DRAFT ONLY (v2.4) APPENDIX

Bus Strategy

Hampshire County Council

July 2003

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Vision for the development of the bus network in Hampshire

3. Key aims and targets for bus services

4. Action by the County Council in respect of the bus network

5. Related actions in other areas of passenger transport

6. Consultation arrangements

7. Appendices

1. Introduction

Most bus services in Hampshire are provided by bus operators on a commercial basis and as such are the product of business decisions made in a similar way to any other company making its living from selling a product or a range of services. The routes operated, vehicles used, standards of operation and marketing undertaken reflect each operator's priorities.

Hampshire County Council is, however, a significant player in the bus network. The Council has a duty to provide support for services and facilities which are needed but which wouldn't otherwise be provided and as such supports about 20% of bus services. The Council is also a major investor in the infrastructure on which the services operate, both in features specifically designed for the bus, such as waiting facilities, bus priorities and information provision and also the general maintenance and development of the road system on which the services operate.

The public of Hampshire will normally make no distinction between the elements of the bus network which are commercial and those which are supported by the Council, which from the user perspective is perfectly understandable, the view taken will simply be whether or not the system as a whole is attractive, user friendly, effective, safe and reliable. The Council's performance in this area of service will inevitably be based on this overall view. This fact makes it very important that the Council works effectively in partnership with operators, users and other stakeholders to produce a network which meets the needs of the users, ensures inclusion in all aspects of life and encourages people to choose to use the bus for as many of their journeys as possible.

This Bus Strategy has been produced to set out the County Councils intentions in respect of the bus network as required by Section 110 of the Transport Act 2000 and in accordance with the Council's Local Transport Plan. It sets out a vision of how the bus network will develop over the period until 2010 as a result of developments in the bus market and action taken by the County Council and other partners. It includes some key aims for the service and details how these aims will be pursued. There is also a description of how the Council's activity with regard to the bus network will be reflected in the wider transport activities of the Council. To set the whole issue in context, a description of the context in which the Council is operating in this area of service is included as an Appendix.

2. Vision of development of the bus network in Hampshire

This section considers how the bus network will develop over the period until 2010, a development that will be the result of a combination of changes in the bus market and action taken by the County Council and other partners.

Both the commercial market and the bus network has developed since the deregulation of bus services in October 1986 which resulted from the Transport Act of 1985. It can be suggested that this period of 17 years has contained three phases:-

1986-1990 (approx) The pre-1986 network was largely retained, albeit with new companies operating some services. A relatively high number of operators led to competition, mostly in urban areas, duplication of the busiest routes, but little network development. The County Council concentrated on supporting the pre-October 1986 network and trimmed back a considerable amount of poorly used services particularly in 1987/88.

1991-1996 (approx) Operator position stabilised, with smaller number of companies. With the level of competition now reduced and costs reduced, commercial networks showed some development and some supported services became commercial. The County Council, now saving money as tender prices fell was also able to include some innovation in contract awards. Whilst the pre-1986 network was still regarded as the core, development in the network resulted in this link becoming less clearly defined.

1997(approx)-2003 With margins squeezed by rising costs increasing numbers of commercial services have been deregistered by operators. A concentration on `core' routes has emerged together with a greater reluctance to bear any cross-subsidy within services, thereby exposing the Council to pressure to support more of the network at a higher unit cost. Most innovation is now driven by the availability of external funding, especially developer contributions. The Council has had to make housekeeping economies on a number of occasions and the link to the pre-1986 network has become ever more tenuous.

This recent experience provides the starting point for future development. Given that there are no expected changes to primary legislation, the assumption is that given no expected change in primary legislation, the bus market in Hampshire will continue to be dominated by four main companies, that there will little competition both on the road and for tendered services. There are no indications that the general economic position will change in the South East, and therefore in the foreseeable future it is likely that costs will continue to rise ahead of general inflation at a time when the real cost of private motoring is falling. This is likely to produce a further concentration of commercial activity on core routes, with further weakening of marginally commercial services.

From the County Council's viewpoint, the aim of encouraging modal shift from car to bus (outlined in Section 3 below ) will result in a need to concentrate effort to improve services and facilities on those routes that have the best potential for passenger growth, and in this respect the aims of the Council will accord with those of the operators. On the other hand, the County Council will need to continue to maintain socially necessary services, particularly in the light of an increasing national emphasis on promoting social inclusion and accessibility through improvements to local transport.

All of this together is likely to result in the following three distinct sections of the network:-

Primary bus network. Consisting of highly commercial services carrying the majority of bus passengers. Suitable for Quality Partnership development and/or key in strategic transport terms. These services will be strongly marketed and will be vital in meeting modal shift targets for the County Council. Investment will normally be capital in nature, and be about improving infrastructure and facilities. Revenue support should be minimal, especially where Quality Partnerships exist.

