Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

EXECUTIVE MEMBER - ENVIRONMENT: NORTH HAMPSHIRE AND SPATIAL STRATEGY

ITEM 2

PROJECT APPRAISAL

PROJECT:

CAR FREE TOURISM - NEW FOREST TOUR

COMMENCEMENT DATE:

MAY 2006

COMPLETION DATE:

SEPTEMBER 2008

PLANNED YEAR OF START IN ACCORDANCE WITH CAPITAL PROGRAMME: 2006/07

1.

FINANCE (Client Department, Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services [Estates Practice] and County Treasurer)

Current

Capital

Estimate

Programme

(at 2006

(at 2006

prices)

prices)

Capital Expenditure

£'000

£'000

Land to be purchased

nil

nil

Construction

nil

nil

Fees

nil

nil

Contribution

100

100

100

100

Less developers/

other contributions

100

100

Financial provision for total scheme

Total Cost

1.

From Committees own resources

(a) Capital programme (as above)

100

100

2.

From other resources

(a)

(b)

(c)

TOTAL

100

Value of land for this project in HCC ownership £

Variations from capital programme

Revenue implications

£'000

% variation

to Committee's budget

Nil - revenue funding to support future operation of the service will be secured from New Forest District Council and the New Forest National Park Authority

Net current expenditure

nil

nil

Capital charges

nil

nil

TOTAL net expenditure

nil

nil

2.

STATEMENT OF NEED/JUSTIFICATION FOR PROJECT

(Client Department)

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.9

2.10

2.11

2.12

Background

The New Forest Tour is a circular `hop-on hop-off' bus tour (see attached route plan) which has been running for two years (summers only). It is currently using 27 year old buses. The service is targeted principally at visitors to the area and is the main `car free tourism' initiative in the New Forest. It is also of benefit for some local journey needs. The operator has recently indicated that the buses would be stored at the Hythe depot. This will allow a new link from the Hythe ferry in the morning with a return journey in the evening

The majority of visitors to the New Forest, some 90%, arrive by car. However, once at their campsite or accommodation there is an opportunity to influence their travel choices for accessing the Forest. The New Forest Tour links towns, villages, campsites and visitor attractions, thus allowing visitors to leave their cars behind for the day and use the bus to make their way around, thereby relieving pressure on the local road network.

The New Forest Tour carried approximately 5,000 passengers in 2005 and required a subsidy of £35,000. Of this sum £25,000 was met by Hampshire County Council. It is projected that 12,000 passengers will use the service in 2006. Future subsidy arrangements are discussed below. However if the expected passenger figures are not achieved in 2006/07/08, then the risk regarding the financial shortfall will lie solely with the operator and will not put any additional financial responsibility on any of the other partners.

Recent surveys have shown that the scheme is popular with users and performs well against other schemes nationally. This is discussed further below.

Proposal and Justification

The proposal is to spend £100,000 of Local Transport Plan (LTP) money as pump-priming to secure two nearly new buses for the Tour. This would be a contribution to the total cost of £300,000 for securing the buses, with the operator meeting the remainder of the cost.

There is an aspiration to move the Tour to a situation where it is self-funding at some point in the future. Initial indications are that this could be achieved in five to eight years, on the basis of ongoing sustained patronage growth.

The provision of nearly new buses will provide a number of benefits:

(i) significantly improved reliability and user confidence;

(ii) low emission vehicles;

(iii) low-floor vehicles;

(iv) increase in frequency from two-hourly to hourly; and

(v) removal of an estimated 6,000 car journeys from the road network per annum by 2008.

In combination, these factors are projected to lead to an ongoing increase in patronage and a consequent decrease in the need for service subsidy.

The Passenger Transport Group has reviewed the business case and confirmed that the basic assumptions, including operating costs and passenger projections, are reasonable. The business case requires a reducing level service support in the initial years. New Forest District Council and the National Park Authority have agreed to meet this requirement for a minimum three year period. It is suggested that the proposed capital contribution be made conditional on commitment to this support.

As this is a specialist service it would not require a tender agreement but would be a grant to the operator. The grant details will therefore be advertised in the local press to gain expressions of interest in running the service.

During the current year the County Council subscribed to the `Tourism on Board' project, coordinated by the University of Central Lancashire. The project gathers survey information on users' views on the service and provides comparisons against other tourist bus schemes running elsewhere in the country.

Initial outputs indicate that the New Forest Tour performs well in most categories, and achieves the highest scores nationally for overall customer satisfaction, information, value for money and standard of driving. A total of 69% of respondents indicated that they had the alternative of a car available, but chose to use the Tour bus instead. Again, this is the highest score achieved nationally. The New Forest Tour scored relatively poorly for cleanliness (12th of 18 nationally) and comfort (14th of 18) - both factors supporting the introduction of newer buses to achieve service improvement.

The investment in buses will be supported by investment in publicity for the Tour and associated activities, again contributing to patronage increases. As much as possible of the funding for this will be sought from tourism budgets external to the County Council. Hampshire County Council will have its logo on all publicity, the cycle trailer and, most importantly, on the buses themselves.

