Transport and Infrastructure Scrutiny Committee - Friday 29 September 2023, 10:00am - West Yorkshire Combined Authority Webcasting

Transport and Infrastructure Scrutiny Committee
Friday, 29th September 2023 at 10:00am 

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  1. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  2. Hannah Scales
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  1. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
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  1. Cllr Harry McCarthy
  2. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
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  1. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
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  1. Mr Khaled Berroum (Scrutiny Officer)
  2. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
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  1. Cllr Andrew Pinnock
  2. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  3. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  4. Cllr Dave Merrett
  5. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
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  1. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  2. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  3. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  4. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  5. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  6. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  7. Cllr Anna Watson
  8. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  9. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  10. Cllr Anna Watson
  11. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  12. Cllr Izaak Wilson
  13. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  14. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  15. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  16. Cllr Izaak Wilson
  17. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  18. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  19. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  20. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  21. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  22. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  23. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  24. Cllr Joanne Dodds
  25. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  26. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  27. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  28. Cllr Dot Foster
  29. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  30. Cllr Dot Foster
  31. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  32. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  33. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  34. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  35. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  36. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  37. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  38. Cllr Kayleigh Brooks (Leeds City Council)
  39. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  40. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  41. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  42. Cllr Kayleigh Brooks (Leeds City Council)
  43. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  44. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  45. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  46. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  47. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  48. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  49. Cllr Anna Watson
  50. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  51. Cllr Anna Watson
  52. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  53. Cllr Anna Watson
  54. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  55. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  56. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  57. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  58. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  59. Cllr Dot Foster
  60. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  61. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  62. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  63. Cllr Oliver Newton
  64. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  65. Cllr Oliver Newton
  66. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  67. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  68. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  69. Cllr Oliver Newton
  70. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  71. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  72. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  73. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  74. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  75. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  76. Mr Mick Bunting, Interim Director West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  77. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  78. Cllr Dave Merrett
  79. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  80. Cllr Dave Merrett
  81. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  82. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  83. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  84. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  85. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  86. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  87. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  88. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  89. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  90. Cllr Anna Watson
  91. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  92. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  93. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  94. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  95. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  96. Simon Warburton, Executive Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  97. Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse (Chair)
  98. Webcast Finished

1 Apologies for absence

welcome everybody.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:00:13
luck and Swillington House today Friday, 29th of September.
1, welcome to our councillors, who have rejoined the Committee and to our newest members, and also to the officers joining us here today if we've got any apologies of absence.
for apologies from Councillors, can't keep Haynes and Thompson.
Hannah Scales - 0:00:43
thank you and just for the benefit of.

2 Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

the people watching today, I just like to say if you want to access to
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:00:53
our agenda pack if you go on to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority webpage webpage and look for today's date, you'll be able to find all the the notes in there and welcome OK, so declarations of pecuniary interests members and your own interests.

3 Possible exclusion of the press and public

4 Minutes of the last meeting held on 9 March 2023

no, thank you, members, and item 3 possible exclusion of press and public, I just check there's no no exclusions, thank you item for many minutes of last meeting, held on 13th of July 2023, those Members present somebody like your record, thank you, Councillor Pinnock and can have a seconder, please sorry,
I think I was in attendance at that meeting, but I'm not listed as being.
Cllr Harry McCarthy - 0:01:37
well spotted could we just make one a note of that place?
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:01:43
Councillor Dodds, thank you for seconded.

5 Chair's comments and update

Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:01:58
correct record, but with the addition of the addition of that, thank you, I was obviously a bit too split, too quick, OK, Chair's report, so I've just got a couple of things I would like to say congratulations to Hannah on her new role ahead of him at West Yorkshire Combined Authority and thank you for all of your hard work while you've been here.
and
during the summer, Councillor Pinnock and I have met with on new directors and interim directors and chair of Transport Committee, and also Mayor of West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
and the CEO Ben still, and we would just like to thank them for their time, keeping us update.