Secondary bus network Other regular bus services, often local in nature and either marginally commercial or supported by the County Council. These services will make some contribution to modal shift and social inclusion, but are unlikely to justify major investment through a Quality Partnership. Investment will normally involve revenue support although there may be some capital expenditure where schemes justify this, particularly as `spin offs' from work on primary routes. These routes will be particularly suitable for replanning through the Quality Network approach (see sub-section 4 (iii)).

Tertiary bus network Other services often less frequent in nature which link into the other parts of the network, particularly with primary services. These services will often serve rural areas, but also some more isolated residential areas in a more urban setting. These services will exist primarily to ensure social inclusion, although they may contribute to modal shift by avoiding the need for car ownership. Such services will almost always be supported by the Council and will not necessarily be operated by a conventional bus, instead provision will be made using the most effective and efficient form of public transport possible, such as smaller vehicles, community transport vehicles and taxi-shares and increasingly these services will be demand-responsive in nature.

3. Key aims and targets for the bus network

This section explains what the County Council will seek to achieve through its involvement in passenger transport within the resources available to it and given the nature of the commercial market.

This Strategy has been prepared in the context of the relevant legislative and policy framework which guide the Council's action in respect of the service and the key aims and targets largely derive from these. The elements of this context are described in more detail in Appendix 1 and are as follows:-

_ National legislation

_ Government policy

_ Corporate strategy

_ Land use and transport planning

_ Public transport polices

_ The bus market in Hampshire

_ The current pattern of supported services

_ Best Value reviews of passenger transport

Hampshire County Council has three key aims in relation to passenger transport, as follows:-

(i) Social inclusion

(ii) Modal shift

(iii) Continuous improvement

The rest of this section expands on each of these aims in detail.

(i) Social inclusion

In 2001 a best value review of passenger transport (see Appendix 1) considered the key question of how the balance of expenditure the maintenance of `socially necessary' services and introduction of new services to promote modal shift on key routes should be decided. Since 1985 the Council's policies had concentrated on the former, rather than the latter, and the issue was whether there should be a change of emphasis from one to the other and also whether any such `modal shift' services should be funded by reducing expenditure on `socially necessary' routes or by the identification of new resources.

Consultation was undertaken through a series of focus groups across Hampshire which involved both users and non-users of public transport. The outcomes of this work showed that the public regard the work of the County Council in relation to public transport as extremely important and feel that the primary aim within existing resources should remain to seek to reduce social exclusion through the provision of transport opportunities, rather than the pursuit of environmental aims through the provision of services designed to promote modal shift. This implied continuing to place the emphasis on supporting socially necessary services and maintaining the current network subject to changes reflecting usage, commercial service patterns and value for money.

This approach implied that it would be not be possible to transfer significant revenue support into new services to promote modal shift, which would contribute to the Council's targets for public transport usage and road traffic reduction, and therefore any such development would involve the identification of additional resources. This issue is addressed in more detail in sub-section (ii) below.

Since the implementation of the 1985 Transport Act in October 1986 the guiding principle of the supported network has been to retain socially necessary services, in line with the pre-1986 network, subject to value for money being obtained. Simple criteria based on cost per passenger and numbers carried have supported this approach.

The intention now is to gradually move from this fairly historic and rather subjective approach to service support to one which is more objective. The suggested approach is that there would be minimum service standards for each community based on assessment of needs, backed by revised criteria based on costs and actual usage. The mechanism for this is discussed in sub-section 4 (i) below.

(ii) Modal shift

The Local Transport Plan submitted to the Government in July 2000 covering the period

2001 to 2006 set targets for all aspects of Hampshire's approach to local transport. These

included an aim of increasing public transport use in Hampshire by 25% by 2020 and of

halving the growth in traffic in the county over the same time period.

Subsequently, the Best Value review of passenger transport concluded that:-

· in view of the fact that the consultation groups so strongly endorsed the County Council's support for socially necessary services that this should remain a main focus;

· there was also a need to look for potential ways of releasing resources to allow expansion of local bus services and facilities to meet the County Council's overall transport objectives in terms of modal shift and a drive to take full advantage of other funding available.

The Improvement Plan therefore includes an incremental approach involving:-

· obtaining service improvements through the development of Quality Partnership agreements with operators on key commercial services and the provision of capital funding through the Local Transport Plan;

· the re-planning of services to more effectively meet needs, with any resources released being used to introduce new `modal shift' services ;

· the use of funding sources such as developer contributions and additional Government funding to expand such services, possibly supplemented by modest increases in revenue budget

In January 2002 the County Council entered into a commitment with Government termed a

Public Service Agreement (PSA) whereby the Council agreed to strengthened its Local

Transport Plan target in respect of bus use in return for certain freedoms and flexibilities,

a `pump-priming' grant to allow short-term actions to be taken and potential financial benefits dependent on performance of the local authority. The revised targets are to achieve a 4% growth on 2000 passenger levels by March 2005 with an interim target of a 2.5% increase in passengers carried by March 2004.

