Bus and Coach Operators to answer Members’ questions
Minutes:
(Councillors K Owen and K Mitchell (both Exeter City Council) attended under Standing Order 25 and spoke to this item expressing their concerns about the reductions to services, the H service in particular and the impact on residents and the consultation exercise undertaken by Stagecoach)
Mr Williams, Commercial Director of Stagecoach South West, attended and spoke at the invitation of the Committee on developments affecting bus services and the network in and around Exeter since the last meeting, as follows:
· the update: Network changes took place from 3 September 2017 as indicated at the previous meeting. They were the first real changes Stagecoach had made to the Exeter City routes for quite some time, and were arguably long overdue as the way people travelled had changed over time. The Company had carried out detailed analysis of passenger flows, and took into account the impact of traffic congestion and its impact on reliability and suggestions from customers. The key benefits of the changes were:
o an improved Sunday service of every 20 minutes on routes E, F, R and S;
o an improved Monday-Saturday frequency to the Rydons on route J of every 20 minutes;
o Routes B and F2 extended to Pinhoe providing new links to Morrisons, Stoke Hill, Cowick Street, Exwick and Matford, replacing the extension of routes J/K beyond Whipton Barton;
o improved reliability on the Red Park & Ride in peak periods and a number of other routes;
o improved afternoon frequency between Exeter and Exminster;
o West Garth Road served by route 5 instead of route H;
o reduced frequency on route P to every 30 minutes (with a further minor change from the start of January to correct an issue in the morning rush hour);
· minor changes following customer feedback which had included: 24 September 2017 route B gained two additional early morning journeys for commuters; and from 3 January route P was being changed slightly in morning peak to address a reliability problem prior to the built in recovery time;
· from 16 October 2017 route 4 gained an additional very early morning journey and a Sunday evening journey to serve the new Lidl distribution centre shift patterns;
· further changes were planned in partnership with the County Council and housing developers during 2018 to build on the network as new housing developments came on stream around Monkerton and Tithebarn Lane, with Exeter Science Park, East Exeter Growth Point and Broadclyst;
· delayed closure of Bus Station: the Company had lobbied to minimise the period of disruption to the public, and the impact on associated highway works needed to be reviewed, as the operation of the bus station was reliant on the highway works associated with the development; and loss of the plans to improve bus priority from St David’s to avoid York Road;
· increasing congestion again was a particular issue in the run up to Christmas that caused unreliability on the network that the Company was powerless to control;
· the need for increased parking charges to encourage people out of cars;
· bus lanes blocked with parked cars in the morning peak causing delays to services – Pinhoe Road and Heavitree, which needed greater enforcement, particularly at this time of year;
· Tan Lane and inappropriate car usage; and
· Heavitree Road – missing no right turn into Clifton Road.
Further issues and/or observations identified during the course of discussions included:
· The reasons for changes: firstly, the significant drop in the consumer fuel price and record levels of new car purchases from September 2015 which led to more people switching to the car, both leading to a fall in passenger numbers and an increase in congestion. As a result the Company was left with little choice but to adjust its services accordingly. Secondly, the County Council had made a £1.2m reduction to services which it supported financially;
· the Company’s changes to the Exeter network followed detailed analysis of passenger flows, combined with information received from staff and the public. The Company had carried out a consultation with passengers in June 2017 to encourage as much feedback about the network in general as possible, prior to putting the changes together;
· where patronage had been low, or the level of service far higher than could be justified by the number of people using the service, the Company could not justify continuing the status quo; It made no economic sense to run buses purely to meet aspirational needs, when in reality there were other areas where buses were busier;
· that no area had been left without a regular service as a result of the changes, albeit some with fewer buses per hour and others with increased services.
Changes to Route H
· the analysis carried out by Stagecoach had shown that the level of usage to Cowley Bridge and the University had been relatively low, partly due to there being other options;
· Route D provided the very popular direct link to the University which remained unchanged, whilst the 5 and 55 group of routes provided regular buses along the main road. The H route simply provided unique links from Cowley Bridge to St David’s and the University, but this represented a small proportion of a low number, and when compared that to other parts of the City, very few places actually had direct links to these places. The majority of passengers interchanged in the City Centre into the high frequency direct services that would continue to serve these locations. Even usage from Cowley Bridge to the University had reduced as fewer students lived in Cowley Bridge as more bespoke student accommodation was available;
· to replace the section of the H route that would no longer be served, route 5 had been diverted to serve West Garth Road. These journeys, which only went to/from Crediton compared to the 5A/5B/5C that served much larger areas, had the capacity to accommodate passengers from Cowley Bridge without causing too much inconvenience to through passengers; and essentially the service 5 would serve West Garth Road, the 5A/5B would continue to serve St David’s and the 5C ran direct to/from Crediton. The service 5 ran broadly hourly on Mondays-Saturdays, and included an evening and Sunday service.
Mr Williams concluded that the Company appreciated that any reduction in frequency in a given area was not going to be welcome news, but Stagecoach had tried to ensure that the area remained well served in the most affordable way.
The Neighbourhood Highways Group Manager reminded Members that concerns about enforcement of restriction in bus lanes for example should be submitted to the Traffic Management Parking Enforcement Team or reported on line at https://new.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/
The Chair thanked Mr Williams for his update and detailed response to questions and referred to the need for ongoing monitoring of the changes. The Chair also referred to the need for further discussion with Hospital and University representatives and Mr Williams indicated that he was happy to engage and meet with Members as appropriate.