|
Return
to Agenda
ITEM TIC15E
TRANSPORT
IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE – 27 NOVEMBER 2003
BUS SUBSIDIES
Report by
Assistant Director ( Highway Management)
Introduction
- The Public Transport
Team undertakes two major reviews of bus services in different parts
of Oxfordshire each year, which take effect in July and October. In
addition, a smaller review takes place, for implementation in February,
of services that may have to be changed for other reasons. This report
invites members to consider the future of services which have come up
for review in February 2004, shown in Section A, together with other
decisions needed, as detailed in Sections B and C.
- Background information
on all these items is included at Annex
1. Confidential information on prices of existing
short-term contracts (Section B) is included at Exempt Annex 2.
- Tender prices,
including officer recommendations and local member comments, will be
contained in a confidential Exempt Annex 3, to be circulated later.
Reasons
for Exempt Annexes
- The financial
information associated with this report (in Annexes 2 and 3) is exempt
because its discussion in public might lead to the disclosure to members
of the public present of the amount of expenditure proposed to be incurred
by Oxfordshire County Council under particular contracts for the supply
of services. All prices must be treated as strictly confidential until
such time as the Committee decides whether or not to provide financial
support for each service. Revealing operators’ prices before then would
prejudice Oxfordshire County Council’s position if tenders or propositions
have to be sought again for any of these services.
Financial
Position
- The current position
of the Council’s bus subsidy budget (treating both Rural Bus Subsidy
(RBSG) and Main Budget as one, and omitting certain budgeted funds not
available for bus subsidy, in accordance with recent practice) is as
follows:
| |
£000’s |
| Main budget
2003/4 (excluding carry-forward) |
2,448 |
| Carry-forward
from 2002/03 |
265 |
| Main budget
for 2003/04 – TOTAL |
2,713 |
| Total RBSG
for 2003/04 |
1,383 |
| TOTAL AVAILABLE
2003/04 |
4,096 |
Existing
expenditure commitments are as follows:
| |
|
£000’s |
Variance |
| (1a) |
Forecast
out-turn 2003/04 if services withdrawn when Contracts end |
4,048 |
-1% |
| (1b) |
Forecast
out-turn 2003/4 if all contracts replaced at prevailing rate of
price change |
4,119 |
+1% |
| (2) |
Current
annual rate of expenditure |
4,416 |
+15% |
Recent
withdrawals of commercial bus services have resulted in a steep rise
in expenditure over the summer. Although the budget for the current
year is not yet technically overcommitted, this is only because some
of the contracts under review at this meeting cease before the end of
the current financial year. Assuming the current year’s budget is unchanged,
Officers will have to recommend savings on these contracts to remain
within budget. Members may also wish to note that the rate of expenditure
is now well above base budget level. If the budget is not increased
substantially next year major service cuts will be necessary even if
there are no tender price increases, and no commercial withdrawals,
next year.
Section
A – Review of Subsidised Bus Services
Contract
PT/S11 Thame – Chinnor
- This heading covers
the "blanket" contribution made by Oxfordshire County Council to Buckinghamshire
County Council for this contract, for services in the Thame – Chinnor
corridor that actually start and finish in Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury
and High Wycombe). The service between the two towns, prior to 2003,
was hourly, extended to High Wycombe via either Princes Risborough or
Bledlow. Buckinghamshire County Council then reduced this complete service
to two hourly, severing the link between Chinnor and Princes Risborough,
"imposing" a new hourly service 261 running direct between Thame and
Chinnor (omitting the intermediate Oxfordshire villages) and withdrawing
the peak bus in to Thame from Chinnor. The peak bus was reinstated at
that time by OCC at extra cost and in July this year the Thame – Chinnor
– Princes Risborough – High Wycombe service was also reinstated, paid
for by OCC only.
- Members had been
concerned at the increased costs of these Contracts and had requested
officers report further at this time. Buckinghamshire have however,
indicated that they are planning service changes in July 2004. In view
of the short time until then it is felt that, in order to maintain service
stability, no changes are made in the interim but it be set out clearly
to Buckinghamshire County Council that Oxfordshire County Council expects
to pay only subsidy sufficient for an hourly service between Thame and
Chinnor serving Towersey Village and that we do not wish to continue
to subsidise Service 261 in its present form. The results will be reported
to Committee in the normal manner.
Contract
PT/W150 Chipping Norton – Charlbury – Witney
- This contract
expires on 10tJanuary 2004 at the end of its maximum length
allowed by law (five years). It provides the bulk of the journeys that
form the hourly service 69 between Witney and Chipping Norton, some
of which are provided commercially by Worths Coaches, and is being tendered
unchanged to continue for another nine months until the review of bus
services in the Chipping Norton and Charlbury area due later in 2004.
Section
B - Commercial Withdrawal of Bus Services
Contract
PT/O7 Greater Leys
- A short term contract
until February 2004 was awarded to Thames Travel in September 2003 to
maintain a bus service through the eastern section of Greater Leys in
Oxford. This followed the receipt of a notice from the Oxford Bus Company
that they intended to withdraw their commercial Services 5A/5B from
this section of the estate. Thames Travel chose to extend their Oxford
City Centre – Littlemore – Sandford – Science Park service along Grenoble
Road to Greater Leys and then on to Cowley Centre. This had the bonus
of giving a through service to the City centre for Greater Leys residents,
which had also been withdrawn, and a link from Sandford to Cowley centre
which had been requested. Tenders have been invited for various options
which will run until 2006 when the next review of Oxford area services
are due for Review. The South East Area Committee of Oxford City Council
have stated that they "wish to see the continued provision of a service,
including a Saturday service, in the eastern part of Greater Leys".