Modal shift is most likely to achieved where frequencies are relatively high and/or where the bus offers a real alternative to the private car, such as by offering a direct link between key locations. It is therefore intended that the effort to achieve usage growth and meet the PSA targets will be pursued through the provision of high quality, reliable and accessible bus services, particularly through the development of strong Quality Bus Partnerships (QBPs) with transport operators. These partnerships (described in more detail in sub-section 4(ii)) provide the framework for the maximisation of benefits from investment by transport operators and the County Council. In addition, a programme of direct marketing will be conducted on key QBP routes (described in detail in section 4(v) below).

Target service standards will therefore be set for the County's strategic bus network, which

will be comprised of the QBP routes and other key strategic corridors. These are the routes

on which the Council will target investment through Local Transport Plan funding and any

other additional funding available (such as through developer contributions and European

projects). The strategic bus network is defined in Appendix 2 which sets out a hierarchy of

bus routes for Hampshire containing three categories (primary, secondary and tertiary) as

described in Section 2 above. Targets for each primary route will be developed in

conjunction with operators normally as part of a QBP.

(iii) Continuous improvement

The Best Value review of passenger transport is described in sub-section (viii) of Appendix 1. The outcomes of the Review process particularly relevant to bus service provision are as follows.

· That there should be a fundamental assessment of travel needs to allow a judgement to be made, firstly on whether the County Council's current level of activity in relation to this service is appropriate and, secondly, where adjustments to provision should be made.

· That work should be undertaken to identify additional sources of funding to allow expansion of local bus services and facilities to meet the County Council's overall transport objectives in terms of increased use of public transport as an alternative to the private car as part of wider transport policy. The following are examples of sources of funding currently available:-

o Local Transport Plan

o Major scheme bids to Department for Transport

o Developer contributions

o District or City Councils

o Bus Challenge schemes (Rural/Urban)

o Rural Transport Partnerships

o European projects

o Parish Transport Grants

· That work should be undertaken to build more effective working partnerships with operators. This is vital as 80% of bus network services are provided by commercial operators and progress in raising overall perceptions of this service is going to depend largely on success in gaining the operators' commitment.

· That there is a need to look for more innovative, flexible and efficient ways of meeting public transport needs as an alternative to the conventional bus service, particularly where needs are disparate in nature geographically.

· That there is a need to improve the quality of supported services by raising the standards required and improving performance monitoring. There is also a need to encourage competition for such services to allow a better choice of operators and lower overall costs.

These outcomes are reflected in the actions proposed in section 4. They are also

contained in an Improvement Plan which sets out a series of actions and timescales and sets performance indicators which measure progress. A summary of the Improvement Plan relevant to the bus network is attached as Appendix 3. There is also one National Performance Indicator relevant to passenger transport, the number of passengers carried on bus services within the County (Best Value Performance Indicator 102). This indicator includes both commercial and tendered services and therefore involves the Council in obtaining information from bus operators with regard to their services.

4. Delivering on the key aims and targets

This section describes a range of ways in which the County Council will seek to reach the aims set out in section 3 above.

(i) Supporting local bus services

The provision of revenue support for local bus services remains the core method by which the County Council will meet its obligations under the Transport Act of 1985.

The budget for 2003/04 for this purpose is £4.8 million, supplemented by £1.2 million from the Government's ring-fenced Rural Bus Subsidy Grant. As discussed in sub-section 3 (i) above, the primary aim of such funding will remain to ensure social inclusion, although such support does also have some positive impact in modal shift terms.

Since 1986 the County Council has used two simple criteria for determining whether to

support services which would not otherwise be commercially provided:

(i) cost per passenger trip - a maximum of £2.50 per passenger trip; and

(ii) minimum passenger numbers - a journey should carry a minimum of three passengers if operating in a rural area and five passengers if urban.

These criteria have remained unchanged during the intervening 16 years, during which time

bus fares have risen by around 125% and the Retail Price Index by 75%. The fact that the

cost per passenger criteria has remained unchanged implies a reduction in the proportion of

cost paid by the County Council and better value being obtained from service support during

this period.

A survey of eight other County Councils has recently enquired as to the criteria used to determine support for services. The results of this shows that whilst the cost per passenger is the most widely used criteria and minimum passenger loadings are used by some authorities, others set minimum service standards for each community, an approach not taken in Hampshire so far.

As explained in sub-section 3 (i) above, following the Best Value review work, the intention is to move the historic and subjective approach to service support to one where there would be set minimum service standards for each community based on assessment of needs. The desire to do this has been strengthened by the publication in February 2003 of a report from the Government's Social Exclusion Unit which makes a clear case for the fact that problems with transport provision can reinforce social exclusion. The report recommends a new framework of `accessibility planning' which will be built into the next round of Local Transport Plans starting in 2006 and which will be led by local transport authorities. The work now proposed in Hampshire is therefore in advance of any such national requirements and may need to be modified in due course to meet any standards set by Government.

A study undertaken for the County Council by the TAS Partnership has confirmed that there would be merit in revising the criteria in this way and suggested that standards should be set for bands of community of similar size and characteristics .

The following criteria are therefore proposed by the County Council:-

_ Needs assessment - a new criteria. This would involve setting minimum service levels for each community.

