Report to Scrutiny Item Number: 5 Contains Confidential or No Exempt Information Subject of Report: Overview of Public Transport Connectivity in the Borough Scrutiny Review Panel 2 – 2016/2017: Transport Meeting: 30 June 2016 Nick O’Donnell Service Report Author: Assistant Director Strategic Transport Email: [email protected] Tel: 020-8825 8078 Harjeet Bains Scrutiny Officer: Scrutiny Review Officer Email: [email protected] Tel: 020-8825 7120 Councillor Bassam Mahfouz Cabinet Responsibility: (Transport, Environment and Leisure) Pat Hayes, Executive Director, Regen and Housing Director Responsibility: Email: [email protected] Tel: 020-8825 9120 An overview of the borough connectivity for public transport. Specifically, to consider a presentation on how Brief: the borough is connected in respect of public transport and identify the gaps in the transportation within the various regions. The Panel is recommended to: - consider and comment on the information provided on Recommendations: the public transport connectivity in the borough; - identify areas for further review at future meetings; and - make suggestions for further improvements where necessary. Page 1 of 9 1. Background 1.1 Public transport accessibility and connectivity in London is primarily measured through a tool called PTALS (Public Transport Accessibility Levels). PTALS are a detailed measure of the accessibility of a point to the public transport network, taking into account walk access time to stations or bus stops and service frequency. The method is essentially a way of measuring the density of the public transport network in any given location. 2. Ealing PTALS Analysis 2.1 As shown by the map in Appendix A, PTALS scores vary throughout LB Ealing depending on location. Ealing Broadway is highlighted as having very high accessibility, level 6b. However, Park Royal, Norwood Green and parts of Greenford, Northolt, Perivale and Southall have very low accessibility levels of 1a or 1b and with a lot of scope for improvement. This is mainly due to their distance from rail/underground and/or high-frequency bus services. 2.2 In order to provide an improved quality of life to residents and ensure that everyone has opportunities to access to jobs and key services, it is key that public transport services serve employment areas, hospitals and schools. 2.3 With regard to access to key services, Ealing is currently ranked in the bottom quartile of all boroughs for public transport access to further education colleges and open spaces. It is ranked in the second quartile for access to GPs and the third quartile for primary schools, secondary schools and food shopping. For access to employment by public transport, Ealing is ranked in the third quartile. This relatively poor access to services reflects the high proportion of car use in the Borough.1 2.4 A significant proportion of people have mobility difficulties that prevent them from using public transport. The 2013/14 London Travel Demand Survey (LTDS) estimated that 34% of households had no access to a car and over 37,000 (almost 12%) of Ealing’s population had reduced mobility. It must therefore be remembered that PTALS do not reflect accessibility for those people who cannot access public transport easily. 2.5 The LTDS listed the top five barriers to using public transport in 2014 as: 1. Overcrowded services 2. Cost of tickets 3. Slow journey times 4. Unreliable services 5. Concern about anti-social behaviour 1 Core Accessibility Indicators, Department for Transport 2009 Page 2 of 9 2.6 Although in recent years there have been improvements in physical access to public transport, problems of inadequate stops and particularly stations remain. Around 98% of Ealing’s bus stops are now full accessible (up from 43% in 2009) but many stations are not step free. As shown in Table 1 below, of the London Underground Stations in the Borough, 11 remain without step free access. Table 1 – Usage of LUL Stations Without Step Free Access Usage Change in usage LUL Station (mil/per annum) 2011-2014 North Acton 5.68 22.40% Northolt 4.99 16.66% Northfields 4.21 11.08% Hanger Lane 3.84 14.29% South Ealing 3.70 11.45% Ealing Common 3.57 9.85% Perivale 2.34 12.50% Chiswick Park 2.39 21.32% Park Royal 1.98 25.32% West Acton 1.67 3.09% North Ealing 0.89 -5.32% 2.7 Greenford Station was made step-free in October 2015 and feasibility designs have been drawn up for North Acton, Northolt, Northfields and Perivale Stations. However, local physical restraints and particularly costs are significant barriers to achieving full accessibility at the remaining stations. The most likely next station to be resolved will be North Acton where a detailed next stage of design work is out to tender. Even where buses, trains, stops and stations are accessible in themselves, for many who cannot independently get to the stops or stations, the system remains out of reach. 