Contract
PT/O17 Park & Ride Services 300 & 400
- A short term contract
until February 2004 was awarded to the Oxford Bus Company in September
2003 to continue the existing Monday to Saturday evening journeys (after
2000) on Park & Ride services 300 and 400. This followed the receipt
of a notice from the bus company that they intended to withdraw these
journeys. Tenders have been invited for various options to operate for
one year only. Oxford City Council have expressed the view that they
"would prefer that the 300 and 400 services should continue as long
as possible into the evening". They also stated that the number of vehicles
in their sites "after 2100 is very low indeed" and that they would "accept
a decision to curtail evening services at an agreed time and suggest
that local services that pass the sites be diverted in to the sites".
Risinghurst Parish Council ask "that the present level of service to
Thornhill be maintained". (The Park & Ride also provides the evening
service to Risinghurst)
Contract
PT/O18 Park & Ride Service 500
- A short term Contract
until February 2004 was awarded to the Oxford Bus Company in September
2003 to maintain a fifteen minute frequency on Park & Ride service
500 to/from the Water Eaton car park, which opened last year. This followed
the receipt of a notice from the bus company that they intended to reduce
the frequency to every twenty minutes. Tenders have been invited for
various options to operate for one year only whilst other factors, such
as introduction of the new North Oxford and Summertown Residents Parking
Zones, are pursued. It is hoped that, due to measures such as this,
this new Park & Ride service will soon attract enough passengers
for a subsidy to be unnecessary. Use of the new Park & Ride service
has been closely monitored, enabling us to judge fairly accurately the
passenger journeys being made. No responses to consultation letters
have been received.
Section
C – Changes in Arrangements for Subsidised Services
Contract
PT/W107 The Woodstock Wanderer
- This group of
services, operated by one bus, was introduced in October 2002 on an
experimental basis until October 2005. The network, based on Woodstock,
has been successful in catering for the needs of the communities it
serves but there are changes that can usefully be made to fine-tune
the services.
- Local consultation
has taken place and some marginal changes planned including an extra
journey to the village of Tackley (who have benefited most from the
Woodstock Wanderer) and the withdrawal of two journeys to Bladon and
Kidlington on which no passengers have been recorded. The last three
journeys on Saturdays will also be withdrawn due to lack of usage (no
passengers recorded). There is no change to the contract price.
- The following
two contracts were surrendered early by their current contractor and
are being retendered unchanged to run to the normal termination date
due to the short notice of withdrawal. No changes to the timetables
are proposed and no consultation has taken place.
Contract
PT/C8 Chipping Norton – Banbury
- Contract operates
one early journey from Chipping Norton to Banbury on Monday to Friday
in addition to the normal daytime service operated under contract to
Stagecoach.
Contracts
PT/C 16 & 18 Banbury Town services
- These two contracts
operate two interworked services on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Banbury
Town Centre to Hardwick and Bodicote.
Proposed
changes to the arrangements in the provision of subsidised services
on some Bank/Public Holidays
- Under the current
contractual arrangements weekday subsidised bus services do not operate
on any Bank/Public Holidays and Sunday contracted services have operated
additionally on the standard five Bank Holidays (Good Friday, Easter
Monday, May Day, late May and late summer). No services are scheduled
to operate on subsidised services on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New
Years Day.
- However, in recent
years, and indeed during the forthcoming Christmas/New Year period,
in the greater Oxford area (and in Banbury on Good Friday) the two main
bus providers have changed the previous pattern of operation. On Good
Friday a level of service much enhanced from a Sunday service has been
run commercially and where we have traditionally had no buses at all
on Boxing Day and New Years Day a basic service now operates during
the daytime only (and later on New Years Day).
- It is a source
of potential confusion to, and criticism from, passengers that now operators
are offering most parts of Oxford a commercial service on Boxing Day,
New Years Day, and an enhanced service on Good Friday, those areas served
by our contracted services should continue to have no service at all.
It is therefore proposed that, for areas that have a contracted Sunday
service, provision should be made for Contracts to run on Boxing Day,
New Years Day and Good Friday and any other Public Holiday where a commercial
service might be provided in the future. The level of service operated
to be commensurate with the level of service run commercially. The subsidised
services currently affected are the 16 to Minchery Farm, the 6 to Wolvercote
and the circular 10C/10D to the John Radclliffe Hospital. This is subject
to the operator agreeing to run at a reasonable price (drivers pay on
these days will probably attract a premium rate) and officers being
allowed to use discretion on a cost basis. The current combined cost
of these contracts per day is £590.
- It is suggested
that the service specifications sent out with the tender documentation
for Sundays and Public Holidays be marked to show a requirement to operate
on all Public Holidays in areas where there is a comparable level of
commercial services.
RECOMMENDATIONS
21. The
Committee is RECOMMENDED to:
- make
its decisions on subsidy for services described in this report
in sections B and C, on the basis of the tender prices contained
in exempt Annex 3 to be reported subsequently;
- authorise
the operation of a level of service on subsidised services on
all Public Holidays in line with the level of service operated
on commercial services in the relevant area, subject to operators
being willing to operate at an acceptable price and to ask officers
to amend the specifications of future tendered services accordingly;
- continue
operation of Contract PT/S11 until its scheduled termination
date of July 2004 and ask officers to advise Buckinghamshire
County Council that Oxfordshire County Council will not continue
to subsidise Service 261 in its present form as Oxfordshire
County Council only require an hourly service between Thame
and Chinnor via Towersey Village and to report the details of
a replacement contract to a future meeting in the normal manner;
- agree
the changes to the "Woodstock Wanderer" timetables as described
in this report.
RICHARD
DIX
Assistant Director
(Highway Management)
Background papers: Correspondence with local and other Councils, public
transport representatives, and transport operators
Contact
Officer: Allan Field Tel: Oxford 815826
November
2003
Return to TOP
|