ITEM TD12
TRANSPORT DECISIONS COMMITTEE – 4 OCTOBER 2007
REVIEW OF GRANTS FOR PROVISION OF TRANSPORT SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS AND LOCALLY-ORGANISED TRANSPORT SCHEMES
Report by Head of Transport
Introduction
1. This report invites the Committee to consider future funding for the Swindon Dial-a-Ride transport service currently funded by the County Council for people with mobility impairments, and for two locally organised community transport schemes. In all of three cases, current County Council funding arrangements come to an end on 7 December 2007.
2. For each of these reviews consultation has been carried out (as part of the Area Review of subsidised bus services) with all the appropriate Parish Councils, the District Council and relevant County Councillors, as well as Transport For All, the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council and Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action. Specific responses are summarised in the appropriate sections and copies of all consultation responses have been deposited in the Members’ Resource Centre.
3. The bus services in the same area are also under review at this meeting and members might wish to refer to the separate report for details of these bus services.
Review of Swindon Dial-a-Ride: Watchfield-Swindon Shoppers’ Service
4. This shoppers service Dial-a-Ride bus operates between Watchfield, Shrivenham, Ashbury, Bourton and South Marston to Swindon town centre,and is operated by Swindon Dial-a-Ride. Like other dial-a-ride services, this is available for pre-booked journeys for residents of these villages who have difficulties in using ordinary public transport services through age, infirmity or disability and who have registered with the service provider.
5. The service was last reviewed in December 2005, when the Committee agreed a renewal of support until December 2007. The current cost of the service is £4,724.60 (2007/08 full-year prices). Swindon DAR would wish to continue the current service based on the same day and times of operation, since this suits the current users. Swindon DAR point out that, as far as they are aware, this service provides the only affordable accessible transport for disabled people in Shrivenham, Watchfield, Bourton and Ashbury who wish to travel into Swindon, which is their nearest major shopping centre.
6. There are 48 people currently registered to use the service (of which three are wheelchair users), compared to 53 in December 2005, and 77 in January 2003. However, the average number of single passenger journeys per week has remained fairly stable: 10.5 in 2002/03; 12.16 in 2003/04; 10.9 in 2004/05; 10.5 in 2005/06; 8.3 in 2006/07; and 9.9 in the first three months of 2007/08. Recent publicity to support the service has included articles in parish magazines and the distribution of posters and leaflets in various relevant locations throughout the villages served.
7. Recently a service questionnaire was distributed to all 48 registered members, of which 12 replies were received (representing a 25% response rate). Swindon DAR report that “most of those who replied were regular users of the service and their answers suggest that the service is meeting the needs of those who travel. We do not wish to change the day or time; passengers have indicated that they enjoy travelling on a Friday and that the length of time that they have in Swindon town centre suits them”.
8. County Council subsidy per passenger served is currently £9.16 (based on the first three months of 2007/08) (£11.16 for the last full year, 2006/07) which compares with £7.82 when the service was last reviewed in 2005. This is broadly in line with other Dial-a-Ride shoppers’ services which the Council supports (the overall cost per passenger journey of the Octabus dial-a-ride in 2005/06 was £12.36; in 2006/07 was £12.68; the cost per passenger journey of the Readibus dial-a-ride shoppers services in South Oxfordshire was £12.69 for the Henley service).
9. Support for the continuation of the service has come from the Parish Clerk at Bourton, who comments that “We do not have a frequent bus service from the village to town and the nearest shops are 2 miles away. The service provides a vital link for our elderly parishioners and enables them to maintain their independence”. The Parish Council at Shrivenham also wrote in support of the retention of the service, citing its importance to elderly and infirm residents in that parish. Oxfordshire Rural Community Council and Oxfordshire Community & Voluntary Action have both also expressed support for the provision of dedicated dial-a-ride services in this part of south-west Oxfordshire.
10. Swindon DAR has requested an annual grant of £5,000 with annual inflationary increases to continue to operate this service. I recommend that the Committee continues its support for this valuable service to the community for a further period of four years to December 2011, when it can be reviewed again as part of the wider Area Review of bus services in the Wantage / Faringdon / Cumnor area.
Review of Grants for Locally Organised Transport Schemes
11. Oxfordshire County Council has continued to give grants for a number of locally-organised transport schemes, some of which date back to the 1980s. Two of these schemes are subject to review at the present time. In both these cases, the local community is either providing funds or volunteer effort (or both) and therefore the absolute cost of these schemes is low.
