Agenda item

Report by Corporate Director of Environment & Place (PSC5)

At its last Meeting, the Committee requested to consider this report prior to its consideration by Cabinet at its meeting on 19 October 2021.

The Cabinet at its Meeting on the 19 October will:

·                Endorse the Bus Service Improvement Plan, including the bidding list of schemes and other interventions proposed for inclusion in the document, to be submitted to Government by the end of October2021, subject to further refinement before submission.

·                Support the increased priority and investment to promote buses and the need for much closer joint working required in the forthcoming Enhanced Partnership, recognising the requirements for increased Council staffing and budget to support this area.

·                Delegate authority to the Corporate Director to make any necessary changes to the BSIP in consultation with the Cabinet member, prior to submission at the end of October.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider the Cabinet report  attached with its associated Annexes.

At its last Meeting, the Committee had requested to consider the National Bus Strategy – Bus Service Improvement Plan report prior to its consideration by Cabinet at its meeting on 19 October 2021.

The Cabinet at its Meeting on the 19 October would:

·                Endorse the Bus Service Improvement Plan, including the bidding list of schemes and other interventions proposed for inclusion in the document, to be submitted to Government by the end of October 2021, subject to further refinement before submission.

·                Support the increased priority and investment to promote buses and the need for much closer joint working required in the forthcoming Enhanced Partnership, recognising the requirements for increased Council staffing and budget to support this area.

·                Delegate authority to the Corporate Director to make any necessary changes to the BSIP in consultation with the Cabinet member, prior to submission at the end of October.

John Disley, explained that the report provided an update on the Bus Service Improvement Plan which was being prepared for submission to Cabinet at the end of October.  This was the Council’s response to the requirements set out in the National Bus Strategy, with the aim of significantly enhancing the Oxfordshire bus offer, and addressing the main issues affecting passenger transport by bus in Oxfordshire, which would contribute significantly to Administration priorities for transport, carbon reduction and social inclusion.   The report also identified an indicative bid profile for the funding element of the BSIP document to be presented in late October, which illustrated the proposed capital funded projects (up to nine schemes directly aimed at supporting bus travel, along with other measures) alongside revenue funded elements (including up to six new rural bus services) of the Bid to Government. Annex 1 to the report, which was still being worked on set out progress to date on the various elements of the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

In general, there was a need to get buses moving much more quickly.  There was a significant emphasis on capital to improve services and they were currently looking at how they could bring services into rural areas and how there could be an effective commercial network.

Following discussion, the Committee agreed to forward the following points to Cabinet for consideration:

·                The Committee felt that more detail needed to be added around Bus Transport outside of the City, including Transport Hubs and how people would get to the Transport Hubs and consideration should been given to single ticketing by operators.

·                The Committee indicated that they would like the issue of Youth Fares considered, including the issue a loan system to enable parents to afford passes.

·                The Committee queried why there had not been enough of a review of the available evidence of what leads to a reduction of congestion – including, reducing the capacity of car parking and road space, road pricing and parking pricing and asked the Cabinet to consider asking officer to carry out a literature review of what reduces car use.

·               The Committee felt that lessons could be learnt for future decision making around the recent decision not to implement traffic filters and the time lost due to it.

·                The Committee queried whether the Digital and ICT Capacity of the Council capable adequate for the 21^st Century particularly in relation to getting people on Buses and Public Transport.