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ITEM EX12

PUBLIC TRANSPORT INFORMATION STRATEGY

1. The Transport Act 2000, which became law in December of that year, imposes an obligation on County Councils to reach agreement with operators of local bus services on the supply of information about those services to the public. It is the responsibility of the Council to decide on the "required information" and on the "appropriate way" in which it should be made available, but they are obliged to consult with organisations representative of local users and the traffic commissioner for their area. The Council has a duty to check that the information is provided, and if it is not, to negotiate with operators to ensure provision. If agreement cannot be reached, the Council has a duty to ensure that information is made available, if necessary by providing it themselves, and can recover from operators any reasonable cost incurred in so doing. Should any operator fail to provide information at the request of the local authority, that operator must be reported to the traffic commissioner.
2. Members are asked to give their endorsement to the standards in the Transport Information Strategy presented with this report (Annex 1) as a basis for the acceptable provision of information in Oxfordshire. Subject to this endorsement, officers will for the first time be able to enforce those standards and ensure transport information in the county is of high quality.

Transport Information Strategy

3. A draft strategy was developed, based on standards agreed at the Public Transport Sub-Committee meeting on 15 February 2001 and taking into account national guidance from organisations such as the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers (ATCO) and the national Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee (DIPTAC). This draft attempted to clarify the kind of information we should expect to be produced, including printed matter (timetable leaflets, bus stop displays), maps of services within the local authority’s area, fares, telephone enquiry centres, staffed information centres, websites, the internet and real-time information systems.

Constraints on Standards

4. If bus companies fail to carry out their obligations, the authority must ensure that it is capable of doing the work itself, and that it has the facilities for doing so. It is therefore important that the standards laid down do not impose costs beyond the resources of the Council. Unrealistically high standards from the outset may cause bus operators to increase the costs of subsidy or raise tender prices and some operators may seek to withdraw commercial services and terminate contracts. Consideration should therefore be given to the increased funding which may be necessary if this happens.

Consultation

5. The draft strategy was circulated for consultation and comment to all interested parties: local bus users, as represented by the Parish Transport Committee, the National Federation of Bus Users, all Parishes, members of the Oxfordshire Transport Forum, the traffic commissioner for the area, local MPs, neighbouring counties and all members of the Council. The Consultative Committee for Transport for Mobility Impaired People, the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council and other representatives of those who find it difficult to use public transport were asked for advice on any improvements they would like to see. Tourist Information Centres throughout the county were asked for their view, as major providers of transport information, primarily to visitors who have little or no experience of our systems. Although not statutorily required, it was also deemed essential to consult with the operators of bus services in Oxfordshire in order to agree standards that were both achievable and sustainable.
6. A second draft of the proposed Information Strategy, as amended following the consultation process, is attached as Annex 1, with amendments from the original underlined. A summary of comments made during the consultation process is set out in Annex 2, together with officers’ responses to those comments.
7. Areas of resistance were encountered from operators, principally to the publicity required for service changes, but also to the inclusion of fares on timetable leaflets and to the inclusion of other services on their leaflets. However, it is the view of your officers that the benefit to passengers of publicity for service changes outweighs any possible confusion, and that operators should therefore be required to notify customers of impending changes. Until such time as traveline is able to provide a full service, Officers would suggest the acceptance of separate fare- and timetables. Officers would also suggest wider publicity for the contact telephone numbers for Ring-a-Ride and other transport services for people with disabilities, which face financial difficulty in publicising themselves.
8. The Traffic Commissioner is currently consulting on a proposal that timetables be displayed at every bus stop along a route, a requirement which is reflected in the strategy. Some resistance from operators is likely. On the whole, reaction from other quarters has been favourable.

Printed Information

9. Officers would suggest that standards for leaflets should be set deliberately high, although some resistance from operators to the expected standards is inevitable. Nonetheless, a leaflet is the most common form of public transport information, and as such should be easily understood by all. Both ATCO and DIPTAC have set down specific guidelines for leaflets, and officers suggest that these should form the basis for leaflets in Oxfordshire.

Bus Stops

10. The identification and coding of every bus stop in the County, performed under contract by Babtie, is almost complete, and this information can be used to improve the traveline telephone enquiry service. It can also be used to enable operators to use consistent names for all stops. Bus stop design should incorporate directional signing, operator names and service identities. The principal operators are keen to improve the ‘professional’ image of bus travel in general, and the introduction of new bus stop "flags" is seen as a first step in the creation of a more consistent image. Your officers are discussing ways of improving and standardising bus stop flags with operators, and will report further to the Executive in due course.