6 Scrutiny and governance arrangements

updated on everything transport related OK item 6, Scrutiny and Government's arrangements coloured.
thank you very briefly, this report outlines what will combine the
Mr Khaled Berroum - 0:02:59
four he agreed at its annual meeting with regards to scrutiny and governance, establishing this committee and the other two scrutiny committees, Corporate economy, the terms of reference, are attached appendix 1 Scrutiny standing orders was given how scrutiny works combined authorities at appendix 2 the meeting dates,
are listed in 2.3, but just with a minor error that the Mayor's question time will be the 1st of December rather than the 26th of January, as listed.
membership is listed in 2.8.
the Chair and Deputy J from the same reappointed from last year and the previous year.
seven new members.
and that's one last point about substitution members can't attend, they are allowed to have a substitute from or from the same party and Council on, and not one of the other two scrutiny committees, with the exception for members who don't have a pair and so can appoint their own members and they are listed in 2.12 paragraph.
thank you, has anyone got any questions or comments?
OK, thank you, Members.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:04:13
item number 7.

7 Transport Scrutiny Work Programme

so this is the transport and infrastructure work programme, so we discussed the the work programme at quite some length at our last meeting, I'd just like to thank everybody who contributed to that and for giving us your suggestions also afterwards as well, thank you for either e-mailing me or Callard and sending on your your thoughts and ideas.
it's really valuable to have members put their their ideas together, okay, a few other things that are important to note on page 30, I think we need to adjust the date.
I think it was saying 20th of September, instead of 29th.
and also at some point in the future
as page 31 OK, thank you at some point in the future, we will need to set up the groups.
profit one for my next trick, okay, at some point in the future, we need to set up two permanent working groups, so the Combined Authority, obviously working on mass transit and on franchising, and although we're not necessarily needing to do that now it would be useful to start having a think of which one you would prefer to be on.
I am aware from.
from yesterday's meeting it is some something that's moving fast, it's moving with pace so yeah, it would be good to have conversation about that.
the mass transit vision, as now also been endorsed by the Transport Committee and will be approved by the Combined Authority on 12th October, so once it's at business case, so at consultation stage, then we need to start looking at the details of of that.
we as Scrutiny woodcutter in January at the consultation stage, and I'm hoping that members will consider the vision of the Transport Committee papers as well as feedback from that, so if you do get a chance, you can watch the Transport Committee meetings online if you can't wash them at the time you can you can watch them online afterwards.
and see, if bring to the meeting anything, that you think that we need to have our eyes on.
and as it was one of the mayoral pledges, I'm gonna propose that housing is covered in the ambiguity, the mayor's question time in December, there was something that there was quite a few of us that really wanted to have a further discussion about that, especially when we've got so many thousands of people that are currently looking for homes so that's gonna come to the meeting in December.
there was also a question around the flexi bus trial, big scheme to address gaps in the network.
and obviously that was scrapped halfway through to the High Court due to the high costs
it was called in or originally by six members.
in July, but it was not eligible for a call-in, as a Transport Committee decision was just noting it so yeah, it was a decision that George had been made, so I would really like us to understand.
a bit more about that, and so I would just like to save as any amendment, any other members how how many of us would like to have a conversation, it really applies to sort of rural networks and in places, and there might be somewhere in the country that you know of, you know that you, you think I'll yeah, they're doing it really well there, I'm sure our officers are all looking for those places, but you know we are exercised at the end of the day so
it'd be really useful if we can have a couple of volunteers, so I'm gonna, volunteer as anybody else.
it's called and the flexi bus, so basic yeah, basically it was done as a trial over in East Leeds.
I won't go into too many of the details but as it was a trial.
so thank you, Councillor Mowat.
Jonathan Smith.
so there'll be.
so those myself, Councillor Merah.
Councillor Pinnock can just just say we want to work, because I I, I think there is a question about how how it was put together and because with hindsight and types are wonderful.
wonderful thing.
one or two.
well, if I can put it in others, what appear to be flaws in the way it was put together, then didn't help.
Cllr Andrew Pinnock - 0:09:13
and I think we need to understand why, for example, at an urban area was chosen rather than a rural one, which, as as Councillor Patel says, as is the most obvious area for such things, but I I would, I would certainly be a interested in trying to get to the bottom of it because it does appear to me that it's that it it could potentially be a very useful tool in in helping people get about yeah thank Transport, Councillor Pennycook yeah, there is definitely some some
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:09:47
issues, so is there anybody else? That's probably less
it's yes, so it was pulled at Transport Committee in June halfway through the trial, this customer type of, but obviously this is something that our officers are inheriting, you know, but we do need to look at it. I think there's one in terms of answering the bigger picture for transport. We want to know when we go from A to B, how long that's gonna take if we can dial somebody up a bit like an Airbus, I've been saying this for a long time. We need buses that we know what's going on with, and this just really for me, is part of a bigger solution. So I'd like to unpick what we've learned and I'd like to be able to put recommendation forward to 2
to find out, what can we do that will help us move forward, and that's why it was not the reasoning behind that decision OK, yeah, so we can talk about all of those things that they yeah, it gets our Poppy down, then, Councillor Watson, is that okay,
OK, OK, so that needs updating if you can update that, thank you.
OK, that's great, thank you, everybody.
yeah, so there's anyone got any other actually know about the closure, subject dates and closures with you, yeah.
as well as.
OK, thank you, Councillor Watson, anyone got any comments on the work programme, Councillor Merritt, thank you yes, just on the housing one.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:11:33
Cllr Dave Merrett - 0:11:37
these it puts three bullets in terms of what we want, what are you going to look at, can I just we also look at the force of decarbonisation.
the carbon footprint of new housing.
and and so on, and clearly, if we're doing affordable housing having low cost to heat properties is aka saying the combination of those two agendas
thank you for that.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:12:08
OK, so is everybody, OK with the work programme can have some due to prepare, I'll propose it.
thank you, you move on so R Main.
substantive item for today,