Wantage/Grove Community Car Scheme12. Oxfordshire County Council has funded the Independent Advice Centre (Wantage) to provide a voluntary car scheme since October 1998. From small beginnings this has grown into a significant transport provider for people with mobility impairments living in a wide catchment area of the Vale of White Horse district. It enables users of the service to travel for a wide range of social, medical, and shopping purposes, both within the catchment area and to Oxfordshire hospitals.
13. In total there are now 718 clients (600 in 2005) who in 2004/05 made 3,994 return journeys (3,321 in 2002/03), covering a total of 48,286 miles (32,946 in 2002/03). This must be regarded as having become a highly successful operation, especially as it caters only for those with mobility impairments. Fares charged to users (37p per mile, with a minimum charge of £3.50 return) reflect full costs of the car journeys to cover re-imbursement to drivers (at 35p per mile) plus a small contribution to IAC administration costs. The funding which the County Council provides therefore contributes directly towards the administration of the transport service.
14. On the last two occasions that the service was reviewed, the County Council approved a settlement based on a proportion (30%) of the costs of the overall transport service, whose total costs (including the salary of the part-time Transport Manager) now amount to some £17,727. The 30% figure is derived from the approximate proportion of the total of passenger journeys undertaken by the Car Scheme that are for Social / Shopping purposes or to non-County-run social clubs / centres, and ensures that County Council funding is not being used to support journeys for hospital or social services purposes.
15. The funding provided by the County Council therefore directly contributes to the appropriate proportion of the Car Scheme’s central overheads, and enables staff time to be allocated to maintaining and extending the scope of the service.
16. On this basis, the Independent Advice Centre has requested that the grant for 2007/08 be increased to £5,318.00. This will enable them to carry on improving the quality of life of the elderly and infirm people in the community.
17. Letters of support have been received from Cllr Zoe Patrick (County Councillor for Grove and Wantage) as well as from Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC) and Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA). In addition responses have been received from the parish councils of East Hanney, East Hendred, Faringdon, and Ardington & Lockinge. Cllr Patrick stated that “This service is invaluable for residents, particularly the elderly who need to get to hospital appointments…it offers an essential ‘community service’ which would otherwise not be there…I think it is excellent value for money and I would strongly recommend continuing financial support”. ORCC wrote that “The scheme is the largest of its type in Oxfordshire and is run to exceedingly high standards. Indeed we promote some of its methodologies to the other schemes. I commend this scheme to you as an essential part of ensuring residents of the area can access essential services”. OCVA stated that they consider the IAC Scheme is ‘an extremely well-run and well-organised scheme providing a valuable service to their local community. Of all the car schemes in the county, of which there are very many, I consider this to be a real flagship – it is run by extremely well-motivated and caring people, both staff and volunteers, and I have always been impressed by the fact that they will always “go the extra mile”, both literally and figuratively. In my work I see a great many transport groups, but this one stands head and shoulders above the rest”. East Hanney Parish Council stated that “As a Council we value this scheme and make a financial contribution to the organisers. We would not wish to see any reduction in overall support (both financial and encouragement) which might result in any reduction of the service available to the least mobile in East Hanney”. East Hendred Parish Council stated “We feel this scheme is very important to our village as it provides a service to the surgery, hospital and social service facilities”. Ardington & Lockinge Parish Council stated that “Residents…make good use of the...Car Scheme. The organisers keep the Parish Council informed of the usage each year and the Council has made an annual donation to the Scheme for the last nine years. The scheme provides a very cost-effective service, which would be greatly missed by the people in our parishes”. Faringdon Town Council was much less supportive, believing that the car scheme “served little purpose to Faringdon residents, as priority [is] given to residents in the catchment area”.
18. As a result of the meetings and communications which they have had with IAC, officers have gained a very favourable impression of the operation of the IAC community transport service. I therefore recommend that the Committee continues its support for the Wantage IAC car scheme, in which case it is recommended that a total grant of £5,318.00 be awarded. On current patronage (2006/07 figures) of 9,099 passenger journeys (up from 8,783 in 2005/06 and 7,988 in 2004/05) this would be equivalent to a cpj of £0.58 (£1.27 when last reviewed in 2005) which represents extremely good value for money. This service would continue to be restricted to those people with mobility impairments who cannot use conventional public transport. On the basis of the current County Council funding of £5,076.00, the cost per journey amounts to £0.56.
