Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

Decision Maker:

Executive Member - Environment

Date of Decision:

28 July 2009

Decision Title:

Brijan Bus Service 7 - Cross Boundary: Southampton-Bishops Waltham - Funding Shortfall

Decision Reference:

854

Report From:

Director of Environment

Contact name:

Stephen Warren

Tel:

01962 846926

Email:

[email protected]

1. Executive Summary

1.1. The purpose of this paper is to consider options to amend Brijan service 7 bus contract following a decision by Southampton City Council to withdraw cross boundary funding from July 2009.

1.2. This paper sets out the background to the current situation and considers the impact on the Public Transport budget and future service levels.

2. Contextual information

2.1. Southampton City Council intends to withdraw from cross boundary funding of Brijan service 7 from July 2009 owing to budgetary pressures on its concessionary fares budget.

2.2. Service 7 operates between Bishops Waltham and Southampton. Most journeys are operated under contract to Hampshire County Council, with contributions from Southampton City Council. A number of journeys on this service are operated commercially.

2.3. There is a need to maintain continuity of the bus service for local residents. It is proposed to amend service 7 to reflect the revised budget for the next six months when a wider review of all funding for all passenger transport expenditure will be undertaken.

3. Finance

3.1. Service 7 is supported by Hampshire County Council at a cost of £95,648 per annum. This sum includes the current contribution of £26,457 per annum from Southampton City Council.

3.2. The residual cost of the service, following withdrawal of Southampton City Council's contribution, is £69,191 per annum.

3.3. Eastleigh Borough Council has agreed to provide an annual contribution of £4,200 to maintain as high a level of service as possible through a revised timetable. This would create a revised overall contract budget for the service of £73,391 per annum.

4. Performance

4.1. The service 7 contract carries approximately 49,151 passengers per annum at a cost of £1.95 per passenger journey.

5. Other key issues

5.1. It is proposed to amend the service 7 timetable to reflect the revised contract cost. The timetable is attached. Under the proposal, one morning peak journey will o longer run and one afternoon journey, which continues as service 17, will no longer do so. The 0718 from Bishops Waltham to Southampton carries an average of 14 passengers of whom four have an alternative service within 10 minutes. The remaining journeys at 0618 and 0748 provide alternative journey opportunities for the other users.

5.2. The 1710 Southampton-Bishops Waltham journey currently continues to Corhampton as service 17. This carries an average of three passengers, of whom two travel as far as Waltham Chase for which service 8 will offer an alternative. Two other journeys will operate five minutes earlier.

5.3. The cost per passenger to retain the journeys affected is £6.38 and would not meet value for money criteria. In view of usage levels and those alternatives available the extra cost if not considered to be justified.

5.4. A Community Transport option was evaluated but could not have catered for the numbers on the peak journeys.

5.5. Complete withdrawal of funding for service 7 was rejected due to the heavy use for work and school journeys, the need to retender other routes which share buses with service 7 and the communities which would have had no public transport alternative.

5.6. The situation will be reviewed again in 6-12 months.

6. Future direction

6.1. The only reasonable option to maintain as full a service on this route as possible is to revise the existing contract with Brijan, redesigning the timetable accordingly to keep within the revised budgetary limitations.

7. Recommendations

7.1 That the contract for Brijan service 7 be revised to reflect an amended contract cost of £73,391 per annum for the next six months only pending further review.

7.2 That pro rata contributions of £4,200 per annum from Eastleigh Borough Council be accepted towards this annual contract cost of £73,391 to maintain as high a level of service as possible and enable the cost to Hampshire to stay unchanged at £69,191.

2094Rpt/854/SW

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

Hampshire safer and more secure for all:

no

Corporate Business plan link number (if appropriate):

Maximising well-being:

yes

Corporate Business plan link number (if appropriate):

Enhancing our quality of place:

no

Corporate Business plan link number (if appropriate):

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

 

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report. (NB: the list excludes published works and any documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.)

 

Document

Location

None

  

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. Not applicable

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. Not applicable

3. Climate Change:

a) How does what is being proposed impact on our carbon footprint / energy consumption?

    · Fewer journeys will be operated which will require less fuel consumption, but may result in some additional car journeys.

b) How does what is being proposed consider the need to adapt to climate change, and be resilient to its longer term impacts?

    · This recommendation will have a slight detrimental effect on sustainable transport provision.