_ Revenue/cost ratios - this would replace the cost per passenger criteria with a calculation of revenue as a proportion of support cost for any particular service. This would give a more equitable method of ranking performance of individual services.

_ Number of passengers per bus journey - this is one of the existing criteria and would be retained. This would demonstrate whether the needs analysis is translated into actual use for any particular service. This criteria would be revised to reflect the fact that where there are very low numbers of passengers (say less than five) then it would be expected that a `low-cost' solution would be used rather than support a conventional bus service.

To implement the revised criteria outlined in the section above, work has been undertaken to develop standards for both rural and urban communities. The consultant Steer Davies Gleave has undertaken needs analysis for all rural parishes in the County, based on current levels of service. This has been done in a way that will allow updating when future network changes occur. The work has allowed the setting of minimum and higher service levels for each community of a certain size, based on a banded structure reflecting population size. The proposed standards are set out in Appendix 4 (not attached for circulation-will be tabled at briefing.) The minimum service level would be provided subject to the financial and usage criteria being met and resources being available. The higher level would be an aspiration which could be provided where resources and operational circumstances allowed this at marginal cost and where all criteria were again satisfied. The existing levels of service meet 84% of rural travel needs measured against the minimum standards, to fully meet the minimum standards outlined would meet 86% of needs and cost approximately between £150,000 and £200,000 per annum and to the achievement the higher targets would meet 92% of needs at a cost of between £500,000 and £750,000.

A separate slightly different approach will be required for urban areas where the majority of services are commercially provided and the area is too large to consider as one community. Here the aim will be to provide a certain level of daytime bus service for access to various facilities within given walking distances of all households. Steer Davies Gleave are undertaking pilot work for this approach in Basingstoke and will apply a similar approach to the rest of the urban areas by September 2003.

The revised financial criteria based on the calculation of the revenue/cost ratio will involve

the collection of additional data from operators of supported services, a requirement that will

require negotiation with the operators of existing contracts. It would also be desirable to

enhance the availability of passenger usage data by collecting additional information from

operators and this too will require agreement.

Finally, it will be important to pitch the criteria carefully and to have good transitional

arrangements to avoid too much disruption to the existing network whilst still bringing

about tangible changes.

(ii) Quality Bus Partnerships

Quality Bus Partnerships (QBPs) will provide the key to developing the commercial sector

of the Hampshire bus market, by working with operators to provide a network of high

quality, frequent bus services which will attract new passenger journeys and achieve modal

shift. When applied successfully, QBPs can maximize the benefits from investment for

both bus operators and local authority partners. This work is vital as 80% of bus services

are provided by commercial operators and progress in raising overall perceptions of this

service is going to depend largely on success based on gaining the operators'

commitment. As discussed in section 2 (ii) above, progress in this area is also essential if

the County Council is to meet it targets for local bus use both in relation to the PSA

agreement for buses and the targets within the Local Transport Plan.

The County Council's contribution to such QBPs will be to invest capital funding in a range

of improvements to infrastructure including bus lanes, bus priority schemes, new bus

shelters, raised access kerbs, bus stop timetable information, improved bus stations,

and the development of real-time information.

For their part, operators will invest in the introduction of accessible low-floor vehicles,

integrated and electronic ticketing, driver training to NVQ standards, passenger information

and ideally, service frequencies.

The majority of funding for the County Council investment will be of a capital nature and

will be drawn from the Council's Local Transport Plan settlement. There will be a

presumption against providing revenue support for QBP services which should, by their

nature, provide a relatively good commercial performance for operators.

The County Council is already involved in seven QBPs covering ten routes which are at

various stages of development. Until recently the targeting of investment had been arrived

at through the development of the Area Transport Strategies and liaison with operators.

However, in 2002, a study was undertaken which sought to take a more objective view of

the potential for QBPs in Hampshire, by analysing data on the current bus network to

identify the costs and benefits of investing in each particular route and backing this up by

consulting with bus operators and District Councils as to their aspirations. This work has

shown a potential for QBPs on a total of 29 routes in Hampshire and included more detailed

recommendations on how the top 10 QBP routes should be taken forward. The routes

identified are included in the primary network of routes listed in Appendix 2. There is a

close correlation between these routes and those identified for QBP investment during the

development of the Area Transport Strategies across Hampshire.

It is intended that this work should now guide investment in QBPs during the period to

2010, subject to changes in the commercial network and funding availability. Whilst

initially a voluntary approach will be taken, there are legally-binding alternatives

available which could be instigated at some future point if satisfactory progress is not

being made on a voluntary basis.

(iii) Quality Bus Network development

The Quality Bus Network (QBN) is a method devised in Hampshire which has been the source of some interest nationally, and which it is intended to roll-out across the county.

The QBN concept came about as a response to two separate (but related) issues.

The first issue was the question of how to develop routes which whilst important in strategic terms are not suitable for a QBP approach. QBPs will be an effective method of obtaining passenger growth and modal shift on key commercial services. Away from these star performers, there is a second division of services where any investment by the local authority is in danger of matched by little more than vehicle investment, most of which was probably already due, there being no corresponding improvement in service levels, fares or marketing.

