317 ENVIRONMENT SCRUTINY PANEL Thursday, 1 October 2009 (7:00 pm - 8:25 pm) PRESENT: Councillor Kyrle (Chairman); Councillors Day, Holden-Brown, Mignot, Norgate, Noyce, G Smith and Tennent Also in attendance: Councillors Airey, Cabinet Member for Transport and Streetscene (for items 4, 5 and 6) Mrs Broadhurst, A Broadhurst and Caldwell (until 8.15 pm) ________________________________________ RESOLVED ITEMS (SUBJECT TO QUESTIONS ONLY) 431. MINUTES It was AGREED - That the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 30 July 2009 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record. The Panel felt that, whilst grateful to Mr Ricky Taylor from Enterprise Mouchel for attending the meeting and answering questions on highways issues, Members still wanted a representative from the Highways Agency to attend a future meeting. Mr Taylor had advised he would be willing to come back to speak to the Panel and it was thought that it would be useful to have him present at the meeting with the Highways Agency if it could be arranged. 432. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Members were invited to declare interests in relation to items of business on the agenda. Any interests declared are recorded in the relevant minute below. 433. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT The Chairman had no items to report on this occasion. 434. PUBLIC TRANSPORT ANNUAL REPORT The Cabinet Member for Transport and Streetscence introduced the report of the Head of Transportation and Engineering which highlighted the changes to public transport services since October 2008. Stagecoach South West Trains operated services to London, Cross Country operated services to the Midlands and Northwest via Reading and Southern operated services along the south coast to London Victoria via 318 Brighton. All had been subject to refranchising within the preceding few years. Recently GoVia had won the right to maintain operating the Southern franchise and Arriva had taken over the Cross Country franchise in 2007 from Virgin Rail. South West Trains had seen an increase in passenger numbers of 2.5 percent at Southampton Airport Parkway and 7 percent at Eastleigh. Figures were unavailable for the smaller stations in the Borough but it was thought that their use had remained consistent. The Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership continued to show progress and the Council was working with the Partnership and assisting where possible. There was an active group of volunteers working at Chandler’s Ford station to improve the area and the Panel congratulated them on their work. In response to a question Councillor Airey advised that an approach could be made to South West Trains to request additional cages for bicycles at Eastleigh Station. It was reported that the Council had good working relationships with all the local transport operators which assisted in delivering various projects. There had been a period of competition between the commercial bus services but the commercial network was now relatively settled. First had invested in new vehicles on Service 16, which was a quality partnership route. Bluestar had also invested in a fleet of new double deck buses for the BS1 (Southampton – Chandler’s Ford – Winchester) service. Low floor vehicles were used on the majority of Bluestar 2 services. Black Velvet were regularly congratulated on their high levels of customer service. The Butlocks Heath diversion had initially been funded equally by First, Hampshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council. The County Council withdrew its funding for this service in 2007 and First agreed to take on the diversion commercially from April 2009. This had released funding that would be used to provide other bus service support. Service 25 had been an irregular service that did not meet the needs of users and was costly. This service was withdrawn but Service A was extended giving an improved hourly service between Boorley Green, Botley, Hedge End, West End and Eastleigh. The Council funded Nitebus N6 and N16 from Southampton to West End, Hedge End (North), Botley, Bursledon, Netley and Hamble. It was advised that the popularity of these services varied and that the longer the distance the more popular the service due to the cost of taxi fares. Each of the three main operators in the Borough (Bluestar, First and Black Velvet) were contributing 1pence from every ticket bought on a Thursday during 2009 on their services operated in the Borough towards the Eastleigh CarbonFREE initiative which aimed to provide better insulation 319 to community buildings. This was the only example of operators working together with a local authority on such an initiative in the UK. The Chairman thanked Councillor Airey for his introduction and the bus operators for their contributions. The Panel Members then asked a number of questions including: It was great that working relationships with the transport operators were good but were there any areas for improvement? Councillor Airey responded that improvements could be made with the evening services although it was acknowledged that it was difficult to get enough passengers to make these services commercially viable. It was also thought that Botley was not particularly well served but was served better now than in the past. The opportunities for new commercial routes were limited, particularly due to the current recession. (1) Feedback from customers in the Hedge End area indicated that three services used Wildern Lane but there were none for Upper Northam Road, could this be changed? Councillor Airey advised that this had been raised previously and had been trialled but they were withdrawn due to low passenger numbers. The area was served by First 26 which was a HCC tendered service. (2) Was there any intention to use the bus shelter at Chandler’s Ford train station as it had been vandalised and a request had been made that it be removed? It was unlikely buses would go to the train station as it would add extra journey time on to existing routes and buses currently stopped at the Precinct which was a short walk away. (3) There had been a bus service cancellation around the Rose Bowl when an event took place, was this a one-off or a regular occurrence? Communication regarding road closures during events was good but often the closure varied from the plans. This created problems for the bus operators where a road was unexpectedly closed or opened and the drivers were left to make a quick decision. The bus operators felt that communication with the Rose Bowl was not very good and improvements were needed. It was advised that there were regular meetings of the Rose Bowl Liaison Panel and it would be requested that consideration be given to inviting the bus operator to attend these meetings. There was also confusion regarding whether to contact the Borough Council or the County Council for information on road closures. It was AGREED - (1) That the report be noted; and 320 (2) That the Panel’s thanks be conveyed to Paul Walker for all his work on the report and that best wishes be expressed to him in his new job at Southampton City Council. 435. LOCAL BUS SERVICES REVIEW The Chairman invited the representatives from the local bus service operators to provide an update on their services. Andrew Wickham, Bluestar’s Operations Director, advised that in the last twelve months the company had invested in new vehicles including double deckers on Bluestar 1 which had been very successful. A relief service was being run into Winchester to cope with the passenger numbers. Bluestar had won the contract with Southampton University (Unilink) which did not create any new services for Borough residents but had generated 60 new jobs in the area. The company was seeing year on year a 12 percent growth in passenger numbers. The buses on Bluestar 2 were getting a refresh which included a coat of paint and new seats. Bluestar was part of a larger group in which all drivers received CPC training which covered disability awareness, economic driving and other issues contributing to safety and passenger care. Mr Wickham confirmed that focus was now turning to the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the business particularly punctuality and reliability. On the Barton Park site was Hants and Dorset Trim, part of the Go Ahead Group, which refurbished buses and was a major contractor employing approximately 60 people. One of the issues facing the industry was concessionary travel and there was on going litigation which was due to be heard in the High Court in November. Mr Wickham advised that he would be happy to talk to the Council generally on this issue if required. Alex Hornby, Bluestar’s Operations Manager, advised that the feedback from passengers had been positive regarding the increase in services out of Southampton and into Eastleigh. The company was now going through a period of consolidation and was concentrating on the details of their services. Phil Stockley, Managing Director, Black Velvet Travel, reported that, as a relatively new company, growth and development were continuing. The company was one of the main providers of services into Barton Peveril College; the Botley service was stable and, with the Council and Hampshire County Council, the service to Boorley Green had been improved. The company had picked up the C Route in February and were enjoying running this service but the contract was due to expire at the end of October. The results of the tender for this contract were due to be released shortly and it was hoped that Black Velvet would continue to run the service. If successful, it was anticipated that improvements to the service would be made. 321 Mr Stockley advised that, as a small company, it was possible to keep in regular contact with drivers to help sort out any problems.