Contact: Nick Richardson, ext 5429/Dominic McGrath, tel 01256 845469

1. Summary

1.1 Significant progress is being made in developing the Bus Quality Partnership for Line 1 between Hatch Warren and Tadley via the town centre and North Hampshire Hospital. The Quality Partnership involves the County Council, Borough Council and the local bus operator, Stagecoach in Hampshire, working together to improve bus services and encourage a modal shift from car to bus.

2. Introduction

2.1 The Basingstoke Environmental Strategy for Transport (BEST) sets out objectives for the improvement of transport choice for all and seeks to enable people to be less dependent on their cars. The BEST Framework document (March 1999) sets out the important role improvements to public transport can play in achieving this and indicates that many improvements will be secured under Quality Partnerships.

2.2 The Basingstoke Area Passenger Transport Study was carried out during 2001 by consultants MVA on behalf of the Borough and County Councils to seek ways of achieving a `step change' in public transport for the borough. One of the key recommendations of the study was the establishment of a Quality Partnership for the whole borough. This envisaged bringing the three key players (local authorities and major operator) together to achieve quality improvements by focusing on individual routes. MVA recommended that priority routes for Quality Partnerships within Basingstoke and Deane should be Line 1 (Hatch Warren-Basingstoke town centre-North Hampshire Hospital-Tadley) and Line 6 (Basingstoke-Winklebury).

3. Background

3.1 Work has also been commissioned by the County Council from TAS Consultancy to review 178 bus routes throughout the county to identify which would be most suitable for Quality Partnerships. Line 1 in Basingstoke featured as one of the top ten potential routes for Hampshire as a whole, further supporting it as a priority.

3.2 The Borough Council's Cabinet received a report on tendered bus services for Basingstoke on 12 September 2001. It was agreed that the Borough Council would contribute £96,500 towards the cost of supporting evening bus services in Basingstoke. The contracts for these services are let, with the balance of funding supplied by the County Council. Possible improvements to evening and weekend services for Line 1 would be secured under revisions to, or replacement of, these contracts.

4. The Quality Partnership Agreement

4.1 On 1 August 2002 a Quality Partnership agreement was formally signed by the Executive Member for Environment and then Deputy County Surveyor for the County Council, the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Sustainability and the Director of Planning, Environment and Transport for the Borough Council, and the Managing Director and Commercial Director of Stagecoach South East.

4.2 The document lists the initiatives to be carried out under the following headings:

- Passenger Information;

- Ticketing;

- Marketing;

- Bus Priority Measures;

- Passenger Waiting Facilities;

- Customer Care;

- Whole Route Improvements;

- Integration;

- Monitoring;

- Highway Management and Maintenance;

- Partnership; and

- Vehicle Improvements.

4.3 Each of the partners is responsible for contributing to the achievement of these initiatives. In general terms, the local authorities undertake infrastructure improvements, while the bus company delivers better buses for use on the route and service improvements. All are responsible for information and monitoring.

5. Work Completed to Date

5.1 Substantial work has already been undertaken in developing the Line 1 Bus Quality Partnership.

Attitudinal Survey

5.2 An attitudinal survey of both bus users and non-users was carried out by consultants on the Borough Council's behalf during February and March 2002.

5.3 Key findings of the survey were:

(i) bus users are currently most satisfied with driver behaviour and helpfulness and least satisfied with bus waiting times, cleanliness of bus stops and access to buses for disabled users and pushchairs;

(ii) both users and non-users prioritised improvements targeted at better punctuality, improved reliability and fare reductions;

(iii) 70% of the users of the route reside within the Basingstoke urban area;

(iv) work and school trips account for at least half of all daily journeys; and

(v) the bus is little used for patient and patient visitor trips to the North Hampshire Hospital (less than 1% of trips), although staff travel to the hospital is not included in this figure.

Bus Journey Time Survey

5.4 A survey of bus journey times, compared with the published timetables, was carried out during February and March 2002. The survey identified the main congestion points on the route, including the time lost at each. The worst congestion points affecting the route are:

(i) Winton Square/New Street/Victory roundabout (evening peak);

(ii) Winchester Road roundabout (morning peak);

(iii) Winchester Road/Brighton Hill roundabout (evening peak); and

(iv) Aldermaston Road roundabout (evening peak).

5.5 The survey identified that off-peak services routinely `lay over' in the bus station for around five minutes. This indicates that there is potentially some `slack' in the timetable which could be utilised to improve service efficiency.

5.6 Full details of the attitudinal and bus journey time surveys and for the assessment of waiting facilities are contained in a report prepared for the Borough Council by consultants Symonds.

Bus Use Survey

5.7 A survey of passenger numbers and boarding and alighting points was carried out by Hampshire County Council in June 2002. The survey found that the rail station was the most used stop on the route, followed by the Hospital and the Brighton Hill Centre.

5.8 The survey also provides valuable data about the usage of all stops and typical journey patterns.

Assessment of Bus Waiting Facilities

5.9 An audit of all bus stops on Line 1 has been undertaken to determine the nature and standard of the equipment at each location. An initial programme of improvement works has been developed to bring the route up to the highest standard. Line 1 is a long route with 116 stops. The programme of works is therefore extensive, but will be undertaken on a priority basis pertaining to passenger patronage. An initial estimate of the cost of works to achieve these improvements is shown in the table below.

