Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record

1. The decision:

a) That the contract with the existing bus operator, First Group, be extended and revised at the current cost of £77,000 per annum until the conclusion of Havant area tendering in 2010.

b) That the existing timetable be revised to remain within the above budgetary limits.

2. Reasons for the decision:

2.1. First Group intends to withdraw from the current 38/38a/138 bus contracts from 26 July 2009 following losses incurred owing to continuing rises in operating costs.

2.2. The services operate between Wickham, Fareham, Soberton Heath, Newtown, North Boarhunt and Cosham Health Centre via Southwick and the Queen Alexandra Hospital. The route is financially supported by Hampshire County Council at a cost of approximately £77,000 per annum. Portsmouth City Council currently makes a financial contribution of £5,000 towards the services.

2.3. It is proposed to award a contract in the interim before going out to full consultation and tender in June 2010 when the other Havant area bus contracts expire.

3. Other options considered and rejected:

3.1. Options for a Community Transport solution for the villages of Soberton Heath, Newtown, North Boarhunt and Southwick instead of a conventional bus service were considered. Owing to the diverse range of journey opportunities that can be made on the current bus service, such a Community Transport alternative would be more costly to provide at this stage and would also be less frequent.

3.2. Award the 38/38a/138 contract in the current format, providing a continuity in bus service. This would cost an additional £27,650 per annum which would have to be met from the Public Transport Budget.

3.3. Combine the contract with service 94 under one larger contract to unlock efficiencies and promote greater patronage. This would provide an enhanced Fareham-Funtley-Knowle-Wickham-Soberton Heath-North Boarhunt-Southwick-Queen Alexandra Hospital-Cosham bus service. This would cost an additional £35,700 per annum over and above the current cost for the contracts but has the additional advantage of providing greater accessibility to health facilities through a more frequent and direct link from Funtley, Knowle and Wickham to the Queen Alexandra Hospital and Cosham. The additional £35,700 could be funded through available Knowle Village developer contributions and would have a cost neutral impact on the Public Transport budget until the Havant area contracts are re-tendered in June 2010. However, the use of developer contributions for services that are unlikely to grow and become self-financing is considered unsustainable.

3.4. Seek additional funding from Portsmouth City Council. No additional funding is available at present from Portsmouth City Council.

4. Conflicts of interest:

4.1. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision-maker:

None.

4.2. Conflicts of interest declared by other Executive Members consulted:

None.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee: none.

6. Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent: not applicable.

7. Statement from the Decision Maker: