Contact: Andrew Wilson, ext 6389 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report provides details of the latest position on concessionary fares, bus services, bus infrastructure improvements, rail issues and the Hythe Ferry.

2. Concessionary Fares

2.1 Free bus travel will be provided for senior citizens and disabled people from 1 April 2006.

2.2 Over 70% of the bus mileage in Hampshire is operated commercially, with routes, timetables and fares determined by the operator concerned. On subsidised services, fares charged are generally in line with those on commercial services. Most bus operators give free travel to children under five, and charge half fare to children over 5 but under 16. Few discounts are offered commercially to senior citizens or disabled people.

2.3 Currently, legislation requires the district councils in England to offer a half-fare bus pass for travel within their district, at all times on Saturdays and Sundays, and between 09.30 and 23.00 on Mondays to Fridays, to residents over 60 or who are disabled. Eligibility is determined, and passes issued, by each district.

2.4 All the Hampshire districts, and Portsmouth City Council, participate in the Hampshire Farepass scheme, administered by consultants MCL, retained by the County Council on behalf of the districts. This offers a more generous concession, with no time restriction and allowing travel as far as the bus goes, provided that the passenger either boards or alights in Hampshire. For example, a Lymington resident with a Farepass issued by New Forest District Council, can travel to Bournemouth, or by bus from Lymington to Southampton, then from Southampton to Portsmouth, then from Portsmouth to Chichester, and return. Half fare applies to ordinary single or return tickets.

2.5 All the Hampshire districts except Havant currently offer an alternative to the half fare bus pass, in the form of tokens, to an annual value per holder ranging from £24 to £70. These are accepted by taxis and private hire cars, buses (for full adult fares, not half fares), most community transport and for railcards (Senior Citizens' or Disabled). Some districts offer a railcard themselves, as an alternative. In all districts, over 50% of people eligible for a half fare bus pass waive this right and take tokens instead.

2.6 From 1 April 2006, legislation requires that half-fare travel for pass holders is replaced by free travel, within the same limits of time and geography (i.e. within district) as detailed above. The Government is providing additional funding for districts, on a formula basis. However, the formula does not reflect the varied provision of bus services within districts.

2.7 In an urban district, with a dense network of frequent bus services, far more additional journeys will be made when travel becomes free than in a thinly-populated rural district with infrequent bus services and longer distances to travel to shops and other services. In Hampshire, MCL have estimated that the additional funding will be insufficient to meet the additional costs of unlimited free travel for Fareham Borough Council (by over £400,000 per year) and Winchester City Council (by over £100,000 per year).

2.8 Fareham Borough Council has therefore decided to opt out of the countywide Farepass scheme, in order to reduce their deficit on the new scheme. Their passholders will receive free travel within the district and pay half fare for journeys outside the district (subject to negotiation).

2.9 All the other districts, and Portsmouth, will remain in the Farepass scheme, but Winchester residents' passes will not allow free travel on Mondays to Fridays between midnight and 09.00; Havant's passes will not be valid between 04.00 and 09.00 on Mondays to Fridays. A summary of the new schemes is attached, including the varying provision of tokens; several districts are restricting or withdrawing tokens from 1 April.

2.10 Negotiations are now taking place with the bus operators on the level of reimbursement for free travel. Legislation requires that the operators should be no better and no worse off as a result of participating in a concessionary travel scheme.

2.11 Thus there is no automatic recompense for carrying more passengers, unless additional capacity is required. Operators are understandably concerned that pass-holders may fill a bus and deny seats to fare-payers at subsequent stops. Whilst additional costs incurred in providing additional capacity may be claimed from the scheme, it will be difficult to forecast where and when more capacity will be needed. For example, a journey which is only quarter-full on a wet day in winter may be oversubscribed on a fine day in June.

2.12 A summary of Concessionary Fares Schemes in Hampshire from 1 April 2006 is shown overleaf.

* Countywide includes any journeys which either start or finish in Hampshire

3. Bus Service Update

3.1 Consultants TAS have been working on a review of passenger transport services in the New Forest, in partnership with County Council officers. Outcomes and a suggested way forward to enable services to remain affordable within the current level of budget provision over future years will be reported to the Environment Policy Review Committee in April.

3.2 Solent Blue Line have consulted the County Council informally on changes to their commercial services between the Waterside and Southampton, proposed for introduction in April. There would be consequent changes to the local services on the Waterside, supported by the County Council.

