Meeting documents
- Meeting of Winslow & District Local Area Forum, Wednesday 3rd December 2008 7.00 pm (Item 7.)
Andy Clarke
Minutes:
Andy Clarke, Group Manager for Transport Services, explained that the County Council do not operate any of the bus services. They have now been de-regulated and are run by commercial businesses, such as Arriva. He explained that the County Council is working hard to promote the use of public transport through informative leaflets, websites, branding on buses and promotions on buses. He said that they do co-ordinate with the Districts, for example by offering free bus services to the over 60s and the Dial-a-Ride scheme.
A member requested that the names of voluntary schemes be included in the booklet. Andy explained that his team works with Bucks Community Action (BCA) to get information onto the website and generic information will be included in the booklet.
He went on to explain that BCA have appointed a new member of their team who is looking specifically at transport in rural areas. It is widely acknowledged that in the smaller, rural areas transport does not operate on a daily basis and it does not get people where they want to go.
Members were asked to inform either the Chairman or Freda Ackroyd of any problem areas and they would feed it back to the Passenger Transport team. It was recognised that there are problems with some bus routes and there are concerns for the elderly people who rely on good transport links.
During discussion, the following questions and issues were raised:
A member asked whether the Passenger Transport team monitors the usage of the bus routes and, in particular whether anything could be done to improve the 66 service in terms of connecting with the trains coming in from London. Andy responded by saying that the Transport team do not carry any statutory powers and they rely on the bus operators regarding their timetables. He said he would look into the 66 service and see whether it can be more integrated with the train service.
Action: Andy Clarke
A member commented that in Aylesbury Vale there was a leaflet outlining all the bus services but there was not one for Buckingham. Andy explained that a Buckingham one was produced in 2007 and he is hopeful that there will be a revised version of the Buckingham one next year.
A member asked about the tender process and what the criteria were for selecting the bus service operators. Andy explained that the successful firm tends to be the cheapest and, therefore, the most financially viable.
A member expressed concern about the fact that the cheapest may not always be the best for the County. Andy responded by saying that they are always looking to achieve best value and a number of factors are taken into account when selecting the firms. He went on to say that his team spends a considerable amount of time on the tendering process.
A member commented that if the speed limit for buses were to be reduced to 20/25 mph throughout the villages it would have an enormous environmental impact. Andy explained that enforcing a "buses only" lower speed limit would be impossible so it would have to be at the discretion of the bus driver although he said he would speak to Arriva and see whether any progress could be made on this point.
Action: Andy Clarke
A member asked whether the Winslow to Milton Keynes bus service is subsidised. Andy responded by saying that it is subsidised. The member went on to say that it is impossible to use the bus service if you work in Milton Keynes as the last bus leaves at 16.50 to travel back to Winslow and asked whether this could be looked into. Andy explained that this service was introduced for college students initially and he said that he has asked the operator to look into the issue of timetabling in the past but to no avail.
A member asked whether the public are ever consulted on proposed changes to bus timetables. Andy explained that the public are asked for their views when the services are under review and being reshaped. He reiterated the point that there is a limited budget so the Passenger transport team have to look at the best way to offer the services.
He concluded by saying that the discussion had obviously opened up a lot of feeling and members had some very specific concerns so he suggested that members send their concerns to passtrans@buckscc.gov.uk. Complaints regarding operational issues with individual bus routes should be made in the first instance to the bus company concerned.
The Chairman thanked Andy Clarke for his presentation and urged members to let Andy know of their concerns.