Contact: Jane Hatt, ext 6919 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report informs Members of:

(i) new evening bus services in Andover and surrounding villages; and

(ii) progress towards the introduction of the demand-responsive Romsey Area Cango services.

2. New Evening Bus Services in the Andover Area

2.1 In 2004/05 the County Council provided, as a cabinet priority, £22,000 for youth transport initiatives in the Andover area.

2.2 In January 2005 Test Valley Borough Council opened a new Youth Centre, The Depot, on Portway Industrial Estate.

2.3 Prior to January 2005, evening public transport services in and around Andover were limited to the following routes:-

(i) Rail services to Salisbury and Basingstoke etc. via the Exeter-Salisbury-London Waterloo route;

(ii) Bus Service 7: Andover - Tidworth - Salisbury (commercial); and

(iii) Bus Service 76: Andover - Whitchurch - Basingstoke (subsidised by the County Council).

2.4 None of Andover's 10 local town bus routes enjoyed an evening service which maybe surprising, given that daytime usage of commercial Service A, to the northern estates including King Arthur's Way, is sufficient to support a 10 minute frequency. No other bus route in Hampshire has such a frequent daytime service without an evening or Sunday service.

2.5 The County Council subsidised evening services in Andover until around 1995 but withdrew them due to minimal usage which failed to meet the County Council's criteria for subsidy. Hence the last bus on Service A ran at around 8.00 pm, with last buses on the two other principal town routes around 7.00 pm and on the minor routes around 5.00 pm or earlier. However, residents within walking distance of the services mentioned in paragraph 2.3(ii) and (iii) along Weyhill Road and London Road had access to those evening bus services.

3. Service Proposals and Introduction

3.1 Following the announcement of the additional £22,000 of County Council funding, work centred on developing evening town services from the estates with the highest daytime bus usage to the town centre and railway station, with additional late-night buses to and from Basingstoke therefore providing access to the West Ham Leisure Park, which includes a multi-screen cinema, ice-skating and tenpin bowling, none of which are available in Andover.

3.2 Test Valley Borough Council was meanwhile constructing The Depot youth activity centre at Portway and it was clearly important to provide public transport to the site, given its peripheral location.

3.3 Funding for new services from rural areas was available from the Department for Transport through the Testbed Community Transport Project, initiated by the County Council. This provided the opportunity for assistance where teenagers in villages away from bus routes, such as those mentioned in 2.3(ii), had no evening service to access either Andover or places further a field.

3.4 Test Valley Borough Council agreed to provide £12,000 in the first instance towards a new evening bus service from the principal Andover estates to The Depot. It proved possible to include the town centre on this route. Service N started on 21 January 2005 and serves King Arthur's Way, Roman Way, Cricketer's Way, Pilgrim's Way, River Way, Artist's Way and Tollgate Road. The service, which is operated by Stagecoach, runs hourly on Friday and Saturday evenings from 5.00 pm, with the last bus from The Depot leaving when it closes at 10.00 pm.

3.5 Additional late Friday and Saturday evening buses between Andover and Basingstoke also commenced on 21 January. All evening buses on this route were re-routed to serve Admiral's Way, enabling residents to connect at the bus station with Service N to The Depot.

3.6 Test Valley Community Services is operating a demand-responsive minibus service to The Depot from the following parishes:- Grateley, Quarley, Monxton, Amport, Charlton, Fyfield, Thruxton, Kimpton, Shipton Bellinger, Weyhill, Penton Mewsey, Appleshaw and Hatherden. This service started on 11 February 2005 and again operates on Friday and Saturday evenings. The service is funded through the Testbed Project.

3.7 New evening services in the Andover area have been introduced as described, primarily to serve young people, but are open to all. Continuation of these services will depend on patronage.

3.8 Little publicity was given initially to the new services to Basingstoke, so as not to detract from The Depot initiative, but this is now being redressed.

4. Romsey Cango

4.1 The Passenger Transport Group is currently considering tenders from operators who have bid to run the Romsey area Cango demand-responsive minibus services from mid-2005.

4.2 Cango differs from conventional bus services in that it is able to serve a wider geographical area and is also able to provide services which are flexible in where they pick people up. A 21 seat low floor and wheelchair accessible bus will be used on Romsey Cango and a mix of commuter and social journeys is proposed, covering a wide area.

4.3 Consultation with Test Valley Borough Council officers and parish transport representatives took place in February and, where possible, their comments will be taken into account in determining the final timetables.

Recommendation

That the report be noted.

207/JH