East Riding of Yorkshire Council Review of Bus Services in the East Riding (Revised following Public Consultation) December 2016 1 Review of Bus Services in the East Riding 2016 (Revised following Public Consultation) Table of Contents Page SECTION 1 The Review of Bus Services in the East Riding 2016: Background and Context. 5 SECTION 2 The Public Consultation on our proposals in the Review of Bus Services in the 7 East Riding 2016: Results and Analysis. SECTION 3 Summary by contract of our conclusions following analysis of the results of the 12 public consultation SECTION 4 Our Finalised Proposal for the future of supported bus services in the East 16 Riding and individual Bus Timetables for services which would be affected. 3 4 Section 1 The Review of Bus Services in the East Riding 2016: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT 1.1 Following a comprehensive Parish Transport Needs Assessment journeys. We stated our intention to seek to develop alternative process the council developed a proposal for the future of mitigating transport options for the loss of these 59 contracts. supported bus services in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This These potential mitigation measures included either existing or proposal was subject to a full public consultation which ran proposed demand responsive transport options, or the possibility for 8 weeks from 27 June 2016 to 28 August 2016. We have of travelling on a different bus or at a different time. given due regard to what residents have told us through the consultation process, and have revised our original proposal to 1.7 We consulted on this proposal, through advertising a survey ensure that we can maintain a public and community transport online at: www.eastriding.gov.uk/haveyoursay network that meets people’s strategic transport needs. This We also offered residents or visitors the opportunity to attend document sets out the council’s final position, subject to one or more of 34 Drop-in consultation sessions held at venues approval by the Cabinet, on the future of the East Riding’s across the East Riding. These included visits to rural villages by supported bus network, with changes to some services taking the BUS IT mobile consultation vehicle. We also established effect from 1 April 2017. and promoted a telephone helpline and a dedicated email for personal contact. We emailed callers a copy of the FREEPOST 1.2 Councils nationally are facing unprecedented pressures questionnaire if they preferred – or filled this out on their behalf on their funding. East Riding of Yorkshire Council has had when they telephoned us. The email address was: to save £110 million since 2010 and we have another £60 million to find over the next four years. Given these financial [email protected] challenges all East Riding of Yorkshire Council services are and our telephone helpline number was: being reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of (01482) 395008. East Riding residents. Further information on the financial pressures facing East Riding of Yorkshire Counci can be found 1.8 Details for all Drop-in sessions that took place during the at: www.eastriding.gov.uk/councilbusinessplan consultation period, including details of venues, dates and times for each session were listed on the ‘Have Your Say’ page of 1.3 Bus services in the East Riding tend to be provided commercially the council website in the consultation pack, given out via the by operators. As a council we currently step in to provide helpline and also advertised through local posters and leaflets 90 supported bus contracts, costing £1.3 million annually to in villages. All bus stops in the East Riding had posters giving provide. It is important to note that these 90 contracts are not details of how to engage in the consultation process. 90 full bus services, our supported bus contracts can be for one or more journeys on a service; for evening journeys on a 1.9 We received 1,128 responses from this process. We also service; weekend journeys on a service or a full service. commissioned a telephone survey of a random representative sample of 1,100 East Riding residents which has further 1.4 Our Parish Transport Needs Assessment sought to ascertain informed our analysis of responses and our conclusions. All whether or not these routes were still meeting the needs of comments and views have been carefully analysed in detail, and the communities they serve. We undertook this with the direct we have taken due account of these before coming to a final assistance of 72 Parish Transport Champions who volunteered position on the future of the supported bus network. to undertake local transport needs assessments, with our support, in their communities. 1.10 In analysing responses to the public consultation we have had due regards to our statutory duties in regards to securing 1.5 All 168 East Riding Town and Parish councils were asked to appropriate public transport provision and meeting strategic nominate a Parish Transport Champion and 72 Champions transport needs. These duties are outlined in the following Acts were nominated by their local parishes. Questionnaires were of Parliament: prepared by the Champions with our support and distributed Section 63(1)(a) of the 1985 Transport Act in the local community before being returned to us for analysis. This Transport Needs Assessment Process ran from September Sections 63(6) and (7) and section 9A(5)(6) of the 1985 Act 2015 until March 2016 and we received 3,398 responses. Section 63 (8) of the 1985 Act Sections 89–92 of the 1985 Act 1.6 These responses were analysed and reviewed to assess their relevance to the council’s statutory duties in regard to securing The 2000 Transport Act the provision of appropriate bus services and were used to Section 3 (2) of the Climate Change and Sustainable inform the proposal which was outlined in the Review of Bus Energy Act 2006 Services in the East Riding 2016 document. Our proposal in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 that document suggested that of the 90 current supported bus contracts, 59 contracts would cease, 18 of these being for full Full details of these Acts can be found at: services, and 41 for individual journeys, or for evening or Sunday www.legislation.gov.uk 5 1.11 To discharge our duties we have therefore sought to establish the 1.15 The public consultation has been extensive and we have received level of currently unmet transport need within the East Riding, many detailed responses from residents. Our analysis of these with particular reference to the needs of the elderly and disabled, responses has led to several changes to the original proposals, our policies as outlined in the Local Transport Plan 2015–29, including in some cases the retention of some services or parts of due regard to climate change, and our duty under Section 149 services that were formerly proposed to be withdrawn. Where of the Equality Act 2010. We have now decided on the most such changes have been made these have been as a result of appropriate ways in which to meet that need, given available residents giving us firm evidence of strategic transport needs resources, having consulted the public on our proposal. which would not be met if our proposal for that service or part of a service went ahead. In other cases we have, in response 1.12 Our Review of Bus Services in the East Riding 2016 proposal to the information received, indicated that new or remodelled therefore had at its core an aim for the council to continue to meet, alternative provision, including demand responsive services, will in accordance with its statutory duties, and as far as its resources be developed and implemented. All these revisions are set out in and funding allows, those transport needs for which there is no Section 3 of this document. potential alternative provision. In developing this a number of assessment criteria were utilised to ensure public funding is spent in line with best value principles having regard to the combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Existing supported bus services were scored against the following criteria: (i) Annual number of passengers (ii) Average passengers per journey (iii) Subsidy per passenger (iv) Category of Journey (v) Proximity of Potential Alternative Service (vi) Environmental impact of any changes to the bus service. 1.13 Our Balanced Scorecard identified 31 supported bus contracts as potentially meeting strategic needs of the local communities they serve. However on the basis of our assessment criteria and having regard to the funding currently available, the council decided it could no longer offer subsidy to a further 59 supported bus contracts. In the case of the bulk of those services which it was proposed would no longer be supported opportunity for travel on an alternative service was identified. We also explained that the potential for a demand responsive transport alternative would be explored for 13 services, and that alternatives needed further investigation for seven services. 1.14 Where services will no longer be supported our finalised proposal continues to offer the following actions to mitigate the potential impact of the service withdrawal on our bus users: (i) The new categories of assessment for route support will, as far as reasonable, prioritise support to those services where there is no alternative service; (ii) We will continue to offer support to local parishes to find alternative ways of meeting transport needs and then sourcing alternative sources of funding to pay for this, until at least 31 March 2017; (iii) We intend to continue to work with the Parish Transport Champions and seek funding for the establishment of a Community Bus Service Partnership (CBSP) to support their ongoing work; (iv) We intend to explore other sources of funding with bus and community transport operators to allow them to provide services themselves.