8 Bus reform and improvement

so firstly, I'd just like to thank our officers for bringing this detailed report to us, and there's been a lot of hard work gone into this and.
I'm having been at the meeting yesterday, I was quite surprised to see 1,079 pages in the report that they had to read so first yeah, we've got, we've got a, I doubt, I'm aware that you are gonna give us a summary in on some of that stuff today but most of us will have had a presentation, as I mentioned before on the bus reform and the franchising proposals from our wicker staff.
at our individual councils and we've we've had some really good feedback from those from those at council meetings as well, so now we've got the chance really to look at the we've had the chance to look at it on a local level if we, as I said before, just expand our vision and out and take in the whole of the West Yorkshire authorities, we're gonna focus on the bigger picture today and the report set out in three parts. Obviously, passenger experience s current picture with short term improvements any complex and account cut a complex outline of all the funding pots. Thank you. KPI as are on page 44, followed by the real-time passenger experience
followed by the longer term picture and an update of the bus reform of franchising so.
I just like to ask our officers if there's anything you'd like to add Simon will thank you to at sure just the brief of pick-up of the
Simon Warburton - 0:14:11
points that set out in the report so, as, as you rightly say there are, there are probably three aspects to the report the first element is around are monitoring both directly and in partnership with transport focus of
passenger experience across the system, a second element is around how we are making use of funds in what is still quite a sort of fluid time in terms of the provision of of the bus network, so that we can maintain a service for the travelling public and then the third element is around.
the forward looking work, to assess our options for quite fundamental reform of the bus market.
in West Yorkshire, so for Pickup the first element.
around our our general monitoring.
we continue to have a lower levels of overall demand across public transport compared to the situation before the pandemic, as you have rightly pointed out, Chair, a large part of that is driven by quite changed.
patterns of activity.
around.
that the the conurbation and we're actually seeing quite a shift in terms of when demand most presents itself, people are working, a more fluid, we can wake them was previously the case, we're actually seeing more activity at weekends that we previously saw, which is a great positive.
it in many in many ways.
I think so so, so that's a challenge for us in terms of how we best use our funds across the system, and the other aspect that that continues to concern us is that, whilst there are some aspects of of of movement,
in terms of satisfaction across the piece, satisfaction with the network is is still not where we would like it to be.
if we want to be able to achieve the objectives that we've sat.
both in terms of
social inclusion and extended opportunities to all of our communities in West Yorkshire, but also in the context of a genuinely sustainable economic activity.
then we need to have a bus system which is ever more attractive.
both to users and those people who currently don't use the system, so the satisfaction monitoring is really important in the context of of them from focusing our plans, which takes me on to the second area, where are our plans at present are very much enshrined in the bus service improvement plan.
and we are using the resources that are available to to us through be set upon on two fronts, really, so we're now starting to see the end of the the various forms of emergency funding that we have for bus services through the pandemic.
we have got a tail amounts of funding.
which which is called the the basic plus funding that's allowing us to stabilise the position on the network in in the near term and mix at the meeting, and can.
address specific issues for members in that regard.
and then we have the main programme of improvements that will look into deliver three basic put one, I think I'd probably highlight three in particular that they're really coming forward now the first is clearly the maths pass arrangement, which has been in place for 12 months now we have
seen, I think, probably two areas of benefit, in particular in response Thomas vows, so one is that the, as we know those PA, those families and households within our community who are often on the lowest incomes, are most reliant on our bus system.
and there is that there's strong evidence to suggest that, in a time of rising costs for those households, we are genuinely providing a social benefit in being able to offer reduced affairs, and the second element is that on our longer distance routes in particular,
we've seen quite significant uptake in demand.
because there is such a step-change in the in the reduction of of the Fair across the HMA or the customised fast, second area is around the use of funds to start to secure the roll-out of additional services, and we've recently seen.
the two new super bus routes that we set out in the report is really kind of bold statement from that regard and a continued commitment that we do see a future for our bus system.