Large parts of existing networks consist of a few marginally commercial routes, often dependant on school movements, with the majority of services being wholly or partially supported by the local authority. In short hand this issue can be referred to as the `middle-sized town' problem but that is a fairly loose definition, in fact many diverse areas demonstrate service patterns of this nature such as market towns, suburban areas and rural inter-urban corridors. The recent tendency has been for operators to withdraw commercial operations from these routes as they focus on core networks.

The second issue was that one of the key outcomes of the Best Value review was the aim of integrating operational provision across County Council supported services to maximise use of capacity, maximise efficiency through economies of scale, and ideally to do this in partnership with the commercial sector. A requirement of the Improvement Plan was that this approach should be trialled in part of the Test Valley area by spring 2002.

In response to the above issues, a study was commissioned from the consultancy division of Southern Vectis plc, with data provided by the County Council. The study re-planned transport to meet public, school transport and social services needs in the northern part of Test Valley, centred on Andover, and was completed in March 2002. A unique feature of the work was the inclusion of certain marginally commercial services operated by Stagecoach. The study suggested that savings could be made on transport costs, rising to £250,000 per annum, if some limited changes were made to school hours, and went on to demonstrate how such savings could be reinvested in service improvements if this was felt desirable.

The scheme is now at the implementation stage with two sets of service changes having been introduced in July 2002 and January 2003. This has already resulted in some savings in costs and improvements in service levels. However, further major savings will be made if agreement on changes to school hours can be achieved and work on this aspect is still in progress. The establishment of a way forward here is essential is important in providing a basis for rolling out the Quality Network approach in appropriate parts of the bus network across the county. The Environment Department of the County Council is working closely with the Education Department on this issue, since the agreement of school governing bodies is a prerequisite of progress.

The experience in Test Valley has led to an aim to complete integrated network reviews to

achieve a `Quality Network' approach in appropriate parts of the bus network across the

whole county. As a start on this process a further review has now been commissioned in

south-east Hampshire covering the Havant and Petersfield areas and it is estimated that five

more reviews will be required to complete the work, the suggested programme for which is

shown as Appendix 5. This process will be completed early in 2005 subject to funding for

this work being identified.

(iv) Innovation in service provision

The County Council has been proactive in establishing the use of more innovative, flexible

and efficient ways of meeting public transport needs as an alternative to the conventional

bus service, particularly where needs are disparate in nature geographically. This was a key

outcome of the Best Value review of passenger transport when it was concluded that

demand responsive smaller vehicles could be a better way of meeting local needs,

including community based alternatives.

The current network of supported local bus services is generally operated by commercial operators to a fixed route and timetable, often using vehicles not to a fully accessible standard. Usage patterns are becoming more disparate, particularly in deep rural areas, leading to some services failing to meet criteria for support and a trend of decline and withdrawal. There is also evidence that some essential travel needs are not being met by current service patterns.

A more flexible approach to service routeings and timings leads to it being possible to meet more travel needs and potentially either produce cost savings or better value for money spent, particularly if integrated with other services and/or making use of voluntary sector resources. This approach was included in the Improvement Plan and subsequently 14 examples of demand-responsive services have been introduced across Hampshire, comprising eleven CANGO demand-responsive minibus services and three taxi-share experiments. Six more CANGO vehicles will be introduced during 2003/04, funded from successful bids to the Rural Bus Challenge competition and the Countryside Agency, some of which will be operated by the community transport sector. The initial rural CANGO services, which build on previous conventional bus services, are showing a marked growth in popularity running at between 50 and 60% higher than the previous services. More detail on the demand-responsive operations is shown as Appendix 6.

There are, however, two factors which will limit the roll-out of this approach in extent and speed of delivery:-

Firstly, it is important to emphasise that many services are by their nature less suitable for such flexibility so this is not an approach that can be universally used across the supported network. Many services are integrated with the provision of school transport for substantial numbers of children, others are co-ordinated with commercial services or are `add-ons' to such services, others have complex user patterns. For these reasons there is a distinct limit to the number of services suitable for such a low cost solution probably representing less than 15% of the bus service support budget. This assessment will need to be validated during the proposed Quality Network reviews outlined above, but the initial list of routes which appear suitable for conversion are those in the `tertiary' category shown in Appendix 2.

Secondly, such an approach requires a greater degree of partnership working, pump-priming resources and on-going funding at a sustainable level. The services are undoubtedly of a higher quality and better meet travel needs, but they are more expensive to set up and operate. Typically, for example, the on-going cost per passenger is around £5, around twice that for a conventional bus service but considerably less than for Dial-A-Ride services at around £8 per passenger.

To assist in meeting the pump-priming requirement the County Council is currently ring-

fencing £100,000 per annum for innovative service provision. However, faster progress

will require the attraction of external funding. To this end, bids will continue to be made to

the Government's Bus Challenge competitions and opportunities will be sought to achieve

funding from developer contributions or through partnership with district councils.

