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ITEM EX8 - Supplement

EXECUTIVE – 18 MARCH 2003

TRANSPORT CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2003/04 TO 2005/06 - SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT

Report by Director for Business Support & County Treasurer, and Assistant Director of Environmental Services (Transport Development)

 

  1. This report provides some additional information on Oxfordshire’s involvement in the National Traveline, Telephone and Internet Enquiry Service, which is likely to impact on the Transport Capital Programme. It has been made necessary by the late receipt of a letter from the south east regional co-ordinating authority (Buckinghamshire County Council), which is attached as Annex 1. (Download as .doc file).

    2. Background

  2. Traveline is a regionally organised service, and the detailed data on which it relies (bus timetables, bus stop locations and so on) is provided by its member local authorities. Twenty-two such authorities have come together in the south east and are known collectively as SELTA (South East Local Transport Authorities). Costs of providing the service are shared between local authorities and the region’s bus operators.

  3. The capital costs of setting up the service, such as securing accommodation and purchasing computer hardware, are met by the local authorities, while day-to-day running costs are funded by operators. The revenue costs of data management, funding a full-time Data & Systems Manager, and a proportion of the time of the Chair of SELTA, are also met by the local authorities.

  4. The costs allocated to each authority are based on its percentage of the population of the region – Oxfordshire’s share is currently 6.43% of the total.

  5. The computerised Enquiry Management System (EMS) used to drive the data to the telephone operators is due to be replaced this year, as a result of the present contractor being unable to provide technical support for the system currently in use, and because of the increased capacity needed to handle the more detailed data being added incrementally to the system.

    6. Project Timescale and Costs

  6. The contract tendering process was put in the hands of consultants, and tenders are due to be returned on 24 March. The contract is due to be awarded in April, to allow testing of the new system prior to its installation in September (which has to be seamless with the termination of the current system).

  7. Initial capital costs were estimated at £500,000, based on experience in other regions, and the figures in our Capital Programme were based on this amount. Total revenue costs were expected to be around £200,000. An early "in principle" commitment to support our share of those costs was made last year.

  8. However, it now looks likely that capital costs will be nearer £750,000, due to the complexity and size of the system proposed, and Oxfordshire’s share will increase accordingly. Rather than a capital contribution of £32,000, our percentage may be nearer £48,000, and ongoing revenue costs could be £20,000 per annum as opposed to the £13,000 originally estimated.

  9. The exact figure will not be known until tenders are received, but a commitment to the funding for the replacement system is required from all the regional authorities on or before 24 March, as the new contract cannot be awarded without prior agreement to the funding.

    10. Financial and Staff Implications

  10. The impact of Oxfordshire effectively withdrawing from the Traveline Consortium would be far-reaching. Not only would there be a "gap" in the information available for the south east, but other systems proposed by the Department for Transport (DfT) such as Transport Direct, which is based in large part on the information in Traveline, would also be compromised. DfT would be very concerned if any local authority were to unilaterally withdraw funding, and in addition to being poorly received, it could influence future Local Transport Plan funding settlements.

  11. If Oxfordshire did withdraw from Traveline, there would be increased pressure to provide our own telephone and internet enquiry service, with increased capital and revenue costs falling directly to the County Council, although it may be possible to share these with bus operators. However, this possibility has been investigated before, and found to be prohibitively costly.

  12. For these reasons, it is considered that the County Council should continue to fully co-operate with and participate in the Traveline project and make the required sums available. The potential £7,000 increase in revenue expenditure would fall on the Public Transport Revenue Support Budget of bus services. If the contract is to be awarded in early April there is a need to allocate £48,000 from the Capital Programme in advance of the full programme being considered at the 15 April meeting of the Executive.

    13. RECOMMENDATIONS

  13. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

    1. confirm Oxfordshire’s continuing commitment to traveline;

    2. approve the £7,000 increase in the cost of operation of the traveline system to be funded from the Public Transport Revenue Support Budget; and

    3. approve the allocation of £48,000 capital contribution to the traveline project from the 2003/04 Transport Capital Programme.

EDDIE LUCK
Assistant Director of Environmental Services (Transport Development)

CHRIS GRAY
Director for Business Support & County Treasurer

Background papers: Letter from Buckinghamshire County Council (attached as Annex 1)

Contact Officer: Eddie Luck – Tel: 01865 815845

12 March 2003

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