Targets and Outcomes

2.13

2.14

2.15

2.16

2.17

2.18

2.19

2.20

2.21

2.22

The Tour carried 4,400 passengers in 2004 and 5,000 in 2005. The service operated for 176 days in 2004 and 100 days in 2005, giving average daily patronage of 25 and 50 respectively.

The Tour is projected to carry 12,000 passengers - 120 per day - in 2006. The significant increase in numbers is a reflection of service and frequency improvements.

Patronage growth is projected for future years, as the Tour becomes increasingly established. Patronage in 2008 is currently projected at 17,500.

Based on average group size and car availability information from the `Tourism on Board' survey, projections indicate that nearly 4,150 car trips could be removed from the local road network next summer. By 2008, 6,000 car trips would be removed.

Reductions in car trips will contribute towards achieving LTP congestion and air quality objectives, particularly as the Tour serves the Lyndhurst area (which is identified by survey as the most popular Tour destination), and towards meeting car free tourism and environmental objectives set out in the New Forest Transport Strategy.

The removal of cars from the road network is particularly important in the New Forest, given the general environmental sensitivity of the area and the fact that many visitors are trying to access the relatively rural and tranquil parts of the Forest.

The `Tourism on Board' survey indicated that five of the top six places of residence of passengers were in Hampshire.

Value for Money

Although the New Forest Tour will not be a `socially necessary' supported bus service, it seems useful to undertake a value for money assessment against the same criteria. Assuming that passengers use the `hop-on hop-off' capability once on average (in 2005 Exbury Gardens reported that 1,000 visitors had arrived using the New Forest Tour) it would mean that 240 passenger trips per day would be achieved, given that it is estimated to carry 120 passengers per day.

Hampshire County Council is not supporting the revenue subsidy for this service as that is being provided by the National Park Authority and New Forest District Council. The County Council capital allocation of £100,000 will go towards the purchase of the open top buses and form an agreement similar to those made under Quality Bus Partnerships.

Based on the fact that the buses will run the service eight times per day, the number of passenger journeys per trip is projected to be 28.2, which comfortably meets the requirement for supported rural bus services to carry at least three passengers per trip.

3.

PROPOSAL (Client Department)

National/County Network and Policies

3.1

The scheme meets the following aims and objectives set out in the New Forest Transport Strategy and the LTP.

Aims:

(i) To provide effective local transport solutions which reduce the impact on the Forest environment.

(ii) To reduce the adverse impacts of traffic on the environment.

(iii) To increase opportunities for sustainable travel and accessibility.

Objectives:

(i) To promote new and improved passenger transport.

(ii) To provide solutions that reduce air pollution and the causes of congestion in a sustainable way.

Environmental Impact

3.2

3.3

The buses will have low emission engines meeting the current Euro 3 European Emission Standard.

The New Forest Tour makes a positive impact on the environment by removing cars from the local road network. The number of car journeys removed is highlighted in this Project Appraisal. This will have a positive effect on traffic levels and air quality in Lyndhurst, which was identified in the "Tourism on Board" survey as the most popular destination for users of the Tour.

Land Requirements

3.4

Not applicable.

Statutory Procedures

3.5

No Statutory Procedures required.

Public Consultation

3.6

3.7

3.8

Public consultation has not been carried out on the scheme.

The `Tourism on Board' surveys outlined above highlight users' views and strong support for the Tour.

The New Forest Transport Strategy Panel indicated strong support for the New Forest Tour. District Council and National Park Authority Members are supportive of the Tour and have indicated likely future revenue funding to support the service.

Local Members' View

3.9

The local Members, Councillors Dash, Evans, Kendal and Thornber, support the proposal.

Impact Assessments

3.10

3.11

3.12

The new buses will be low-floor providing improved access for disabled and infirm users. It will also improve access for families with buggies and prams.

However, the buses may not be accessible for all wheelchair users because a number of bus stops do not have kerbing.

Assessment of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has been considered in this proposal. No adverse impact has been identified in terms of race, creed or gender.

Maintenance Implications

3.13

None - maintenance of the buses will be undertaken by the operator.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

3.14

The provisions of this Act have no impact on this proposal.

Sustainability

3.15

The scheme aims to improve the environment by helping to reduce the dependency on the car for journeys in the Forest. This one-off contribution secures the scheme for the next three years as the revenue costs are the responsibility of the other partners. The National Park Authority has already approved its contribution for the three years. On 27 February 2006 New Forest District Council considered a report from its Cabinet supporting the funding. (The outcome will be reported orally at the meeting.)

4.

PROPOSAL - ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED

(Client Department)

4.1

4.2

4.3

To continue using the existing (27 year old) open top buses for a third year was considered and rejected. This approach would need ongoing service support and offer little potential to increase patronage. It would also lead to increasing unreliability, which would in turn undermine the service and adversely affect the reputations of the service and the funding partners (including Hampshire County Council).

To withdraw all support for the service was rejected because of the loss of goodwill already established and the strong local and political support for continuation of the Tour.

The option of not making a capital contribution, but rather continuing to provide revenue service support, was rejected due to the overall budgetary position and other calls on revenue funding. Also, it would not provide the same added value from external contributions and would not support patronage growth, making the service more expensive to the County Council in the long run.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1.

Published works.

2.

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE

LOCATION

Working File

Environment Department

Room 433