19. When the service was last reviewed, the Transport Implementation Committee indicated as a condition of its support that “every effort should be made to secure appropriate funding from the relevant Primary Care Trust”. The Advice Centre has twice sought to secure this funding support from the PCT. It is reported that on the first occasion the Care Trust did not even reply and that on the second occasion the Care Trust insisted that no funds were available. The Advice Centre continues to work with Philip Newbould of the Oxfordshire Rural Transport Partnership, who has taken up this issue more generally in the county and who is now working with the Primary Care Trust on behalf of a number of transport schemes. At present, however, it continues to be the case that no Care Trust funding is forthcoming.
20. However, since the last review, I am able to report some progress vis-à-vis the relationship between the car scheme and the Oxford Hospital Trust, in that a meeting was held between the car scheme and the Trust in April 2007 to create a working partnership between the two bodies to facilitate improvements to parking and re-imbursement arrangements, as well as other practical measures to ease the administrative burden on volunteer drivers and the IAC.
21. It is proposed that the Wantage IAC car scheme service is reviewed again at the same time as the scheduled Area Review of subsidised bus services in the Wantage / Faringdon / Cumnor area, which is due for implementation on 10 December 2011. It is also proposed that officers write formally to the Primary Care Trust to support the IAC in its application for funding to cover the proportion of administration costs involved in organising hospital visits.
Grove ‘Shopperbus’ Shoppers’ service
22. Grove Parish Council organises a weekly Wednesday shoppers’ service from three selected housing developments in Grove and Wantage. The service was originally started using a leased minibus with volunteer drivers. This was decommissioned in 1995 after which British Red Cross provided a minibus with a driver. From 2000 until May 2004 the service was run using a vehicle leased from Social Services, driven by volunteer drivers. Since May 2004 the Parish Council has changed the service to the form of a shared taxi service. Users of the service are picked up from their residences, taken into Wantage Market Place and then returned, all at pre-determined times.
23. The Parish Clerk writes ‘It provides invaluable help to the elderly residents of Grovelands Court and St. John’s Court in Grove and to Maude House in Wantage who would otherwise have difficulty in using public transport either because the bus routes are just too far away for them to walk comfortably or because they are disabled. We believe this facility serves the residents better than the [Octabus] dial-a-ride service would since they do not have to book the transport themselves (this is done by the parish council) and the fares are cheaper. The … shoppers’ service leaves the dial-a-ride service free for the use of other residents in the area who also want to shop in Wantage on Wednesdays, which is the only day of the week that this service runs in the Wantage area’.
24. This view is reflected in the consultation response from Cllr Zoe Patrick (County Councillor for Grove and Wantage division), who states that “I would like to support Grove Parish Council’s comments on this service, which I know is highly valued by elderly Grove residents who have no other means of travel from Grovelands Court or St. John’s Court in the village. Using the public bus service is difficult for those who are frail or disabled and this service provides a friendly and reliable option. I hope that the County Council will continue to give it financial assistance”.
25. However, the response from Oxfordshire Rural Community Council and Oxfordshire Community & Voluntary Action was much less supportive. Both organisations wondered whether the Octabus dial-a-ride could not provide an alternative service. ORCC stated “it seems possible that the Octabus dial-a-ride service in Vale of White Horse might be able to undertake these journeys. You will appreciate that Octabus generally works on a first-come-first-carried basis but the consortium may be willing to make this an exception and have a regular booking”, and OCVA asked “Why does the [shared taxi] run on the same day as Octabus? Could there be scope for some rationalisation? Are there other people apart from the residents of the sheltered housing who could use this service?”
26. The current fare for the taxi service is £1 per single journey. However, the taxi service is not able to accept concessionary bus passes (whereas the Octabus dial-a-ride will accept them).
27. Officers undertook a site visit to see the shared taxi service in operation, and to assess the suitability of other local alternatives. Correspondence with the Octabus dial-a-ride led to the conclusion that this dial-a-ride service could not provide an alternative to the service provided by the shared taxi. The shared taxi picks-up from the three residential homes between 8.45am and 9.05am, and returns from Wantage Market Place between 10.20am and 11am. This exploration included an assessment of how close the nearest bus stops were to each residential home. In the case of St. John’s Court the nearest bus stops are around 3 minute’s walk (by a fit able-bodied person) in either direction, whilst in the case of Maud House the nearest bus stop is around 1 minute’s walk (by a fit able-bodied person). In both cases the nearest bus stop is served by regular bus services providing a link to Wantage Market Place. These ‘parallel’ conventional bus services might on the face of it seem to call into question the justifiability of the shared taxi service. This point has been raised with Grove Parish Council, which confirms that some residents of the homes do indeed use the conventional bus services. However, the parish council states that “our service is particularly targeted at the aged and disabled residents who cannot use regular buses. They are given help with their frames or wheelchairs, and also their shopping trolleys, a personal service not available on a public bus”.