Although the greater cost will be partly met by higher fares revenue and the ability to tailor the service to actual use owing to relatively high levels of information on travel patterns, there is going to be an on-going need for revenue support at a higher level. The Quality Network reviews will identify some potential efficiencies which could be implemented to balance the cost increases, but these will need to be set against the backdrop of the on-going rises in costs in the bus market as a whole.

(v) Promotion of bus services

The Council has been active in the promotion of public transport and the provision of passenger information for a number of years, producing a range of material through a selection of media. The rationale for this work is that this activity strengthens the use of public transport services, improving commercial performance and therefore reducing the need to provide support for services.

The Transport Act 2000 has given local authorities a duty to set standards for information provision with regard to the bus network and to work with operators to provide this. In response to this duty, the Council is developing an Information Strategy which will be adopted during 2003. The strategy is based on an analysis of current practice, market research and survey of approaches used by other local authorities.

The Information Strategy will include an action plan which will need to reflect the work being done within this Bus Strategy. For example, work undertaken on `primary' networks (as outlined in sub-section 3(ii) above) will need to be promoted as will any significant changes to the network arising from the change in criteria and/or the Quality Network reviews to be undertaken countywide (see sub-sections 4(i) and 4(iii) above respectively).

As outlined in sub-section 3(ii) above, the County Council's has entered into a Public Service Agreement (PSA) with Government in respect of usage of bus services. As part of the agreement `pump-priming' funding is made available which in this case totals just over £300,000. This money is intended to support the achievement of passenger growth and monitor the results.

The County Council has decided to undertake a programme of personalised, direct and dialogue-building marketing, to assist in meeting its `stretched' bus usage target under the PSA. A consultant was appointed early in 2003 and will complete the work required by March 2005. The marketing project will concentrate on approximately 10 geographical areas defined by high volume movements, high frequency bus services, and linked together by existing or planned QBPs.

The rationale behind this work is that despite improvements to services on QBP routes, it is apparent that perception gaps still continue, particularly amongst non-users. In order to reach modal shift targets, these gaps between the actual and perceived service performance and value must be reduced, and this is best achieved by communicating directly and in a highly personalised way with customers and potential customers.

5. Wider actions by the Council which will impact on key aims and targets

This section details action to be taken by the County Council in relation to its wider involvement in passenger transport which will have an impact on the bus network or vice versa.

(i) South Hampshire Rapid Transit / Solent Transport

The southern Hampshire conurbation embracing the travel to work areas of Southampton and Portsmouth is one of the few areas in the South East with a population of sufficient size and density to be able to support a new and innovative mass transit system. Approximately 800,000 people live in the area generating 2.1 million trips daily, mostly by car. The need for an enhanced and attractive public transport system is an important elements of a sustainable transport solution which will help to stem the tide of forecast traffic growth.

The SHRT concept is a mass transit system using state of the art rolling stock and vehicles, new information technology, full integration between modes, integrated ticketing and a clear identity. The County Council is working closely with Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils and the relevant District Councils on this concept.

There are two initial corridors for SHRT under development, these being:-

_ Fareham-Gosport-Portsmouth. A light rail transit route using a mix of segregated alignment and on-street running including a tunnel under Portsmouth Harbour to offer a new fast, frequent public transport link. The necessary powers are now in place for this scheme and it is intended that the trams will be running by 2007.

_ Portsmouth-Waterlooville. A bus-based system using high specification vehicles with low-floors, low emissions on a system with priority measures including bus lanes and traffic signal priority to maintain rapid journey times. Construction is now underway and will be completed in six phases.

A third phase will be the improvement of links between Fareham and Southampton potentially by constructing a more direct rail link between the two places via Eastleigh and converting the existing rail route via Netley to a light rail service.

There will be a need to develop the public transport network to ensure integration between the modes generally and in particular between the new schemes outlined above and other services. The need to develop such a network concept is a major part of the Solent Transport initiative which was launched in March 2003, this being based on a partnership between Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council and extending to cover highway and freight issues as well. The need to achieve public transport integration is particularly demonstrated by the case of the Fareham to Portsmouth route where there is need to try and ensure that the bus network complements the tram route producing a better overall network, rather than engaging in direct competition with all or part of the route.

It is hoped that an early product of Solent Transport will be an agreement with bus operators to try to reinforce the concept of an overall network in the area through network ticketing backed up by appropriate system-wide information, and discussions with regard to such arrangements are currently in progress.

(ii) Service quality and competition

The Best Value review revealed a need to improve the quality of supported services by raising the standards required and improving performance monitoring. There is also a need to encourage competition for such services to allow a better choice of operators and lower overall costs. Operators need to be given incentives to grow patronage on supported services.

Service quality is largely determined by the standards set by the County Council during tendering and within its standard conditions of contract. There is balance to be struck between specification of standards and the costs associated with the contracts let to those standards, generally the higher the standards, the greater the cost. The County Council is currently developing generic conditions of contract for all transport services which it is expected will be introduced during 2003/04, following consultation with operators. It is intended that these should include more explicit reference to the fact that standards offered will be taken into account in the award of contracts.

