Bus Service Consultation

BUS SERVICE CONSULTATION

Essex County Council is conducting a review and consultation of local bus services. An outline of their plan follows in article 1. As far as Littlebury is concerned it is proposed to replace services 62 and 443 with Demand Responsive Transport, explained in the second article below. There should be no change to services 132, 445 and CITI7. The position of service 101 is currently unclear as this is the responsibility of Cambridgeshire County Council and awaits a decision.

1. STATEMENT FROM ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL TO PARISHES

Local Bus Service Network Review Consultation September 2015.

Over 2015, Essex County Council (ECC) is carrying out a thorough review of its support for contracted local bus services across the County. The role of the County Council under the Transport Acts is to look at where market failure occurs in the bus network, decide whether a service is needed, and if, in the council’s opinion, it is, then to provide one.

The County Council needs a way to balance the differing potential transport needs of residents when allocating funding and to manage the network in the light of changes to the commercial bus network, travel demand and changing corporate priorities over time.

As part of the review the County Council carried out a series of Area Review Meetings throughout June and July 2015. We have listened to the comments, suggestions and ideas that were raised through these meetings and took them into account when re-planning the network.

Over September and October 2015 the County will be carrying out a more detailed consultation that sets out a range of proposed route and service revisions to the contracted local bus network and a revised policy for determining the priority that will be given to supporting different types of service in future.

This consultation will take the form of a district based questionnaire, asking for views on changes to the contracted bus network in each district/borough/city with supporting information. These will be made available on line and through the public library network. We will also make them available through as many parish/town/district council offices as possible. Hard copy of these documents will be available from the week commencing 21st September 2015

A supporting document, explains in more detail the contract changes, how they will affect our customers and how demand responsive transport works. It also lists timetables where a change has been proposed. This document can be found on line at:

www.essex.gov.uk/busreview from 17 September

A hard copy of supporting document, together with the questionnaire will be sent to each parish, town and district council office. Please allow these reference documents to be shared with the public. These will be sent to you from the week commencing 21st September 2015.

Whilst we encourage residents to complete the survey on line, we understand a paper copy is sometimes preferred. If you require additional copies of the questionnaire please ring 08457 430 430. There is a freepost address to aid the return of the questionnaire.

If you or the residents you are representing have a visual impairment or need assistance completing the questionnaire, there is the option of completing the survey over the telephone, or obtain it in an alternative format by calling 08457 430 430.

The closing date for submitting the survey is the 21st October 2015.

Once the consultation is complete, the replies received will be considered carefully and used to help finalise the proposals that will then be considered for approval by Essex County Council’s Cabinet. We will also collate all the responses from the survey and summarise them as part of our report, although it will not identify individual people and your name will not be mentioned in the reports that we write for this purpose.

1. DEMAND RESPONSIVE TRANSPORT

How does DRT work?

Instead of using fixed routes with fixed stops and timetables, DRT customers book journeys with the operator in advance and are picked up from an agreed point – often their own home. That is why DRT is sometimes called a taxibus – it’s a cross between a taxi and a bus. Often DRT means that a service can be offered where a traditional bus service just wouldn’t be cost effective to provide. The operator collates the journey requests into packages of work which are allocated to the available pool of vehicles, with the aim of maintaining a balance between customer service (i.e. journey length and start time) and vehicle efficiency (to minimise the number of vehicle movements required). Such services can either offer the whole journey or act as feeder services into regular local bus services ie. take people to the nearest bus stop. This is the model adopted by most Community Transport schemes’ dial a ride service.

What are the advantages?

• To the customer
• They can book a journey when they require it. They are not constrained to a perhaps limited timetable.
• Often they offer a door to door service.
• They are like a shared taxi service but at a lower price
• Bus pass holders can travel for free after 0900 Monday to Friday and all day at the weekends.
• Smaller vehicles are used, more suitable for rural roads.

• To the transport provider and taxpayer
• The service is only provided when needed so operating costs are lower.
• A service can be provided where a traditional bus just wouldn’t be economic.

What are the disadvantages?

• To the customer
• You need to book a journey in advance and some passengers may find this takes a while to get used to. Example: A taxibus operated DRT scheme in the Dengie Peninsula requires only an hours’ notice; Community Transport schemes generally require at least a day’s notice.
• You may not see your regular ‘bus buddies’ on your journey. However, you can book journeys together.
• Younger people and commuters sometimes view the service as more suited to older people, even though it is in practice a local bus service.

• To the transport provider/taxpayer
• The costs of providing the service may not be lower overall than conventional bus services, but it can reach more people. Providing the necessary flexibility may increase costs as vehicles have to be available when a call comes in. If there is low take up, perhaps because people are initially unfamiliar with the change, a service can be dropped before it has had time to reach its potential.

Specification for Demand Responsive Services

•To run between 6am-8pm Monday to Saturday - no fixed timetable

•Booking is required – at least 2 hours before you wish to travel

•Pick up from home or nearby within the designated area (see below)

•Drop off at the local market town, named healthcare facilities and train station (see below)

•Bookings can be made by telephone – customers will be told a pick up time.

•Vehicle specification – a smaller vehicle, 16 seats or less will be used. This will be more suited for the rural roads. It will be Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) 2000 compliant.[1]

•Fares based on bus prices – free for concessionary pass holders after 09:00 and all day on Saturdays.

An example of the fare chart is shown below

Where will the DRT services serve?

DRT 1

The fully flexible zones are within the parishes of

• Arkesden
• Berden
• Chrishall
• Clavering
• Elmdon
• Farnham
• Langley
• Littlebury
• Manuden
• Quendon and Rickling (areas not served by 301)
• Strethall
• Wenden Lofts
• Wicken Bonhunt
• Widdington

This means you can travel to and from anywhere within these zones, between these zones, and also direct to Saffron Walden town, Bishops Stortford town, healthcare facilities in Royston, Essex and Herts Hospital as well as the closest train stations.

Due to the numbers involved, local bus services specifically designed to serve secondary schools will continue to make use of conventional buses and timetables. This will only apply to services mentioned in this document, so most home to school transport will not be affected (see changes to Uttlesford school transport section). The demand responsive transport proposed here can be used by students to return home later from school but this will not be included in the price of their school ticket i.e. there will be an additional cost.

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