Information Boards

11. Agreement has been reached with the major operators on the need for information boards in town centres, at Tourist Information Centres and at rail stations. Maps of the centre of Oxford indicating where to catch a bus and service frequency are currently being produced, and other maps for major towns will be produced as soon as practical. Costs would be shared between the County Council and operators, with the necessary information being provided by the Council as the ‘neutral party’.

Transport Guides

12. The information contained in the countywide Public Transport Guide, last published in January 2001, should continue to be updated, and discussions should be initiated into funding being shared between the local authority and operators. The larger operators have already suggested a guide to bus services in and around Oxford, and they are keen to include all operators in an effort to increase bus patronage in the city as a whole. As officers will act as co-ordinators for the information, these projects will be jointly funded initially, but in future operators will be responsible for the costs.

Real-Time Information Systems

13. Discussions with the two major operators are continuing on the introduction of a basic real-time information system on one of the main corridors into Oxford. This would be used to gauge the effectiveness of the passenger information provided by such systems, and to give an indication of improvements that may be required prior to the introduction of real-time on other routes and in other locations. It is now hoped that the first scheme will be introduced before the end of 2002. I shall report separately to the Executive on this following further development work.

Subsidised Services

14. Members’ attention is drawn to concerns expressed over the effect increased provision of information may have on subsidised contracts. There is a danger that operators may increase subsidy requirements or enter fewer tender prices, and officers will need to take into account the responsibility for information provision in recommending contract prices. Unfortunately, the majority of operators of subsidised routes did not respond to our consultation, and they may wish to pass on the costs of increased information provision on current contracts to the County Council. Should officers be expected to take on this responsibility, the average initial cost of providing publicity has been estimated at £2,000 per route, which includes printed leaflets, wayside displays and timetable cases where necessary; requirements in future contracts will be covered by the strategy.

Review of Standards

15. Once agreement on the standards of information to be provided has been reached, and the Public Transport Information Strategy has been formally adopted, enforcement of standards would become the responsibility of officers; those standards would be subjected to regular review, possibly at a new ‘Bus Forum’ to be established between operators and users. Officers suggest that annual reviews be agreed in consultation with all interested parties to ensure standards are being maintained, with a full review of the Strategy as part of the next stage of the Local Transport Plan in 2006.

Environmental Implications

16. Research shows that the availability of reliable, accurate timetable information to the general public is a major factor in encouraging the use of public transport in preference to private cars. The adoption of a more professional design for bus stops will have a marked effect on the environment, and improvements can be expected when agreement has been reached.

Financial and Staff Implications

17. The costs of providing timetable information will, for the most part, be met by operators, although some could find their way back to the County Council through increased subsidy payments. Should the County Council be expected to provide information for all subsidised routes, the total initial cost would be in the region of £250,000, based on current levels of subsidised service, with £150,000 recurring whenever timetables change. These costs will be reflected in the level of subsidy contracts, but the likelihood of their being needed is at present unknown.
18. A total of £20,000 was set aside in the current financial year to cover the County Council’s anticipated contribution to traveline for the provision of information on subsidised services. Given that this was not taken up, members are asked to authorise funding for bus stop maps and town centre information boards. Officers suggest that a total of £15,000 be set aside for this purpose. "Where to catch your bus" information at bus stops will cost £200 per stop at current prices and 20 such maps would be required for Oxford bus stops at a cost of £4,000; information boards would cost in the region of £500, and it is anticipated that approximately 15 would be required initially at a cost of £7,500 countywide. The costs of construction will also need to be considered.

RECOMMENDATIONS

19. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

1. adopt the standards in Annex 1 as the Council’s Public Transport Information Strategy, subject to annual review and to complete revision in 2006 as part of the Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan;
2. note the concern of officers over the possible cost implications of increased information provision on subsidy contracts;
3. authorise funding from the traveline underspend for bus stop maps, town centre information boards and a transport guide for Oxford, all of which will be jointly funded with operators;
4. ask officers to explore further joint funding for the continuation of countywide transport guides; and
5. ask officers to establish an Information Forum, consisting of bus operators and users, which would be chaired by officers and provide an ongoing review of information standards.

DAVID YOUNG
Director of Environmental Services

Contact Officer: Ian Connick Tel: (01865) 815088

February 2002


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