Issue - meetings

Report by Head of Transport (TDC11E)

The report describes bus services for which subsidy agreements are due to terminate in December 2009, mainly covering services in the Bicester and Kidlington area. Four further contracts outside the review area have also been reviewed, as follows:

Service 4B (Contract PT/V4): Cumnor-Wootton-Abingdon (evenings and Sundays)

Service 31 (Contract PT/V43): Wantage-Abingdon-Oxford (Mon-Thurs evenings)

Service 36 (Contract PT/V36): Grove-Wantage-Milton Park peak service (Mon-Fri)

Services 105/106/136 (Contract PT/S81): Wallingford-Oxford, Oxford-Oxford Science Park and Wallingford to Cholsey (Mon-Fri a.m peak)

The financial position of the bus subsidy budget is also described in the report.  Recent commercial withdrawals combined with continued tender price rises and only a small increase in the bus subsidy budget mean that some reductions in service are likely as a result of this review.     

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)               make its decisions on subsidy for the services described in this report on the basis of the tender prices (and the periods of time) as set out in Supplementary Exempt Annex 2 to be reported subsequently;

(b)              record that in the opinion of the Committee the decisions made in (a) above are urgent in that any delay likely to be caused by the call in process would result in service discontinuity and in accordance with the requirements of Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17(b) those decisions should not be subject to the call in process; and

(c)               agree that a publicity leaflet is published and distributed containing bus timetables for all the new bus services in the Bicester, Kidlington and Woodstock area dealt with in this review.

The information in this report is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The Committee considered a report (TDC11E) which described bus services in the Bicester and Kidlington area for which subsidy agreements were due to terminate in December 2009 together with four further contracts outside the review area. The report also set out the financial position of the bus subsidy budget.   

Councillor Patrick supported continuation of the current level of service 31 and referred to the potential impact on levels of reliability and effectiveness if that service were reduced to a 2 hour service. She welcomed the continuation of the current 32 service and called for more publicity for services generally.

Councillor Turner expressed general support for the recommendations although Contract S81 (services 105/106/136) did not include Nuneham Courtenay or the Baldons.

Mr Darch confirmed that the Baldon Parish Councils had been consulted.

RESOLVED:      to:

(a)        approve subsidy for the services described in the report TDC11E on the basis of the tender prices (and the periods of time) as set out in Supplementary Exempt Annex 2 to that report;

(b)                record that in the opinion of the Committee the decisions made in (a) above were urgent in that any delay likely to be caused by the call in process would result in service discontinuity and in accordance with the requirements of Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17(b) those decisions should not be subject to the call in process; and

(c)                agree that a publicity leaflet be published and distributed containing bus timetables for all the new bus services in the Bicester, Kidlington and Woodstock area dealt with in this review.