Issue - meetings

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/209

Contact: John Wood, Assistant Public Transport Officer Tel: (01865) 815802

11.55 am

Report by Deputy Director for Environment & Economy – Highways & Transport (CMDT10E).

The information in this report is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The Cabinet Member for Transport considered:

·                    a review of subsidised bus services in the Henley, Wallingford and Didcot areas, which, if awarded, will be effective from Sunday 3 June 2012;

·                    other bus subsidy contracts elsewhere in the County.

Comments made earlier in the meeting by Mr McMillan and Mr Cooper (see 11/12 above) were considered during discussion on the relevant service item.

Councillor David Turner commented on Items:

·                    C (Cholsey-Wallingford-Oxford) support.

·                    E (Wallingford-Berinsfield) request from Marsh Baldon Parish Council for the 116 service to run into Marsh Baldon itself.

Mr Wood confirmed that the main concern had been the running time.  The service was currently hourly but a diversion would add significantly to that and break the schedule, which currently worked with the 106 achieving a regular Sandford service. Any detour to Marsh Baldon would remove that. He undertook to write to Marsh Baldon Parish Council to explain the situation.

·                    H (Wallingford market services) Chalgrove - Wallingford was a popular service which he felt could be commercial. 

Mr Wood advised that this was only one element of a package some of which was viable but others were not.

With regard to Item G (Wallingford – Watlington) Mr Wood advised that Service 125 would be looking to increase service from 3 to 4 days a week.

With regard to Item L (Wallingford –Goring) Mr Wood confirmed the service served both but as a circular route.  The current bid by GoRide for an hourly service with a minibus was a worthy one and he felt that South Stoke Parish Council (see comments from Mr McMillan) would support this proposal.

With regard to Item N (Wallingford-Henley) Mr Wood advised that usage of this route was not heavy but this element was important in keeping the network operational with a significant saving.

With regard to Item P (Reading-Pangbourne-Checkendon) Mr Wood advised that as the proposed closure of the tollbridge in Whitchurch had been delayed for a year it was now proposed to continue the current service for a year and hold further discussions with the operator.

Having regard to the arguments and options set out in the documentation before him, the representations made to him and the further considerations set out above the Cabinet Member for Transport confirmed his decision as follows:

(a)               to agree subsidy for the services described in the report CMDT10E on the basis of the tender prices (and the periods of time) as set out in Supplementary Exempt Annex 2 to that report;

(b)               to record that in his opinion the decisions made in (a) above were urgent in that any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would result in service discontinuity and in accordance with the requirements of Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17(b) those decisions should not be subject to the call in process;

(c)               to thank operators for the commercial declarations made during the course of the review in respect of various contracts; 

(d)       to agree subsidy for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18