3.3 Some last-minute changes were being agreed as this report was being written but details of the changes will be sent to parishes and New Forest District Council once Solent Blue Line have confirmed their intentions, and a summary will be circulated at the meeting. It is, however, pleasing to note that the revised services to Southampton will be operated by a fleet of new low-floor single deck buses, providing a substantially-improved travelling environment and better access for disabled people and parents with pushchairs etc.

4. Lymington-New Milton-Bournemouth Quality Bus Corridor

4.1 In June 2005 Wilts & Dorset introduced new low-floor double-deck buses onto these routes, including some open-top vehicles. In September 2005 the Executive Member for Environment: North Hampshire and Spatial Strategy approved a £100,000 scheme to improve the infrastructure on the Hampshire section of this route. In addition some additional funding from developers' contributions has enabled additional works to be included.

4.2 Improvements to over 60 bus stops will include raised kerbs to assist boarding and bus stop clearways where appropriate. Twelve bus shelters are being replaced or refurbished in the New Milton area and a further six shelters are being replaced or refurbished in the Lymington area. New high quality information displays are being provided along the route. Strong patronage growth is anticipated and bus shelters improvements are well underway with the remainder of the works due to commence in March 2006.

4.3 In the 2006/07 capital programme, £350,000 is allocated to develop a Quality Bus Partnership for the Southampton to the Waterside bus corridor. Solent Blue Line are investing in new vehicles and more frequent services for the route, and the County Council will be investing in improvements to bus stop infrastructure, information provision and a joint marketing campaign.

5. Rail Update

Greater Western Franchise

5.1 FirstGroup plc has recently been appointed as franchise holder for the Greater Western Franchise for 10 years from 1 April 2006. Hampshire's interest is in the Portsmouth/Brighton to Cardiff, Basingstoke to Reading, and the Reading to Gatwick services. The franchise is subject to review after the 7th year.

5.2 The South Western Franchise is the key franchise for Hampshire's rail services. A new ten-year franchise starts in February 2007, subject to review after the 7th year. The new franchise combines two existing franchises - South West Trains and Island Line.

5.3 Stakeholder consultation has been completed. A copy of the County Council's full response is available from the Passenger Transport Group on 01962 845492 or via the internet at:

/decisions/decisions-docs/060118-exmshr-R0112093833

5.4 An Invitation to Tender (ITT) will be issued by the Department for Transport (DfT) in March 2006 to the five short-listed companies who have pre-qualified. Bidders then have 90 days in which to submit their bids. The bidders are:

· Arriva Trains South West Limited (Arriva plc);

· First South Western Limited (FirstGroup plc);

· Great South Western Railway Company Limited (a joint venture between GNER holdings and MTR Corporation Limited of Hong Kong);

· Trafalgar Trains Limited (National Express Group plc); and

· Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited (Stagecoach Group plc) - (the incumbent)

5.5 The decision on the successful franchisee by Department for Transport is expected in Autumn 2006.

5.6 In parallel with the franchise process, Network Rail is preparing capacity assessments of the rail network on a route by route basis, to determine the optimum utilisation level for the existing infrastructure and to consider where investment to improve capacity could most advantageously be applied. These assessments are known as Route Utilisation Strategies (RUS), and that for the South Western Main Line has recently been consulted on. Once input from consultees has been evaluated, a definitive version will be published by the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR). A copy of the County Council's response is available from the Passenger Transport Group on 01962 845492.

5.7 The key points which the County Council made in its responses to these two consultations were:

(i) opposition to a proposal to truncate the Romsey-Totton via Chandler's Ford service at Eastleigh;

(ii) desire to retain a Basingstoke to Brighton through service;

(iii) support for increasing clearances on the routes between Southampton Docks and the Midlands to enable taller containers to be carried on standard height wagons;

(iv) support for the examination of radical solutions such as double-deck trains in order to address growth predictions

(v) need for a half-hourly frequency of stopping services between Portsmouth and Southampton off-peak; and

(vi) Support for timetable accelerations, especially on the Alton line.

Station Improvements

5.8 It is envisaged the annual match-funded rolling programme agreed between the County Council and train operators will continue whichever company secures the South Western franchise, which encompasses the vast majority of stations in the county.