The Best Value work particularly highlighted the small number of low-floor buses operating on supported services and it is the intention to gradually increase the numbers of such vehicles available to the public. Some progress has been made in the Fareham, Havant and Petersfield areas during 2002/03 with pump-priming from the innovation budget and further progress is expected in 2003/04.

The generation of increased competition would on the face of things be likely to reduce or at least contain contract prices. A further result may be the introduction of additional commercial services as operators gain confidence. To make such a change will involve the design and implementation of a pro-active strategy aimed to encourage involvement in bus service operation. Key elements of such a strategy will include:

(i) alternative types of contract, offering low-revenue risk;

(ii) tendering for vehicles rather than individual services;

(iii) incentives for growth in patronage and quality of service;

(iv) longer term contracts;

(v) seminars designed to explain the licensing, funding and contractual systems;

(vi) use of smaller vehicles where appropriate - including taxi buses (this approach ties in with the previous comments on flexible services).

The development and deployment of such a strategy is included in the Improvement Plan and is currently being implemented.

(iii) Rail services and infrastructure

The County Council is a statutory consultee with regard to rail service provision and is involved in the improvement of rail infrastructure where this wouldn't otherwise be provided on a commercial basis.

This work includes trying to ensure the best possible integration between buses and trains at rail stations, both in terms of services and infrastructure. The Council has developed `blueprints' for both services and infrastructure which guide the authorities' ambitions and investment in this area. This work involves major projects, such as the opening of Chandlers Ford Station achieved in May 2003, and small station improvements such as the provision of improved waiting facilities and passenger information.

The Council will work with rail service franchisees and bus service operators to seek co-ordination between modes, including the integration of dedicated rail feeder buses (included as certain franchises) so that the compliment (rather than compete with ) the rest of the bus network.

The Council will also work through its Area Transport Strategies to identify appropriate infrastructure improvements at stations, and seek to either have the delivery of such improvements included in future franchise agreements or if this is not feasible consider funding such improvements from Local Transport Plan funding.

(iv) Community Transport

Hampshire has a very active community transport sector. A wide range of voluntary organizations provide transport in the county, many with assistance from the County Council. In many cases, the activities of these groups offer flexible solutions which respond to the specific needs of people living in the local community. The County Council recognizes the important role played by these groups in the overall transport mix and provides support, advice, information and training. As part of the advice role, the Council will aim to ensure that such activities complement (rather than compete) with conventional bus services.

The Council has recently developed a Community Transport Development Plan which sets out a 10 year programme to bring about equitable and sustainable provision of community transport services in all areas of Hampshire. The Plan outlines how this sector should be developed and funded in the future. The plan has been prepared for the County Council by consultants the TAS Partnership. Their work has included research, analysis and consultation with key voluntary and statutory organisations and transport providers in Hampshire. Further consultation is now taking place with interested parties about the draft Plan. In the light of the comments received the Plan will be modified and then adopted as policy by the County Council and its partners.

The Community Transport Development Plan will enable the County Council and its partners to:

_ Gain a better understanding of the need for community transport and how it varies across Hampshire

_ Identify areas where existing schemes need to be developed further or new schemes need to be set up

_ Allocate funding fairly, based on local needs

_ Make sure that funds are used effectively, providing the maximum number of trips for local people

(v) Accessible Transport Strategy

The Accessible Transport Strategy was formally launched by the County Council in September 2000 and was the culmination of two years work, involving over 1,000 voluntary and statutory organisations and transport providers. Older people and disabled people also played a significant part in the process.

The Strategy sets out a series of policy objectives that the County Council can pursue in order to improve the transport system and make it more accessible, particularly for older and disabled people. It aims to guide the County Council in this work over the next decade and covers all aspects of passenger transport.

In respect of buses, the Strategy contains a series of policies and a work programme for implementing the Strategy is agreed and announced on an annual basis. It sets out the initiatives for each area of the Strategy that will be introduced over the coming twelve months. This is reviewed at the end of each year and an annual report produced so that the momentum of implementing the Strategy is maintained.

(vi) Ferry services

The County Council provides revenue support for two local ferry services, Hythe to Southampton and Hayling to Portsmouth. In addition, the Council is providing support for a programme of works to Hythe Pier to secure the long term future of the ferry service.

The Council will seek to ensure good bus links to the ferry services to ensure that they are integrated into the overall public transport network. In particular, this is an issue for the Hayling Ferry which is some distance from the main settlements on the Island and experiments are currently being undertaken with a taxi-bus service which connects with the ferry as required. Subject to funding availability and usage, such arrangements will be continued and expanded in future.

(vii) Concessionary fares and Hampshire Farepass

The County Council initiated and administers Farepass on behalf of the eleven district councils in Hampshire. The scheme allows travel at half fare throughout Hampshire and provides much improved travel opportunities compared with the previous cash-limited token schemes. Currently there are around 25,000 users of the Farepass scheme.