28. The third of the residential homes, Grovelands Court, is located some distance from any alternative bus service. Even for a fit, able-bodied person, the walking journey from Grovelands Court to the nearest bus stop is a little over 5 minutes via the most direct route (through a number of ‘back alleys’ and linking footpaths). It is considered that the loss of the shared taxi would be likely to have a significant detrimental effect to the mobility of residents of this home.
29. A total of 291 (416) passenger journeys were undertaken on this service from April 2006 to March 2007 and £582.00 (£832) was collected in fares. The cost of hiring a vehicle to operate the service was £1,999 (£2,012). The grant paid by Oxfordshire County Council in 2006/07 was £1,000. This therefore represents a cost per passenger journey to Oxfordshire County Council of £3.44 (£2.16). It is clear that the declining use of the shared taxi is having an adverse impact on the cost per passenger journey and hence its value for money. (Figures in brackets show 2004/05 equivalents when the service was last reviewed). The grant funding from Oxfordshire County Council for the current financial year (2006/07) is £1,003.10 (full-year equivalent). The Parish Clerk requests that the present arrangements be continued.
30. Whilst there may seem to be some degree of ‘overlap’ between the three schemes which the County Council, in one form or another, supports and which cover the Wantage & Grove area, it is recommended that the separate support for the Grove ‘Shopperbus’ scheme is continued. If the ‘Shopperbus’ shared taxi service were to close it seems likely that it would place a further burden on the Wantage Independent Advice Centre’s volunteer car scheme. The other alternative, of using the Octabus service, would reduce the availability of that minibus to other disabled and mobility-impaired travellers in the Vale of White Horse district. On the present journey times, the Octabus dial-a-ride could not provide a replacement for the shared taxi. However, if the pick-up times from the residential homes were to be significantly adjusted so as to fit with the operating hours of Octabus it is not clear that there would in any case be sufficient capacity for Octabus to fill any gap left by the potential cessation of the shared taxi without having a detrimental effect on existing Octabus users.
Financial Implications
31. The total cost of these various schemes currently amounts to £10,819.44 on a full-year basis. The total cost of the recommendations below amounts to £11,321.10 on a full-year basis.
Implications for People Living in Poverty
32. These various services aim to enable extra transport opportunities for people with mobility impairments or the elderly. The people who benefit from them are more likely than other sections of the population to have low incomes. These extra transport opportunities improve access to community facilities and therefore contribute to improving the quality of life for some people living in poverty. RECOMMENDATIONS
33. The Committee is RECOMMENDED:
(a) to pay Swindon Dial-a-Ride up to £5,000.00 (but with annual adjustments for inflation) to secure the continuation of the Dial-a-Ride Shoppers’ service between Watchfield and Swindon for a period of four years commencing 8 December 2007 and concluding on 9 December 2011, or on whatever date the scheduled Area Review of bus services in the Wantage / Faringdon / Cumnor area is implemented;
(b) to pay Wantage Independent Advice Centre up to £5,318.00 (but with annual adjustments for inflation) to secure the continuation of the Wantage / Grove Community Car Scheme for a period of four years commencing 8 December 2007 and concluding on 9 December 2011, or on whatever date the scheduled Area Review of bus services in the Wantage/Faringdon/Cumnor area is implemented; and
(c) to pay Grove Parish Council up to £1,003.10 (but with annual adjustments for inflation) to secure the continuation of the Grove Shopperbus shoppers’ shared taxi service for a period of four years commencing 8 December 2007 and concluding on 9 December 2011, or on whatever date the scheduled Area Review of bus services in the Wantage / Faringdon / Cumnor area is implemented.
STEVE HOWELL Head of Transport Environment & Economy
Background papers: Correspondence with service providers and user representatives (refer to contact officer)
Contact Officer: Neil Timberlake. Tel: Oxford 815585
September 2007
|