APPENDIX 33
Memorandum submitted by the Association
of North East Councils
1. The Association of North East Councils
is the political voice for local government in the North East.
It represents all 25 local authorities in the region, throughout
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and the Tees Valley on issues
of concern to them and the communities they serve. It is a cross-Party
organisation, with all of its Members democratically elected and
accountable politicians.
2. The Association welcomes this opportunity
to respond to the Transport Committee's Inquiry on the specific
issue of the impact of concessionary bus travel for people with
disabilities and those over the age of 60 years. The scheme will
undoubtedly bring significant benefits for elderly people in the
region who choose to take it up, both in terms of improved travel
opportunities and increased disposable income as a result of savings
in fares. This is particularly important for the North East where
the highest proportion of bus use is among the 60+ age group[24].
3. The introduction of concessionary travel
for the elderly has, however, resulted in unintended consequences
for the North East in relation to funding, with a detrimental
effect on young people's travel in the North East which impacts
on their access to skills, employment and leisure opportunities.
4. Although it was estimated that the £350
million made available for England was sufficient to cover the
additional costs of these specific concessions, the funding was
allocated using a formula which did not recognise the higher use
and cost of concessionary fares in many parts of the North East.
5. A number of factors contribute to the
higher cost of operating the scheme within the North East including
high public transport usage. Public Transport Networks have been
developed, particularly in the urban centres in the region to
meet demand created in part by lower car ownership and other factors
such as deprivation. Journeys tend to be above the average length
for the country, increasing the average cost per journey. The
combination of higher usage and higher cost per journey results
in a higher cost of providing concessionary fares.
6. This resulted in a funding shortfall
which has therefore required local authorities to revisit other
travel schemes to make savings, such as the travel concessions
available to young people and students in Tyne and Wear through
the Teen Travel scheme. Tyne and Wear faces a shortfall of £5.4
million in funding for concessionary fares and as a result the
Teen Travel scheme currently faces abolition from 1 July 2006.
The Teen Travel scheme offers discounted travel to students aged
16-18 in further education on bus, Metro and local rail services.
The scheme is currently widely used by students attending further
education courses at local colleges, many of whom travel further
than the local sixth form college and require a multi-modal journey
to reach their destination.
7. Teen Travel is an example of support
given by local authorities where there is no statutory duty to
subsidise travel fares. Many local authorities in the region recognise
the economic and social benefits of young people's travel schemes,
and have continued support for them in the face of rising cost
pressures facing local authorities in delivery of key services.
The Association is of the view that young people's travel schemes
are equally important as concessionary fares for the elderly,
which has implications for funding in the longer term.
8. Preliminary discussions are underway
between Nexus (the regional transport operator), the regional
Passenger Transport Authority, regional stakeholders and bus and
rail operators regarding the possibility of introducing a regional
Teen Travel Scheme encompassing the whole of the North East. The
Association is participating in such discussions at this very
early stage to explore options for the future which assist in
promoting public transport and bus usage amongst the elderly,
without detrimental consequences for young people.
9. Any reduction in travel concessions for
the 16-18 age group could act as a significant disincentive to
participation in further education which is of great concern in
the North East which already experiences the lowest rates of full
time post-compulsory education participation in the country[25].
10. The importance of providing young people
with accessible and affordable transport for young people cannot
be overstated. The impact of this particular policy can, therefore,
be demonstrated to extend beyond the Tyne and Wear sub-region
to the whole of the North East.
11. Young people (aged 11-19 years old)
constitute one of the core groups of "enforced users"
of public transport as a result of age limits for learning to
drive, and financial characteristics, principally lower relative
levels of disposable income to spend on transport. This limits
the number of alternative travelling options available to them.
This position is particularly acute for young people in the North
East where nearly 26% of 0-16 year olds live in income deprived
households[26],
and are therefore proportionately more likely to rely on public
transport, particularly buses (buses, including school buses,
are the second most popular mode of transport for student journeys
to and from school in the region).
12. Given this position, availability of
effective public transport affects access to many of the region's
opportunities for young people. Poor public transport access,
defined in both availability and cost terms, can create both short-term
and long-term effects on the individual and the economy.
