Consultation on proposed changes to bus route 691 Consultation Report December 2016 1 Consultation on proposed changes to bus route 691 Consultation Report 2 Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2 2 The consultation ............................................................................................................. 2 3 Responses from members of the public ......................................................................... 3 4 Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders .............................................. 5 Appendix A – Consultation materials .................................................................................... 7 Appendix B – List of stakeholders consulted....................................................................... 10 1 1 Introduction We recently consulted stakeholders and the public about our proposals to stop running route 691. The consultation took place between 29 June and 23 August 2016. This report explains the background to the proposal, the consultation and summarises the responses received. 1.1. Our proposals Route 691 currently runs between Richmond Road, Ham and The Hollyfield School, Surbiton. It runs one journey from Ham to The Hollyfield School in the morning with one journey from The Hollyfield School to Ham in the afternoon. Following a review and to make better use of our resources we proposed that route 691 would no longer run. There are currently around 90 trips per day made on the 691. Passengers who currently use route 691 between Kingston and The Hollyfield School would be able to use either route 281, 406 or 418 instead. Around 10-15 pupils travel from north of Kingston. They would need to use route 65 and change buses at Kingston to complete their journey. There would be no changes to routes 65, 281, 406 or 418. 2 The consultation The consultation was designed to enable us to understand local opinion about the proposed changes to route 691. The potential outcomes of the consultation are: We decide the consultation raises no issues that should prevent us from proceeding with the scheme as originally planned We modify the scheme in response to issues raised in consultation We abandon the scheme as a result of issues raised in the consultation. 2.1 Consultation objectives The objectives of the consultation were: To give stakeholders and the public easily-understandable information about the proposals and allow them to respond To understand the level of support or opposition for the change To understand any issues that might affect the proposal of which we were not previously aware To understand concerns and objections To allow respondents to make alternative suggestions. 2.2 Who we consulted The consultation intended to seek the views of those who live near to the proposed route, current and lapsed users of the service and other potential users, as well as the schools along the route. We also consulted stakeholders including the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London TravelWatch, Members of Parliament, Assembly Members, ward councillors, traffic police, and local interest groups. A list of the 2 stakeholders we consulted is shown in Appendix B and a summary of their responses is given in Section 4. 2.3 Consultation materials, distribution and publicity The consultation was published online via the TfL consultation website and we advised key stakeholders of the link: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/route-691 We were seeking to find out the following: How often do you use route 691? If people had any comments about our proposals What do you think about the quality of this consultation? Copies of the consultation materials can be found at Appendix A. 2.4 Meetings and pre-consultation. We contacted the schools along the route before the consultation launch to let them know what we had in mind and also when the consultation would go live. 3 Responses from members of the public 3.1 Overview We received nine responses from members of the public, all of which were received online via the TfL consultation website. We asked members of the public how they found out about the consultation. Q8. How did you hear about this consultation? 5 4 3 2 1 0 Social TfL No Email Other Press Total media website answer No of replies 1 2 0 1 4 1 9 3 3.2 Public consultation results To help us understand more about who replied and their thoughts on the proposal, we asked a number of questions; We asked respondents whether they currently use route 691. Q1. Do you currently use route 691? 5 4 3 2 1 0 Yes No No answer Total Number of replies 4 5 0 9 Respondents were asked to give us their views on our proposals for route 691. Q2. Are you in favour of our proposals to withdraw route 691? 10 8 6 4 2 0 Partiall Not No No Yes No Total y sure opinion answer Number of replies 7 0 2 0 0 0 9 4 The final question asked if respondents had any further views on the proposals. Three of the respondents provided additional comments (positive and negative) and suggestions in response to this question. The tables below summarise the views and suggestions made. A separate document will respond to the main points raised by respondents. Generally supportive Withdrawing route 691 is a good idea 2 Route 691 is not needed as the northern section is outside Hollyfield 1 School catchment area Generally opposed 90 passengers per day warrants keeping the 691 service 1 Connected comments/alternatives Replace route 691 with a school bus service that links North Kingston to Coombe/Norbiton/New Malden to accommodate increasing pupil 2 numbers in the area Cutting route 691 will increase congestion on the already busy route 65 1 Increase frequency of route 65 1 Increase frequency of other routes in the area 1 Carry out surveys of pupil demand and reroute the 691 accordingly to 1 reflect where the most school demand is 4 Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders The Hollyfield School Wholeheartedly do not want to lose the 691 bus service, as it is a very valuable and essential service for our students Concerned that the alternative bus services available would not be suitable and able to accommodate the number of passengers that would need to use them if the 691 is withdrawn Tiffin Girls’ School (two responses received from the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher, both of which are summarised below) Concerned at any reduction in the number of bus services that run through North Kingston Withdrawing route 691 will increase congestion on route 65 Route 65 serves several growing schools in the area and is already very heavily used TfL need to consider the rapid growth in school population in North Kingston. The Tiffin Girls' School is increasing to 180 per year group from this September and other local schools have similarly increasing pupil numbers Would be happy to meet to discuss further The Kingston Academy Route 691 bus is a vital service to our pupils Also concerned about the service on route 65 which is already insufficient between 7:45am-9am, and 3pm-4:30pm 5 Pupil numbers at The Kingston Academy and other local schools are increasing each year which will put a greater strain on route 65 The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and London TravelWatch were also consulted but did not provide a response. 6 Appendix A – Consultation materials Email to stakeholders 7 Consultation web page 8 Consultation map 9 Appendix B – List of stakeholders consulted London TravelWatch Elected Members Caroline Pidgeon AM Nicky Gavron AM Tony Arbour AM Andrew Boff AM Tom Copley AM Fiona Twycross AM Shaun Bailey AM Kemi Badenoch AM Sian Berry AM David Kurten AM Caroline Russell AM Peter Whittle AM James Berry MP Zac Goldsmith MP Cllr Geoffrey Austin Canbury Cllr Andrea Craig Canbury Cllr David Glasspool Canbury Cllr Phil Doyle Grove Cllr Rebekah Moll Grove Cllr Jon Tolley Grove Cllr Diane White St Marks Cllr Yogan Yoganathan St Marks Cllr Liz Green St Marks Cllr David Cunningham Tudor Cllr Hugh Scantlebury Tudor Cllr Frank Thompson Tudor Local Authorities Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Police and Health Authorities Kingston Safer Transport Team London Ambulance Service London Fire and Emergency Authority London Fire Brigade Metropolitan Police NHS Care Commissioning Group Transport Groups AA Motoring Trust Association of British Drivers Association of Car Fleet Operators British Motorcyclists Federation 10 Transport Groups Department for Transport Freight on Rail Freight Transport Association Green Flag Group London Cycling Campaign Kingston Motorcycle Action Group Motorcycle Industry Association Parcelforce Road Haulage Association Accessibility Groups Disability Alliance Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted People Joint Mobility Unit Living Streets Other Stakeholders Tiffin Girls School The Kingston Academy Tiffin Boys School Fernhill Primary School Surbiton High School The Hollyfield School 11 .