5.9 New vandal-proof waiting shelters will be provided in 2006/07 at Portchester, Bedhampton and Warblington. The programme of cycle storage provision (hoops and lockers) at stations will be continued where unsatisfied demand is identified.

5.10 `Welcome Boards' branded with the County Council logo and listing the facilities available at each station, together with local maps and Helpline numbers, are being installed at all stations. The programme for SWT stations is now complete. Stations on the future GW franchise and on Southern Railway will be so equipped by the end of 2006. These comprise Dean, Dunbridge, Romsey, Bramley, Farnborough North, Blackwater, Warblington and Emsworth.

Station Car Parks

5.11 In its response to the South West franchise consultation the County Council expressed the view that the issue of increasing car park capacity on a selective basis must be seriously addressed if there is to be any capacity provided to cater for off-peak travel and expressed its willingness to work with Network Rail and franchisees to this end. At the same time it considered that franchisees could be required to implement such measures as car-sharing incentives.

Bus/Rail Integration

5.12 In its response to the franchise consultation, the County Council stressed the importance of developing further bus/rail links and suggested that a requirement be placed on bidders to make proposals for dedicated bus/rail links at particular stations which should be funded within the franchise.

Carriage of Cycles

5.13 SWT introduced its new Cycle Policy in October 2004 aimed at creating a better balance between the needs of peak hour passengers and cycle users. On the whole, less cycle-related problems have been referred to the County Council, as the policy has been implemented and understood by cyclists. The use of a different colour in the timetable to denote trains with cycle restrictions has been helpful.

Eurostar Beyond 2007

5.14 When Stage Two of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link, from the Medway area to London St Pancras is complete in 2007, Eurostar will concentrate all their services on St Pancras and withdraw completely from Waterloo International. There are operational advantages to the company in doing so, as without the need to serve Waterloo, the third rail electric equipment on the Eurostar trains can be removed.

5.15 This means that passengers from Hampshire and the rest of Waterloo's catchment area will be considerably inconvenienced by having to cross London on already congested Underground services to join Eurostar trains at St Pancras, or else travel from Waterloo East to Ashford International to connect there - a double change is required, compared with walking from one side of Waterloo station to the other.

5.16 The County Council had previously voiced its concern to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) about the threat to Waterloo services posed by the move to St Pancras and asked that a residual service to Waterloo be maintained after 2007. However, Eurostar is not franchised in the same way as other train operators and the SRA was unable to influence the decision in the County Council's favour.

5.17 A recent study commissioned by the DfT has recommended that the Eurostar platforms be retained for alternative rail use rather than sold off as a commercial development. Further studies will determine the most beneficial solution, which could involve transferring Windsor line services to the former international platforms, thereby freeing up other parts of the station, or using them for main line services (which could directly benefit Hampshire) or by treating them as an overspill to the South Eastern lines towards Kent. There are also thoughts of remodelling Waterloo itself to create additional track capacity, possibly involving longer platforms able to deal with longer trains.

Heritage Trains on the Lymington Branch

5.18 Last May, South West Trains introduced specially refurbished Heritage electric units on the Lymington branch. These are the only slam door trains now permitted to work in regular service on the SWT network and they feature improved accommodation for wheelchairs and additional space for bicycles. They carry the names `Farringford' and `Freshwater' and are painted in old British Rail green, and blue and grey livery respectively. The branch line platform at Brockenhurst has been given a heritage theme, with historical photographs in the waiting room and old-style `sausage' totem signs (also at Lymington Town).

5.19 The use of fully depreciated equipment enables operational costs to be kept to a minimum, helping to make the line more financially secure for the future and the Heritage trains fit well into the ambiance of the area and its tourist potential.

5.20 The County Council is currently studying the ramifications of moving towards Community Railway status for the Lymington branch.

6. Hythe Ferry-Town Quay Pontoon, Southampton.

6.1 Over time, the pontoon at Town Quay has suffered significant damage and deterioration, and the section used by the Hythe ferry is in need of urgent repair. Due to the specialist nature of the project, ABP have been appointed to act as agents for the County Council and are managing the works.

6.2 It is estimated that the works will cost £135,000 and will be funded through the capital programme. The works are due to take place during the spring and summer of 2006.

7. Impact Assessments

7.1 This report provides a position statement only, therefore an impact assessment in terms of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has not been undertaken.

Recommendation

That this report be noted.

788/AW