13. Investing in Children, Durham County
Council's initiative to improve civic engagement among young people
and increase their contribution to local authority service delivery,
has conducted a range of work in the field of young people and
public transport use. It has identified a variety of ways in which
the availability, affordability, accessibility and acceptability
of public transport can affect young people.
14. For most individuals public transport
provides their only means to vital educational, social and health-related
opportunities. This is particularly important in a region such
as the North East where the larger cities and urban hubs encompass
schools, colleges and universities which attract students from
across local and sub-regional boundaries. Similarly, the region's
uneven spread of leisure resources places young people in more
isolated areas at a double disadvantage, incurring additional
travel costs which can prove prohibitive.
15. The issue of lack of cross-boundary
services and pricing systems in a region which has a range of
independent transport providers is also an issue to be addressed.
Partners and wider stakeholders are working together to address
this issue, based on the recognition that coherent and effective
integration of transport provision is fundamental to both the
region's, and any one individual provider's, success.
16. However the current discrepancies in
cross boundary transport access have an important wider effect.
Whilst physical access to participation opportunities is important,
the psychological impact of perceived barriers can be equally
detrimental. An important element of the region's economic development
agenda is support for the growth of sector hubs in a variety of
areas. For example Teesside University is currently developing
DigitalCity which will be a digital technology and enterprise
super-cluster for the North East. The region therefore needs to
ensure that young people from across the North East have equal
access to the opportunities provided by this project. There is
consequently an important link between broadening spatial horizons
and aspirational horizons. Lack of effective transport access
therefore reinforces negative cultural attitudes which equate
geographical boundaries with barriers to wider social and occupational
opportunities. This clearly has a significant impact on young
people's aspirations and ambitions.
17. The negative results of limited educational,
leisure and health opportunities in early life will contribute
to development of a cohort of young people suffering from poor
educational attainment, poor health and lower aspirations. Such
difficulties have been demonstrated to have a long-term impact
on the region's economic development and future productivity.
18. The Department for Transport's report
on "Social Exclusion and the Provision of Public Transport"
states that "the logic behind why older people, rather than
young people and/or those on low incomes, are the main beneficiaries
of concessions, seems to be historic. Young people need to be
able to travel and cannot always afford it, especially over the
age of 16 when they should be independent, but concessionary tickets
are often unavailable[27]."
However, the Department's analysis indicates that lowering of
ticket prices is more likely to lead to a revenue decrease. Conversely
concessionary fares for targeted user groups increase ridership,
which in turn increases service demand. Such fares are therefore
less likely to have a detrimental impact on revenue, and may even
increase income levels by generating greater overall demand for
particular services.
19. Investing in Children's research has
shown that one of the major barriers for teenagers living in geographically
isolated areas is accessing personal health care from public services
such as pharmacies. Respondents have suggested that a perceived
lack of privacy in dealing with confidential matters of personal
health means that they prefer to go to larger urban centres where
they feel less visible and their actions are less likely to be
subject to scrutiny by close community members. Such barriers
clearly have a greater impact on groups and individuals living
in areas suffering from poor connectivity and are therefore likely
to compound other features of social exclusion and deprivation
to result in multiple disadvantages.
20. In the North East, transport and connectivity
is a central and increasingly prominent element in ensuring that
the region is able to make the step-change required to improve
its economic performance and productivity.
21. The Association welcomes the Committee's
Inquiry, which is timely given the unintended consequences on
concessionary travel schemes for other age groups within the North
East.
22. The Association looks to the Committee
to recognise the transport needs of young people and the economic
and social implications of any reduction in concessionary travel
for this social group. The Association would be keen to work with
the Committee and use the evidence base available within the North
East to inform future thinking in addressing this issue.
26 May 2006
24 Nexus (2006) Age Profile by Mode. Back
25
NERIP (2006) State of the Region www.nerip.com Back
26
ODPM (2004) The English Indices of Deprivation 2004 (Revised)
www.odpm.gov.uk Back
27
Department for Transport (October 2000) Social Exclusion and the
Provision of Public Transport www.dft.gov.uk Back
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