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Division(s): Faringdon, Bampton

ITEM TIC9

TRANSPORT IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE -
6 MAY 2004

FARINGDON COMMUNITY BUS

Report by Head of Transport

Introduction

  1. This report considers a request for future funding of the Faringdon Community Bus and evaluates the role which it plays in the public transport provision for the Faringdon area and recommends that grant-aid be provided to enable the current bus services to continue.

    2. Background

  2. The Faringdon Community Bus Group was set up in 2001 to fulfil a perceived transport need within the town. It aimed to serve the residents of Faringdon and various local villages with its own bus.

  3. With the aid of initial one-year major funding from SEEDA, the Group was able to acquire a minibus and the community bus service was launched in November 2001. At the end of the first year of operation, the service was continued as a Rural Transport Partnership (RTP) Project, and the County Council has contributed financially to this. Funding from this RTP project comes to an end on 30 September 2004.

  4. The Group formed itself into a company limited by guarantee (Faringdon Community Bus Ltd) (FCB) in November 2003.

  5. The Committee may recall that in the report to its meeting on 31 July 2003 concerning the review of bus subsidies in the Faringdon and Wantage areas, the former Assistant Director (Transport Development) advised the Committee that RTP funding for the FCB would come to an end in 2004 and it would be likely that the Committee would receive a direct application for funding in order that the current public transport services which the project provides could continue.

    6. Current situation

  6. FCB has now formally requested Oxfordshire County Council to support it financially in order that it can continue to run public transport services within the town and surrounding area. A copy of the letter of application is appended at Annex 1 (download as .doc file). Copies of other supporting documentation, including the last annual report and financial statement, are being deposited in the Members' Resource Centre.

  7. In its 2½ years of operation, FCB has grown to be a model of a community transport group, having an enthusiastic committee and a willing team of volunteer drivers. Indeed, this and the nearby Stanford-in-the-Vale Community Transport Association now make up a vital part of the public transport system for the western side of the Vale of the White Horse District Council area. In exactly the same way as the Stanford bus, the FCB operates advertised timetabled services under a section 22 licence, using volunteer drivers.

  8. The service operates regularly in Faringdon itself (all parts of the town being served) on Mondays to Fridays between 09.00 and 13.00, and in the surrounding area on either Tuesday or Friday to Great Coxwell, Coleshill, Buscot, Lechlade, Eaton Hastings, Radcot, Thrupp and Clanfield. These villages either have no conventional bus service at all or would otherwise have no public transport links with Faringdon. FCB is careful not to serve any village which already has a public transport link to Faringdon.

  9. FCB also offers occasional afternoon shopping or recreational trips to places away from Faringdon. For the purposes of assessing this application, passengers on these trips have been discounted. The vehicle is also hired out to local groups.

  10. FCB has shown itself willing to adapt to the requirements of its passengers, especially those needing transport to the local Health Centre. Some time ago it also received a petition with a large number of signatures calling for a service between Faringdon and Clanfield. With the help of my officers, the association devised a timetable which provided connecting links at Clanfield with Stagecoach service no 19 to both Witney and Carterton. Sadly however, despite this petition, once this service was introduced, it has carried no passengers whatsoever to and from Clanfield, and will therefore be discontinued. Other ventures, as highlighted in the FCB letter, have however proved more successful, and the association is anticipating a further growth in its passenger figures in the next year.

  11. One major problem which the association has faced is that of its vehicle. For the launch of the project it acquired a brand-new wheelchair-accessible minibus through a leasing agreement. The bus has had a number of operating problems and the leasing company has occasionally called in the vehicle at very short notice. Because of a lack of a back-up vehicle, these events have caused the association severe problems and have led to several periods when the service has been unable to operate. Quite understandably this has led to a drop in patronage following these operational failures, since some passengers have been unwilling to continue to depend on this service. For these reasons the association is keen to make an outright purchase of its own vehicle, one which is not so prone to such faults. On the advice of my officers as well as the Rural Community Transport Advisor and RTP Officer who also keep a watching brief on the progress of the FCB and advise accordingly, the association is considering how it might obtain a back-up vehicle in emergencies.

  12. Consultation has been carried out with the appropriate Parish Councils and Parish Transport Representatives, Faringdon Town Council, Vale of the White Horse District Council and relevant County Councillors. Full support for the continuation of the service has come from Faringdon Town Council, whose Clerk has stated that the Community Bus has become a vital part of the Faringdon community.

    13. Financial Implications

  13. Apart from County Council finance, the FCB receives local authority grant-aid both from the Vale of the White Horse District Council and Faringdon Town Council which has now become a strong supporter of the association. It also receives help in kind, including the free garaging of the bus.

  14. Based on achieved 2003 passenger levels on timetabled services only (ie excluding passengers on trips and hirings), the FCB request for a grant of £6,000 would equate to a cost per passenger journey (cpj) of £1.95, which I consider to be a reasonable figure for a community transport scheme in its early years of operation. If the association achieves its forecast growth in the current year, then the cpj should reduce accordingly.

  15. Future County Council funding for FCB will play a significant part in enabling its bus services to continue and develop. Failure to provide this would almost certainly lead to demands for the County Council to provide alternative services for the local communities in Faringdon and the surrounding villages not currently served by conventional bus services, which would in all likelihood require significantly higher levels of funding. For that reason I recommend that the Committee agrees a grant of £6,000 per annum, as requested. If in the future the FCB decides to operate at additional times (especially during afternoons (as is suggested in the FCB application or at weekends) and requires additional financial assistance to enable it to do so, I will report the situation to the Committee at the appropriate time.

  16. Services operated by the Stanford-in-the-Vale Community Minibus are reviewed at the same time as the general review of bus services in the Faringdon and Wantage area. It would seem logical that the FCB services are reviewed in the same way and that the award of grant should therefore continue until the termination date for contracts in the Faringdon and Wantage area (currently planned to be 24 November 2007).

  17. Any financial support for the FCB services will in future be a charge on the Public Transport revenue budget. However the County Council has been funding FCB via its RTP delegated funding, (the current annual grant is £4,736), and this payment to FCB will cease after 30 September 2004.

  18. Any revenue grant to facilitate FCB to operate its public passenger transport services would be made by this County Council under section 106 of the Transport Act (1985).

    19. Implications for People Living in Poverty

  19. Community Transport services are more likely to be used by elderly residents of the County, many of whom have no other means of transport. 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.

    20. RECOMMENDATIONS

  20. The Committee is RECOMMENDED:

          1. to pay Faringdon Community Bus Ltd (FCB) up to £6,000 per annum but with continuing annual adjustments for inflation to secure the continuation of the public transport services operated by FCB for the period from 1 October 2004 until the next termination date for current bus service contracts in the Faringdon and Wantage areas (currently planned for 24 November 2007); and

          2. that consideration of grant-aid towards the operation of these services after November 2007 should be undertaken in conjunction with future area reviews of bus services in the Faringdon and Wantage areas.

DAVID McKIBBIN
Head of Transport

Background papers: Correspondence with service provider and user representatives (refer to contact officer)

Contact Officer: Alan Pope Tel: Oxford 815585

April 2004

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