Decision details

Purpose of report: This report reviews the provision of bus transport in the City. It looks at the commercial network, the council subsidised services, the concessionary travel scheme, the dial-a-ride service and public transport infrastructure. The report considers a range of options for improvement.

Members are asked to: Give approval to make amendments to the provision of all of the above from April 2009 and throughout the financial year 09/10. The resulting effects will be immediate or gradual throughout the year.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the options presented in the various sections of the report be noted.

                        (ii)        That, in relation to Commercial Bus Services, continued efforts should be made to improve passenger waiting facilities and bus priority measures across the City, with effort focused on commercial routes, and that current investment levels in these areas should be sustained.

                        (iii)       That subsidised services be retained, to run to September 2011, that the lowest tenders be accepted for continuation of existing services, as tabled, but that consideration of the proposals to discontinue subsidised bus services (shown in table 5, paragraph 87) be deferred until the Council’s budget position is clear and alternative travel options have been clarified and, to that end, that Officers be requested to report further on the shared taxi / taxi bus options mentioned in the report.

                        (iv)       That approval be given in principle to undertake a trial utilising a new Dial & Ride vehicle to deliver peak commuter journeys for a rural village.

                        (v)        That the inclusion in the LTP capital programme of one new, fit for purpose minibus, to be used for both Dial & Ride and rural, peak time scheduled services, be agreed.

                        (vi)       That Officers be instructed to investigate the possibility of re-negotiating a new service level agreement with the current provider, York Wheels.

                        (vii)      That approval be given to increase the Dial & Ride fares from £2.50 to £3.50 for a day ticket and from £1.25 to £1.75 for a single ticket and to devolve future fare increases to the Officer in Consultation process.

                        (viii)     That the production of a further Officer report, on the partnership working, cost and potential options involved for the upgrade of Park & Ride one-bus ticket machines to make them ITSO smartcard compatible, be supported.

                        (ix)       That, in the interests of speeding up boarding times both in town and at site, Officers be asked to report further on the options for extending the use of off-bus ticketing facilities.

                        (x)        That, in relation to Concessionary Travel, approval be given to retain the current operating hours for bus pass acceptance and to withdraw any alternative to the bus pass for the over 60s, but to increase the value of tokens to £50 for eligible disabled people.

                        (xi)       That Officers be requested to investigate further and report on the costs and advantages of replacing the anonymous token system with an auditable stored value taxi card system from 2010/11 and on the system for the under 60s disabled, which allows them to purchase additional tokens.

                        (xii)      That, in the light of the above decisions, Officers be instructed to consider ways of optimising the issue of transport tokens including, where economical, home delivery and bulk collection by nursing homes.

                        (xiii)     That Officers be instructed to investigate the options available to the Council for the launch of an ‘all operator’ Yozone 16-19 product and to produce a subsequent report outlining the implications.

                        (xiv)     That Officers be requested to investigate the feasibility of remotely accessing Public Transport Information data within the Metro ‘COSA Trackbuilder, to improve Traveline telephone and internet data quality.

                        (xv)      That approval be given to tender the travel information telephone service and retain the existing local telephone number (01904 551400).

                        (xvi)     That approval be given, with the agreement from bus operators, to purchase a licence for the Real Time Passenger Information ‘Bus Operator Reports’ product and run alongside on-street bus monitoring for one year before fully transferring to this stream of information.

                        (xvii)    That, in respect of air quality, approval be given to raise the minimum standard of engine rating on all tendered local bus services to EURO III from 2011.

REASON:      In order to continue to develop bus travel, in partnership with the bus industry, to ensure that bus patronage in the City continues to rise.