Councillor Coker (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport) introduced the item and highlighted:

a)    The update followed the publication of the Council’s Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) 3 in Summer 2024 and precedes the updates of the associated enhanced partnership plan;

b)    The plan was underpinned by nine passengers priorities, identified through engagement with current and non-bus users, and ranked in order of priority from the results of the 2023 passenger priority survey;

c)    It aligned with the ambitions of the national Bus Strategy to boost bus patronage;

d)    The BSIP set out what the Plymouth Enhanced Bus Partnership would deliver to make buses easier and more convenient to use;

e)    Responding to Department for Transport (DfT) guidelines issued in January 2024, the BSIP 3 needed to be a delivery plan, rather than a bidding document;

f)     Statistics showed an improvement in service from the BSIP work;

                      i.        Passenger satisfaction with bus journey times had increased by 7% compared to the same time in 2023 and was at 70%;

                     ii.        Bus mileage operated had increased;

                    iii.        Punctuality of buses had improved;

                    iv.        Some areas of bus services had returned to pre-COVID19 pandemic levels, though other areas were still struggling;

g)    Government had announced the day before the meeting that the £3 bus fare cap, which he welcomed because the previous Government had said the previous £2 bus fare cap would end on 31 December 2024;

h)    In comparison to competitors of a similar size, Plymouth was doing well in protecting networks;

i)     BSIP funding had been used to enhance some routes in the city and it was partially funding commercial routes to ensure they continued;

j)     £1.6 million pounds had been received in the previous 2 years following a nurtured relationship with the DfT bus team;

k)    Plymouth’s BSIP was going to be used by the DfT as a national exemplar for other authorities;

l)     The last 12 months proved that by working together with stakeholders, Government and the local public, a positive difference had been made to Plymouth’s bus network.

Rosemary Starr (Sustainable Transport Manager) added:

m)  The need for a BSIP and a formal partnership for delivery was driven by the 2021 National Bus Strategy;

n)    The plan covered a time period of 2020-2034 in order to align with the Plymouth Plan because the BSIP was a delivery plan of the Plymouth Plan;

o)    The DfT wanted the emphasis of BSIP 3 to be what would be delivered by the end of 2023/24, what was programmed for delivery by the end of the financial year 2024/25, as well as the ambitions for future delivery in 2025 and beyond;

p)    In the past 12 months the team had been able to deliver measures against all nine of the passenger priorities through partnership working with partners, specialists and delivery groups;

q)    There were three delivery groups each looking at different areas:

                      i.        Bus passenger chart and bus user group;

                     ii.        Passenger information and publicity;

                    iii.        Zero emission buses;

r)    Plymouth would be sharing best practice on the first two at the National Bus Forum in November 2024;

s)     BSIP 3 was based on feedback and the team wanted to stay in touch with passenger needs to ensure it was delivery the best for the people of Plymouth and the current measures were in place:

                      i.        Chatterbus events;

                     ii.        Bus User Panel;

                    iii.        Enhanced Partnership Forum;

                    iv.        Passenger Priority Survey;

                     v.        Complaints and Compliments;

                    vi.        National Highways and Transportation Survey;

                  vii.        Bus Champion;

                 viii.        And an intention for Ward Member Engagement.

In response to questions, with support from Paul Barnard (Service Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure), the following was discussed:

t)     When the crematorium (The Park) had been granted planning permission there was no identified need for a bus service;

                      i.        In the past there was a bus service between Plympton and Plymstock that was not sustainable for operators;

                     ii.        The team and Councillor Coker were always looking at ways that a bus service to The Park could be integrated into the current system and it was on a work list for future developments;

u)    More details would be announced on the £3 bus fare cap and Councillor Coker was interested to hear from stakeholders on that announcement;

v)    Plans for Ward Member Engagement needed to be finalised;

w)   A bid for electric busses had been submitted for by Plymouth City Council with the Go Ahead Company. It was funded by Government, with the funds just held by Plymouth City Council;

                      i.        The remainder of the money came from Cornwall Council and the community infrastructure levy, therefore there was no direct Council funding in the project;

                     ii.        The report on electric buses from the Competition and Markets Authority was being considered before moving forward;

x)    The sub-regional transport board, Peninsula Transport, were working nationally with a supplier to explore a cross-ticketing system for the whole region with the full cooperation of bus suppliers;

                      i.        There was a recognition to find a system for people who couldn’t access tickets digitally;

y)    Plymotion was nationally recognised by Lilian Greenwood, when she was Chair of the Governments Transport Select Committee;

z)    Personalised travel needed to be adapted with a 5 year strategy in development;

aa)  There were no current plans to reintroduce night buses as they weren’t well utilised;

bb)There had been a reduction of 20% in over 75’s travelling on public transport, this had been attributed to messaging during the COVID19 pandemic about possibly catching the illness when in confined public space;

cc)  Patronage trends were being monitored by the team alongside population forecasts to predict future needs of the bus service;

dd)Tendered services were in place for non-commercial routes, some of which were due to end in March 2025, and the team would be analysing the cost of the service, cost per passenger, demographics of the area and investigating which subsidies the Government would make available;

ee)The team always worked with operators to get the best possible value for tendered services;

ff)    Councillor Coker expected Councillors to lobby him for the services that were important in their areas;

gg)  The aspiration was to build on the ambition put forward for projects to help achieve net zero;

hh)A considerable amount of work had been put into the relationship between Plymouth City Council and DfT;

ii)    Councillor Coker paid tribute to Councillor Kevin Sproston for all the work he had done to support the team as his role as Bus Champion.

The Panel agreed to:

1.    Note the changes to the 2024 Plymouth Bus Service Improvement Plan and endorse the subsequent requirement to refresh the Plymouth Enhanced Partnership Plan;

2.    Endorse the proposed stakeholder engagement which would inform future Bus Service Improvement Plans.