with the aim of becoming Then on a proportional community groups, community rail will champion the bus service and commercially viable in 2 or 3 years.