Cost of Waiting Infrastructure Improvements for Line 1

Proposed Improvement(s)	Cost Estimate
New Shelters incl power supply	£166,000
New stops/flags and timetables	£56,000
New kerbing	£122,000
Road markings	£71,000
Layby removal	£87,000
Total	£502,000

5.10 The programme would be largely undertaken over a period during the 2003/04 and 2004/05 financial years, and the works listed would be substantially funded from capital budgets (including developer contributions). The funding elements for the works break down as £431,000 capital and £71,000 revenue. Other improvements, such as the installation of real-time passenger information displays, will be additional to this package of improvements.

5.11 Further work is under way to assess the value for money of carrying out this full programme and to develop an implementation programme. Currently the capital funding situation is under review. Any revenue works could only realistically be carried out at the same time as the capital works. No capital funding is allocated to the full infrastructure improvement scheme for the current financial year; there is therefore no current revenue funding requirement.

6. Schemes for Implementation in the Current Financial Year

6.1 Although the majority of expenditure is proposed during future financial years, there are some elements of work that can be progressed immediately.

6.2 A request has been made for the installation of new bus shelters at the North Hampshire Hospital, in conjunction with the NHS Trust. The hospital is an important and well-used stop on Line 1. The proposed scheme has been designed to make it compatible with the future Quality Partnership improvements for the route as a whole - for example, to allow the addition of real-time passenger information displays.

6.3 Given the importance of the hospital as an existing destination, and the request received from the hospital for new waiting facilities, it is proposed that the upgrade be carried out in the current financial year. The cost of implementation is estimated at £8,000 for the waiting facilities. At the same time, improvements to the positioning and siting of an adjacent zebra crossing and road junction will be made totalling a further £14,000. It is proposed that this improvement be funded from the Borough Council's 2002/03 BEST Sustainable Transport Initiatives capital budget.

6.4 In addition to these capital works, it is proposed that £100,000 of the Borough Council's transport revenue funding be allocated to the Quality Partnership this financial year. It is proposed that this be allocated to developing and implementing a branding scheme for the route, which will include the following elements:

(i)design and development of route branding;

(ii)fitting out of vehicles (above normal fit-out costs) in support of branding; and

(iii)marketing to publicise and promote the brand.

6.5 The peak vehicle requirement for the route is nine and the total requirement eleven. All peak vehicles would need to be treated and all would be dedicated for use on Line 1.

6.6 This work will be valuable in its own right as a component of the Quality Partnership. Equally importantly, it will provide additional support to Stagecoach in its bidding process to secure new or nearly new vehicles to serve the route. The bus company has to go through an internal bidding process within the Stagecoach Group to secure replacement buses for the route. Revenue funding for branding, particularly when combined with commitments to bus priority measures, will significantly increase the chances of making a successful bid.

6.7 If secured, the buses would be dedicated specifically to Line 1. Guarantees would be sought that the themed vehicles could not, for a specified period of at least three years, be re-directed to run on other routes or for any other unauthorised purposes.

6.8 Given the budgetary position for future years, it is suggested that this be made available only on a one-off basis. If the Stagecoach bid is unsuccessful then it will not be possible to utilise the funding for alternative purposes in the current financial year.

6.9 The release of funding has been conditional on the following:

(i) vehicles to be ordered/reserved before April 2003;

(ii) vehicles to be operating on the route by September 2003;

(iii)all vehicles to be allocated to the operation of Line 1 for a minimum period of three years;

(iv)any alterations to livery or branding only to be made with the express consent of the Borough Council; and

(v) all vehicles to be cleaned regularly and maintained to a high standard.

7. Further Planned Works

7.1 A work programme for the development and implementation of the Quality Partnership has been identified, with a number of elements for implementation over the next two financial years (including some elements already under way). The headings are:

- review of current operations;

- review of current infrastructure;

- future operations;

- fare initiatives;

- future infrastructure;

- monitoring; and

- public relations/participation.

7.2 Work in the next few months will concentrate on refining the bus stop improvements programme, organising implementation of the initial stages of the bus stop works programme and identifying the scope for off-peak service enhancements.

8. Potential Service Enhancements

8.1 The Borough Council has agreed to contribute £96,500 towards the cost of supporting evening bus services in Basingstoke. It may be possible to secure improvements for Line 1 Sunday services to operate a half-hourly rather than hourly service. However, other considerations will need to be taken into account, such as driver shortages.

9. Consultation Undertaken

9.1 Extensive consultation was undertaken on the concept of Quality Partnerships through the Passenger Transport Study. The Basingstoke Area Passenger Transport Forum and Sub-Groups have had an input to the development of the Quality Partnership proposals. North Hampshire Hospital has been engaged in the process, initially to review the scope for linking the proposals into the Hospital's Travel Plan, which is currently under development.

10. Conclusion

10.1 Considerable activity has taken place following the formal signing of the Quality Partnership between the local authorities and Stagecoach for Line 1 between Hatch Warren and Tadley. A programme for implementing works is being derived so that users will benefit from a range of improvements, including much improved waiting facilities, new information provision, improved vehicles, etc.

Recommendation

That the improvements proposed in paragraph 5.9 be supported, with implementation subject to further evaluation of value for money of each element of the programme against other items in the Basingstoke Environmental Strategy for Transport.

7692/NR