District Councils spend approximately £6 million per annum on concessionary fares. This level of expenditure is very significant, especially when set alongside the £4.5 million spent by the County Council on support for bus services. This highlights the need for the County Council to work in partnership with district councils to ensure that the use of these funds is optimized.

At present both Farepass and the district council schemes generally only cover travel by bus for older or disabled people. It is however the intention to explore the potential for extending the provision of concessions, particularly looking to include young people, jobseekers and low income groups.

(viii) Workplace travel plans

Since 1998 workplace travel planning in Winchester has progressed as a partnership approach through the Winchester Commuter Forum to improve transport choices and road safety, promote health, encourage less dependency on cars, and share best practice in transport innovations. Participating organisations are drawn from the local authorities, educational establishments, the hospital, prison, and the Police, transport operators and other local businesses.

With the recent impetus from Government to promote workplace travel initiatives as part of measures to tackle road traffic growth and reduce travel by car, the Forum and its participating organisations have been very active in developing measures to assist staff, students and visitors to travel into and around the City by other means.

A Travel Plan for Hampshire County Council staff was launched in June 2000 - initially as a pilot for Winchester based staff. The plan includes several offers to staff including interest free loans to purchase public transport season tickets.

The County Council has also been instrumental in negotiating bulk purchase discounts for season tickets with bus operators. Work has been undertaken to promote services to better meet user requirements, such as arranging additional stops adjacent to major centres of employment. It is intended to back this work up with individualised marketing to encourage use of passenger transport on a key corridor into Winchester to test effectiveness of such an approach. Employers and local bus and rail operators have pledged financial and in kind resources and Hampshire County Council has been awarded funding within the Local Transport settlement for 2002/03 to enable a start on this work during 2003.

(ix) Interchange facilities

Hampshire is active in seeking to improve bus interchanges from main bus shelters through to individual bus stop poles. Funding for major improvements to such infrastructure is mainly achieved through scheme-specific capital allocations from the Local Transport Plan or developer contributions and allows for improved passenger waiting facilities, bus priority measures and information provision. Recent work has been undertaken at Fareham and Gosport bus stations and improvements are planned at Havant. During 2001 a comprehensive audit of interchanges was completed which will help provide a `blueprint' for future work.

There is a small allocation of budget for the provision and maintenance of bus stop poles and in addition, small grants are made towards parish and district council infrastructure improvements, for example, information boards, contributions towards new shelters, repairs to damaged shelters and provision of hardstanding areas.

A major outstanding issue is that of the general maintenance of bus shelters, other that those owned by a commercial supplier of such facilities. The County Council is currently working with district councils to try and establish a solution in term of both funding and operational arrangements.

(x) European Projects

The Passenger Transport Group is involved in a number of European projects. The MIRACLES project (Multi Initiatives For Rationalised Accessibility and Clean, Livable Environments) is a European Union demonstration project involving four cities: Rome, Barcelona, Cork and Winchester. The project aims to "Increase the urban transport system's sustainability and efficiency through strategies for Clean Urban Transport."

The cities involved are aiming to achieve four strategic goals:

· Reduction of transport-related environmental impacts at a local level;

· Increased urban accessibility;

· Enhanced economic efficiency through better transport management;

· Overall improvement of quality of life;

The Passenger Transport Group is leading on a number of work packages.

Specific initiatives include working with Stagecoach and engine manufacturers to upgrade the emissions performance of buses in the Winchester fleet. We are also seeking to run a trial of alternatively-fuelled buses on the Winchester Park & Ride service, for example electricity, CNG or LPG. We will also investigate the potential for bus priority measures, install enhanced bus stops and improved passenger information. These measures will be delivered through a Quality Bus Partnership on three bus routes.

Hampshire and Nizhny Novgorod, Russia have recently concluded a project within the 5^th Round of the EU TACIS Programme. TACIS is designed to provide technical assistance and knowledge transfer to local authorities within the former Soviet Union, in order to assist them in improving the efficiency and management of local services. The project is implemented through a series of exchange visits. The project assessed a number of the key issues relating to public transport and provided advice on public transport policy, strategy and operational matters.

Hampshire and Nizhny Novgorod have successfully submitted further project proposals for grant funding of 150,000 EURO to the European Union. The project is part of the Institution Building Partnership Programme (IBPP), 'Establishing Democratic and Sustainable Management of Public Transport in Nizhny Novgorod'. The project will run for 18 months from January 2003 and will take the same format as previous TACIS programmes based around exchange visits and transfer of knowledge.

7. Consultation arrangements and timescale

The current timescale for consultation and approval of this Strategy is as follows:

Draft to Executive Member 23 July 2003

Draft dispatched to consultees 29 August 2003

Consultation period ends 31 October 2003

Final draft to Executive Member 23 January 2004

Consultation will take place with a range of stakeholders, including Southampton and

Portsmouth City Councils, District Councils, Hampshire Association of Town and Parish

Councils, neighbouring authorities, local public transport operators, bus user representatives,

other County Council departments, health sector representatives and Government Office

South East.