Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Executive Director of Place providing a current position statement on public transport.

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a briefing note of the Executive Director of Place that provided the Board with background information on the governance, responsibilities and operation of public transport services in Coventry, to inform the select committee meeting on 21^st September 2016.

Nationally, public transport included a range of different modes of travel, including heavy rail, tram and light rail, rapid transit systems, bus, taxi and cycle hire. In Coventry, public transport provision was currently primarily concentrated around bus, rail and taxi services, however the focus of the briefing note was the mass passenger carrying modes of transport, namely rail and bus.

Bus and rail services were governed by various pieces of legislation and were planned and operated by a variety of organisations and companies. The briefing note provided an overview of the major elements involved such as legislation, governance and the key bus and rail services provided to the public. It also outlined important legislative changes which may have an impact on the provision of public transport in the future.

The Board questioned officers and discussed the following issues:

·  Proposals for the review of bus gates/lanes – the rationale of the review, the impact of closures/reductions on the city’s transport and income stream, the effect on the city’s Primelines, and the sourcing of data on individual City bus lanes to ensure evidence based decisions

·  Members sought clarification of the Bus Alliance arrangement, the Movement for Growth Strategy under which Coventry buses operate, the Midlands Engine, Midlands Connect who were investigating future smart card opportunities, the provisions of the new Bus Bill and the obligations of the West Midlands Combined Authority Non-Constituent Members

·  West Coast Mainline and HS2 – the City Council’s response to the West Coast Mainline Consultation, wholly supporting the retention of the current service level, without which the economy and jobs in the city would be affected and the potential effects of HS2 on the use of current rail services

·  Key bus routes within the West Midlands area - consistency of operation of management locally and across the 28 West Midlands bus operators

·  Swift Cards – the use of a pre-credited cards for travel on the West Midlands Rail and Bus Networks

·  Contactless Smart Cards – Pilot in Coventry later in 2016, the adoption of this form of payment by the West Midlands by 2020 and nationally by 2022

·  Hackney Carriage Vehicles Policy – condition and age of vehicles, owner responsibilities and provision of service in the City

·  Bus services consultation and surveys – consultation on service changes and the use of bus surveys

The Board requested that they be provided with the following as background information for their Select Committee meeting on 21^st September 2016:

·  The Web Link to ‘Select Committees Under Scrutiny’

·  The City Council’s Hackney Carriage Vehicles Policy

·  HS2 and West Coast Mainline rail proposals for future service and passenger information

·  The Coventry Rail Story

·  The Air Quality Report with the recommendation from Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee

The Board agreed that the Authority’s proposal to review Bus Gates/Bus Lanes, including the rationale behind the proposed review/changes and the impact on the City i.e. the benefits expected by a reduction; the effect on the City’s Primelines; and income issues,  would be the subject of the Board’s 2nd November 2016 meeting. For this meeting, Members requested that they be provided with comparable data on other Cities Bus Lane/Bus Gate provision and reviews, as background information. The Board also agreed that Councillor Innes, Cabinet Member for City Services, be invited to attend the meeting to inform the Board of her recent visit to Liverpool where they have removed bus lanes in the City.

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

1)  The contents of report be noted

2)  The following be identified as topic areas which require further scrutiny at the Select Committee of the Board on 21st September 2016:

• HS2 and West Coast Mainline – Future Rail Service Provision

• Hackney Carriage Services in the City – Policy for vehicles and service

• Plans for future Bus Services – smart cards, bus alliance, routes, regional issues, movement for growth strategy, Midlands Engine, and Midlands Connect

• West Midlands Combined Authority: i) Public Transport Governance - Roles of the West Midlands Combined Authority, the District and the City ii) £150m resource allocation for transport – proposed use of resource

3)  The Authority’s proposed review of Bus Lanes and Bus Gates be considered by the Board at their meeting on 2^nd November 2016.