2.8 The quality of the roads and pavements in the Borough are also integral to how people access public transport. Ealing Council uses independent surveyors to carry out an annual inspection of the standard of every road and footpath in the Borough. Each road is given a condition rating out of 100 and the highest scoring roads qualify for resurfacing within available budgets. Of the total road renewal budget for this year, the Council will spend £2.9million on resurfacing roads and £570,000 on pavements. In addition, TfL has contributed £766,000 to repair sections of main roads in the borough that it manages. 2.9 Table 2 below shows Ealing’s modal split compared to other West London Boroughs. Page 3 of 9 Table 2 – West London Boroughs Mode Share Borough Rail LUL Bus Taxi/ Car/ Cycle Walk Other Motorcycle Ealing 2% 8% 16% 1% 42% 3% 28% Brent 2% 9% 17% 1% 40% 1% 30% Hammersmith 3% 16% 16% 2% 21% 4% 39% & Fulham Harrow 1% 6% 13% 1% 51% 1% 27% Hillingdon 1% 6% 9% 1% 56% 1% 25% Hounslow 3% 5% 14% Negligible 46% 5% 27% 2.10 There are 664,000 trips per day originating in Ealing. This is the highest number of trips generated in West London and the third highest in outer London. Crossrail and Heavy Rail Services 2.11 The introduction of Crossrail services in January 2019 is expected to bring significant accessibility benefits to the five Crossrail stations in the Borough. All of the stations (Acton Mainline, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall) will be step-free and the enhanced service pattern (up to ten trains per hour) alongside significantly improved journey times into London will raise the PTALS in many parts of the Borough. For example, the journey time from Southall to the West End will drop down to 19 minutes with no change required. 2.12 The Council has also secured £7.3m from TfL to invest in the areas around each of the five stations through Crossrail Complementary Measures (CCM) funding. This will see improvements to public realm and wider public transport connectivity through revisions to bus infrastructure and more integrated station frontages. 2.13 Outside of Crossrail however, there remain Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park, and South Greenford stations that still do not have step free access. Ealing Bus Network Connectivity 2.14 Ealing’s bus network is overseen by Transport for London but Ealing officers have regular dialogue on services and performance. In December 2009, the Transport and Environment Scrutiny Panel considered bus service provision in the Borough and identified perceived gaps and unmet links in the Borough. In June 2011, Ealing officers took these forward through a Cabinet report that covered a full review of Ealing’s bus network, identifying multiple suggestions received for potential service changes and providing feedback on these perceived gaps. 2.15 This was followed up in February 2014 with a focus on access to healthcare services in the Borough. 2.16 More recently officers have been working with TfL to plan for the necessary bus changes to meet the future operation of Crossrail services as well as significant new development in the Borough such as the approved Southall Waterside Page 4 of 9 development. Some of the recent network changes or those under consideration include: Linking Central Ealing and Hounslow boroughs – route E8 extended on 28 May 2016 to provide new direct PT links and now runs between Ealing Broadway and Hounslow Town Centre Linking Central Ealing and West Middlesex Hospital – London Buses were unable to deliver this to coincide with the above change due to stakeholder opposition in the Isleworth area. They are however continuing to work with LB Hounslow to resolve these. There is no known date for when this change may happen Linking Acton Town, Central and East Acton, and Chiswick Business Park – recently delivered with route 70 extension Proposed changes to routes 83/483 will come into effect on 10 September 2016 with a new public transport link between Ealing and Northwick Park/Harrow town centres for the first time. Central Park Royal to Acton Main Line for Crossrail – London Buses considering scheme to reroute 440 to serve it. Southall Broadway (west of South Road) to Southall Rail Station – considering route 427 change to run to Middlesex Business Park/Havelock could provide this. 2.17 There remain a number of recognised network gaps that are still under review. These include: Merrick Road/Middlesex Business Park – route 427 as above. Park Royal South – A40 causes severance in this area. Regeneration could provide an opportunity for improving access and linking to the rest of Park Royal. Tentelow Lane/Armstrong Way – currently no viable way of serving this area.