Agenda and minutes

Park and Ride Bus Service Review, Working Plymouth - Monday 18 November 2013 3.00 pm

Venue: Council House, Plymouth (Next to the Civic Centre)

Contact: Helen Rickman  Email: helen.rickman@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

49.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest in accordance with the code of conduct.

50.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 64 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 October 2013.

Minutes:

Agreed that the minutes of 28 October 2013 were approved as a correct record.

51.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

There were no items of Chair’s Urgent Business.

52.

PARK AND RIDE BUS SERVICE - FURTHER ANALYSIS OF RESULTS. pdf icon PDF 33 KB

The panel will be provided with a further analysis of some of the results from the Park and Ride Bus Service survey as requested at the last meeting under minute 35 (1).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The panel noted the further analysis of results from the Park and Ride Bus Service survey. It was noted that the comments received as part of the survey had been condensed down due to repetition and that the percentages of users of the Park and Ride Service from outside of Plymouth had been further split to highlight users from Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

53.

COMPARATIVE DATA FOR PARK AND RIDE BUS SERVICES AND CONCESSIONARY TRAVEL PASSES pdf icon PDF 79 KB

The panel will be provided comparative data for other Park and Ride Bus Services as well as information on Concessionary Travel Passes.

Minutes:

The panel considered the comparative data for the Park and Ride Bus Services and concessionary travel passes.

 

Members were informed that –

 

(a)

the report contained more information, as requested at a previous meeting, regarding the Concessionary Travel passes, an examination of what other Local Authorities had done since the eligible services amendment had been introduced and the possibility of removing the acceptance of concessionary passes on Park and Ride Bus Services in Plymouth;

 

(b)

both Norwich and Chester had amended entitlement, since the introduction of the Travel Concessions Amendment in 2009, to no longer accept concessionary bus passes;

 

(c)

officers had been in contact with the Department for Transport to discuss the amenity element in relation to the Park and Ride Bus Service;

 

(d)

in 2011 Norfolk received approval to have concessionary bus passes removed from their Park and Ride Service. There was a charge of £1 for concessionary pass holders to use the service;

 

(e)

in Chester it was similarly agreed that the concessionary bus passes would no longer be accepted on the Park and Ride; specific data was not supplied as to the percentages of complaints however it was confirmed that it was seen as a positive financial change;

 

(f)

officers were still awaiting legal advice however in principle, subject to legal approval, it was considered that Plymouth’s Park and Ride would fall under the eligible services amendment; negotiations would need to take place with the operators if reduced fares were to be considered as this was a commercial service;

 

(g)

Cambridge introduced a charge on top of the bus fare ticket for parking however parking was at a greater premium.

 

In response to questions raised it was reported that –

 

(h)

toilets were not defined as an amenity however it was considered that there was no reason why this was not the case;

 

(i)

Cambridge accepted concessionary bus passes on the Park and Ride Bus Service and there were proposals to charge for car parking from January 2014; it was not known if Stagecoach would withdraw their service having strongly objected to this proposed decision;

 

(j)

Oxford accepted concessionary passes on their Park and Ride Bus Service after 9.30am;

 

(k)

officers were unaware of the specific Park and Ride Fares for each of the sites however would provide this information to Members.

Agreed that a table of charges for Plymouth’s Park and Ride Bus Service would be provided to Members; this would include concessionary fare prices.

54.

WITNESSES

The panel will have the opportunity to discuss the Park and Ride Bus Service with representatives from First Group PLC, Target Travel, the Life Centre, Derriford Hospital, TravelWatch SouthWest, and the Council’s Head of Integrated Transport.

 

Representatives have been invited to attend for the following times however these are only approximate:

 

3.45

 

Life Centre

4.00

 

Derriford Hospital

4.15

 

TravelWatch SouthWest

4.30

 

Target Travel

4.45

 

First Group PLC

 

 

Minutes:

The Chair advised the panel that several witnesses, from the Life Centre, Derriford Hospital, TravelWatch South West, Target Travel and First Group PLC, were in attendance at the meeting to answer Members’ questions and provide feedback on Plymouth’s Park and Ride Service.

 

All witnesses were informed that the Park and Ride Bus Service had been operating in Plymouth for 20 years and had never been reviewed therefore panel members wanted to scrutinise the service to ensure it was fit for purpose.

 

Julian Egan, Life Centre Manager, informed Members that –

 

(a)

he had seen a few people parking at the Life Centre and then walking away to catch a bus however this was not considered to be a big problem at the present time;

 

(b)

it was considered that Life Centre customers were using the Milehouse Park and Ride car park in the evening as an overspill area due to the popularity of the Life Centre;

 

(c)

Life Centre customers were also considered to be parking in the Park and Ride car park, catching the bus to go to work and then attending the Life Centre after work whilst keeping their car in the Park and Ride car park;

 

In response to questions raised Julian informed Members that –

 

(d)

the Life Centre car park catered for Life Centre customers, dog walkers, users of Central Park recreation field and the bowls club;

 

(e)

customers had not approached Life Centre staff to inform them that there was a problem with parking however difficulties were experienced when Plymouth Argyle were playing at home as there was displacement of supporters;

 

(f)

he considered it to be difficult to charge for parking at the Life Centre as it was not only Life Centre customers that used the car park; he had been informed by the Council that the car park was for all park users;

 

(g)

the new development at Home Park would have a charging car park therefore it was considered that this would cause customers to the site to use nearby free parking spaces available;

 

(h)

a joined up approach to parking by the Council, Life Centre and the Home Park developers was required;

 

(i)

he considered that charging to park was the only way forward to curb potential problems with parking in the future however this could affect customers at the Life Centre who attend events for several days;

 

(j)

approximately 120,000 customers used the Life Centre on a monthly basis; it would not be feasible to go to the reception desk to reimburse Life Centre customers for their parking ticket as this would cause delays;

 

(k)

Life Centre management were in talks with the Home Park developers to discuss the potential issues with parking once the development was completed.

 

Ray Bentley, Director for TravelWatch South West, informed Members that –

 

(l)

Plymouth’s Park and Ride Bus Service was appreciated and valued by its passengers and was an integral part of the city’s transport strategy;

 

(m)

he considered it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

55.

EXEMPT BUSINESS

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it (they) involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Minutes:

There were no items of exempt business.