APPENDIX 43
Memorandum submitted by Lancaster City
Council
POLICY BACKGROUND
The Local Transport Plan 2001-2006 endorsed
the establishment of Quality Partnerships to take forward major
improvements to commercial bus services.
Quality Partnerships are a joint approach by
local authorities and bus operators, in cooperation with the enforcement
agencies, with the aim of making significant improvements to a
specific bus route or a group of routes, including, where appropriate,
bus priority measures. There are two types of quality partnership:
— Voluntary Quality Partnership: where
there is an agreement between the County Council, relevant bus
operator(s) and possibly others (for example, district council,
enforcement agencies) to enhance bus services in a defined area
or corridor.
— Statutory Quality Partnership: the
Transport Act 2000 allowed for these to be implemented by local
transport authorities as part of their Bus Strategy. Essentially,
they are similar to Voluntary Partnerships in terms of the partners
involved and the objectives. However, where the County Council
provides facilities such as new shelters or bus lanes, under a
Statutory Partnership it also sets the standard of vehicle allowed
to make use of such facilities. Operators may not access those
facilities unless they give an undertaking to the Traffic Commissioner
that they will meet the requirements. This approach effectively
excludes sub-standard services in terms of vehicle quality. A
Statutory Quality Partnership must be in operation for a minimum
of five years.
Since 1999, the County Council has established
17 Voluntary Quality Partnerships with bus operators. Eight schemes
are now in full operation with a further nine at the planning
stage or in the course of implementation. Our experience to date
has shown that, where there is a true commitment from all partners
to improve the bus product, significant increases in use can be
achieved. On some quality bus routes, patronage increases of over
20% have been achieved. There are no Statutory Quality Partnerships
at present within Lancashire.
The standard improvements on these services
include:
— Introduction of low-floor vehicles.
— New replacement and additional bus
shelters.
— Improved bus shelter maintenance.
— Bus Stop Clearways and enforcement.
— Stop-specific timetable information
at every stop.
— Bus Priority at Traffic Signalled
junctions (either via real-time equipment or by detection loops).
In addition, on some routes, there are:
— Shelters fitted with CCTV to assist
in preventing vandalism and/or nuisance behaviour.
— New interchanges/bus stations.
LANCASTER/MORECAMBE
IMPROVEMENTS
1. Quality Bus Routes
Improvements have been implemented on the following
routes:
— Services 3 and 4 (complete) Heysham
to Lancaster University (via Morecambe. Bare, Torrisholme and
Lancaster City Centre). Launched December 2001.
— Services 2 and 2A (ongoing) Middleton
to Lancaster University (via Heysham, Morecambe, Lancaster City
Centre). Phases 1, 2 and 3 complete 2005-06. Phase 4 to be progressed
during 2006.
Local Government Investment on services 3 and
4 exceeded £1 million and to date the investment on the 2/2A
services have exceeded £0.5 million. These schemes have been
funded via the Local Transport Plan. This primarily funded the
new or replacement bus stop infrastructure and the bus priority
measures.
The other improvements have been funded by the
Quality Bus Partners and their contribution is as follows:
— Stagecoach Lancaster has invested
in vehicles and improved frequencies.
— Lancaster City Council has maintained
the shelters to a high standard.
— ParkWise (LCC's enforcement agency)
has ensured that Bus Stop Clearways are enforced, allowing the
bus to gain level access to the raised kerb.
— The police enforce bus lanes and
moving traffic offences. They are also involved by helping to
reduce antisocial behaviour at bus stops and on buses.
— Lancaster University has worked on
its Travel Plan and has invested in new bus shelters around the
campus. They are also working with Lancashire County Council on
improving the information available to the students. They are
also working to dramatically reduce the number of available car
park spaces within the campus. The university recently surveyed
its students regarding travel requirements and are pursuing some
of the suggestions received with Stagecoach Lancaster.
The outcome from this investment is a growth
in patronage on quality bus service 3 and 4 (year on year). The
latest information provided by the partner operator in this area
was data indicating an increase in the region of 21% over and
above the base-line data (2001). Services 2 and 2A have yet to
be compared, as the work is not complete. Similar monitoring will
take place with these services.
The success of these two routes is the result
of a co-ordinated policy approach and is an example of what can
be achieved when combined policies and willing partnerships are
established.
2. Information and Marketing
Each bus stop upgraded to Quality Bus Standard
has a timetable case and individual stop specific information
of higher quality than had previously been achieved.
In addition, there have high profile marketing
initiatives to try and encourage modal shift. One example was
the IT Campaign, a 10-week campaign held during 2004. "IT"
stands for "Integrating Transport". By using all of
the methods of transport available, in a sensible manner, it can
help to reduce the congestion on our roads. The concept of "IT"
was developed by Lancashire County Council to reinforce the TravelWise
message. Stagecoach were a major partner in this promotion and
the offer of discounted travel tickets over the period encouraged
the increased use of public transport in the area and gave potential
users the opportunity to try "the bus". TravelWise is
a national campaign that encourages people to make better use
of cars and promotes the use of public transport, cycling and
walking.
3. Lancaster Bus Station
The new Lancaster Bus Station was opened in
March 2001 and the Local Transport Plan funding was in the region
of £0.4 million. The Capital Challenge Fund was the major
funding stream for the overall scheme. The bus station has contributed
to the increase ridership in that it replaced a very run-down
waiting environment with a modern, well-maintained building where
passengers feel more secure.
4. Non-Quality Bus Improvements
(a) Tackling congestion and parking policies
By offering an attractive alternative to the
private car, buses have the ability to help reduce peak time road
congestion. The introduction of bus only lanes has assisted in
making the bus a more viable alternative.
The introduction of on-street car parking charges
has also contributed to changes in travel behaviour.
(b) Parish Council Bus Shelter Grant
Lancashire County council recently took the
decision to assist Parish and Town Councils to improve their bus
shelter stock by formulating a Bus Shelter Grant. The County Council
procures and installs the shelter for the Parish Council. The
Parish must agree to fully maintain the shelter for five years.
To date 12 Parishes in the Lancaster area have applied for the
grant and these are being processed.
5. The Future
Lancashire County Council will continue to work
in partnership with the bus operators and will also monitor and
review the improvements already achieved.
In addition, work is progressing on a large
Personalised Travel Planning programme in the Lancaster area,
targeting 25,000 households over 2006-07 to encourage the use
of alternative transport modes.
Although there are no more Quality Bus Routes
identified for this area at the moment, Quality Bus will still
be pursued elsewhere in the county.
Within Lancaster and Morecambe focus will be
on congestion hotspots and these could be addressed via Bus Punctuality
Improvement Partnerships.
Lancashire County Council has recently submitted
its second Local Transport Plan to The Department for Transport
and The Lancashire Bus Strategy was also presented as an annex
document. The Bus Strategy is designed to draw together, in one
place, all of the County Council's policies and proposals for
bus services.
The County Council's overall vision for Lancashire's
public transport network is that major progress will have been
made by 2012 to ensure that the county has a transport system
that:
— People want to use rather than a
means of last resort.
— Can be used conveniently and affordably
by all.
— Can be used without any fear of crime
or intimidation for both passengers and staff.
— Makes a positive contribution to
achieving an improving environment and air quality.
— Can adapt readily to the public's
changing needs and expectations.
27 June 2006
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