Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

(a)  To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 7^th September 2022.

(b)  Matters arising

The minutes of the meeting held on 7^th September 2022 were agreed as a true record.

Matters Arising

Further to minute 3/22 ‘Overview of the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) Portfolio, the Board requested Members of SB3 would be invited to Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee for items relating to Climate Change with speaking rights.

Briefing note of the Director of Transportation and Highways

Councillor P Akhtar, Lead Member for the Council on the West Midlands Combined Authority Transport Delivery Committee, introduced the item on Bus Update, saying residents wanted reliable, affordable, accessible buses and that they were key to tackling pollution and congestion.

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a Bus Update Briefing Note of the Director of Transportation and Highways and a presentation from the Head of Bus, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), providing the Board with information on current issues and projects affecting bus services within Coventry and the West Midlands.

The Board were advised:-

·  The West Midlands Transport Authority (WMCA) had been awarded £50 million for the Coventry All Electric Bus City; a programme which will see all buses in Coventry fully electric by the end of 2025.

·  Charging infrastructure would be procured by National Express for installation at the Coventry Bus Depot.

·  An Enhanced Partnership Plan was in place between WMCA and bus companies which set out the framework for bus services within the West Midlands.

·  The Bus Service Improvement Plan would support a package of measures to enhance bus services in the West Midlands and attract more people to use them.

·  Midlands On-Demand service would be rolled out to serve the full Coventry area and incorporate the Ring and Ride service.

·  Bus Network Review:

o  There had been a reduction of 20% in bus patronage post pandemic which was impacting on the commercial viability of the bus service network.

o  Government grant support had been extended through to March 2023.

o  TfWM was working with local authorities and bus companies to identify priorities for future bus services.  The impact of any service changes upon travel to schools and colleges would be a factor for consideration during this process.

The presentation highlighted the following:

·  Local context:

o  Patronage numbers were back to 85% post pandemic equating to 465,000 passengers each week.

o  ENCTS passengers had recovered less than Commercial.

o  Current network was 93.7% of pre-covid mileage.

o  Buses had slowed down by 3% due to traffic problems.

o  Driver shortages were affecting services.

·  Bus Network Funding

o  Government funding had supported operators since April 2020 however this was due to come to an end in October 2020.  TfWM had secured additional funding to enable network stability up until March 2023.

·  Bus Network Review

o   Operators had confirmed a 90% network from January 2023.

·  School services – National Express would be withdrawing 12 school bus routes

·  Partnership opportunities

·  Tendered Contract Renewals and Service Budget Pressure

·  Wider Considerations and Implications

o  Driver shortages

o  Loss of bus operators

o  Poorer customer experience

·  Bus Service Implementation Plan

o  Removal of Nbus premium

o  Ticketing incentive programme

o  Improving network management and bus service performance.

The Board questioned officers, received responses and discussed the following issues:

·  During the pandemic most subsidies had gone direct to operators.

·  TfWM had directed £16.3m of subsidies into bus services. 

·  There were currently 29 electric buses operating in Coventry.

·  Bus covid safety  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Briefing note of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Board received a Briefing Note of the Director of Transport and Highways on the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement.  The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) had submitted a bid to Government’s City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for a £1.05 billion package of transport schemes for the period 2022-2027.  The Department for Transport (DfT) had confirmed the CRSTS funding awards for the WMCA.

For Coventry, the CRSTS programme included the following schemes:

• Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) - £54 million
• Coventry South Sustainable Transport Package - £17 million
• Foleshill Transport Package - £4.5 million
• Regional Park and Ride including Tile Hill Station - £4.5 million (as part of a TfWM Strategic Park and Ride programme)

The £80 million CRSTS capital investment would be supplemented by up to £23 million match funding, taking the total programme value to £103 million for the 4 schemes.

In addition, £30.6 million funding was allocated to Coventry within the 5-year CRSTS programme for Highway Maintenance and our Local Network Improvement Plan.

The Board questioned officers, received responses and discussed the following issues:

·  Some of the Public Realm schemes that had not received funding were not transport related and did not fit the funding criteria.

·  Some local schemes were on the reserve list, funding for which may or may not be made available.

·  Other routes of funding were being actively explored.

·  The DfT retained the right to have a final say on projects over £50 million.  TfWM worked closely with a nominated DfT officer on these projects.

·  The transport schemes identified and funded had arisen from issues raised by Members and residents.

·  The Transport Strategy was a process whereby TfWM could report to Members on an annual basis regarding delivery of programmes.

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):

1.  Note the content of the Briefing Note.

2.  Include the following for consideration on the Work Programme:

·  Monitor progress through the annual update on the Transport Strategy.

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) noted the work programme 2022-2023 and asked for the inclusion of the following items:

·  Proposed school bus route withdrawal

·  City Centre South update (November 2022)

·  Progress on the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement to be monitored through the annual update on the Transport Strategy.

There were no other items of public business.