Memorandum submitted by Southern Vectis
(ST 38)
SUMMARY
— Hampshire County Council has commissioned
Southern Vectis to undertake a Quality Network study for the Alton
and Alresford area, with particular emphasis on the development
of routes for three new Cango vehicles.
— The only truly commercial bus service
in the area operates along the north-east/south-west A31 spine
(route X64). The other major influence is for Alton College; the
College negotiates direct with Stagecoach, the area's major bus
operator.
— Apart from scholars, usage of the
rural network is relatively poor.
— Tender support is over £300,000
and equates to £13.58 per bus hour.
— The annual cost of transporting scholars
is £440 per head for Alton College and £690 per head
for primary and secondary schools.
— Modest staggering of school hours
of three schools will allow significant savings to be made.
— A revised network, Option A, was
prepared to explore options and aid discussion. This report includes
Option B which follows discussions with Hampshire County Council
officers.
— It is possible greatly to enhance
frequencies for much of the rural area, whilst reducing resource
levels.
— Overall Option B should improve financial
performance of the network by at least £75,000 per annum—this
before enhanced revenue is included and also the cost of purchasing
the new Cango vehicles.
— Passenger numbers on the improved
services should grow by around 40,000 per annum, hopefully generating
additional revenue of around £50,000.
— This study follows Hampshire County
Council's requirement to reduce subsidy levels and stimulate bus
usage in the north-west of the County.
— Many parts of the study area only
have local bus services supported by the local authority; the
cost to the authority (over £20 per bus hour) is high.
— The school contract system seems
relatively inefficient, with an average occupancy ratio of only
75%. The cost per child, at £659 per annum, is high. The
lack of significant school hours staggering is wasteful.
— The proposed network, Option A, has
eight key features:
(i)
Staggering the start and finish times of three schools
by 30 minutes.
(ii) Creation of two new core inter-urban services:
Newbury-Andover-Stockbridge-Romsey-Southampton
Winchester-Stockbridge-Salisbury
(iii) Enhancement of four Andover town services so
that the majority of residents are within a short walk of a 30
minute, or better, daytime frequency.
(iv) Wherever feasible, integration between local
bus and school services.
(v) Involvement of the two new demand responsive
services in the school lift.
(vi) Widening the availability of school free passes
onto all services.
(vii) Development of an attractive promotional day
ticket to the rural network and, if funded by Test Valley Borough
Council, for the Andover urban, network.
(viii) Strong marketing of the network.
— Option A will lead to a reduction
of over 20% in the number of vehicles needed to operate the publicly
funded part of the network. Hours-based costs will fall by over
6%. On conservative assumptions, additional ridership should generate
revenue of over £50,000 per annum. Overall, the network's
financial performance should improve by over £200,000 per
annum and there will be a noticeable increase in passenger numbers.
— The study has wider implications
and suggests actions at local government and national government
levels to:
(i) Ensure continued "best value"
for the system.
— Essex County Council has retained
WSP to undertake a Quality Network Study for North East Essex.
WSP has subcontracted Southern Vectis for part of the project.
— This document is Southern Vectis'
preliminary report.
— There is scope to improve ridership
and performance on some of the area's local bus service; a more
detailed analysis will be required to generate further improvements.
— Moving school hours by up to 15 minutes
can yield significant savings.
— There are a range of issues for the
Council to consider, including:
Colchester town services oligopoly
Style of tendering (gross or net cost)
Attitude of operators and the degree to which their relationship
with the County is innovative and proactive
The feasibility of school hours' staggering
Delivery including ongoing adjustments
Funding ridership increases
— A possible Option A network is included
to illustrate the potential. If fully implemented this will:
Slightly increase bus ridership
Reduce vehicle requirement by 22%
Slightly reduce hours and other variable costs
Lead to savings likely to be over £350K per annum
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