and the third area is the deployment of a new team of PCSOs dedicated to the bus system, we who will be deployed from from next month.
the
that the the passenger satisfaction data that are referred to before does highlight ongoing concerns within the community around personal safety when travelling by public transport, and so we see the PCSOs is a really important statement in terms of our commitment to addressing those concerns.
a third area of o of the report then goes up to highlight the decisions that were taken yesterday at the time of writing the report, those decisions had been taken and so to recap, for for members.
since 2022 we have been looking at a case for the Mayor to consider her powers to introduce a bus franchising scheme in West Yorkshire these are powers.
that are offered through the 2018 Bus Services Act to mayors of it, of Mayoral Combined Authority areas.
only that process requires us to undertake a thorough assessment of the market and an assessment of what franchising would offer in addressing the challenges in the market.
that assessment was brought in private to the Combined Authority in May.
and was agreed to be taken to an independent audit, as the legislative process requires, we appointed Grant Thornton as independent auditors and their role is set out in law, was to provide advice to the Combined Authority around whether we had used at the most appropriate, relevant and up-to-date evidence available to us to prepare the assessment and that we treated that evidence in an unbiased fashion when considering the options.
and I can confirm that yesterday, the Combined Authority received a letter from Grant Thornton, confirming a clean bill of health in that regard, and on the back of that members agreed to now bring the assessment forward into public for a thorough consultation with both statutory consultees and,
the general public, we will publish all of the information when the consultation starts on the 10th of October, consultation will run until 7th January.
and it will then be assessed independently.
by an agency to be appointed now.
and will be written up so that the Mayor can take a decision in March, are based on the evidence and the assessment and the views that are gathered through the consultation, and we've set out a date in the published scheme for that decision of of the 21 of March next year I'll leave it that chapter.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:23:36
thank you, Simon, and would you like to add anything?
all I think Simon has covered it all Council, but Joe really happy to go into the basic plus in a little bit more detail if Members would
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:23:46
like that, that's the the here, obviously Simons talks about the hit the forward plan, the here and now what we're doing with basic policy that will help me to give you a really quick summary of that.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:23:57
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:24:01
su so my primary release in in, in looking at the future integrated transport vision and in looking towards a consultation, it was agreed yesterday and is to maintain passenger confidence right now and to maintain a stable and network as we possibly can, as Simon said, the emergency funding ended in June 23, that was the bus recovery grant and that was replaced by for some authorities the basic plus bus service improvement plan which is a and extra funding to the original basic allocation that West Yorkshire Combined Authority were given.
and in that respect we took the decision to y to use that money to restore and protect services to to and gain stability in the network and to maintain customer confidences as best we can, so the plan when we found out about that in May was to do a,
district wide engagement plan sorry, a region-wide engagement panel on a district district by district basis, engaging with political leaders in district leads and Trump on the transport network to see where the gaps were through the withdrawal and removal and reduction of services through the pandemic, and see how we could get the best bang for the buck out of that money that we've got in in the basic cluster engagements now being done and we've got a short list of services that we feel them are ready to be deployed but the feedback that we got from all districts was that the main priority that we should use the basic plus far is to protect services and to stop any further losses.
so on in that respect, we are currently running 56 contracts that would have been stopped between July and now on the bit on the back of the basic plus 1 8 and the on on the back of the engagement that we had with our with our partners across the region that's a really positive start him and with we've continued to engage with partners and and into to,
look at the shortlist of off routes and to look at the
the future plan for operates in terms of their change dates and what we think might happen as marginal service has become non viable in light of their reduced emergency funding and how to best use the basic plus money to prevent any further losses so that work is ongoing but a tangible output at the moment is 56 contracts have been saved and protecting vital services for the passengers to keep people in West Yorkshire connected and we're doing everything we can with that monitored to maintain that stability in that passenger confidence.
that's really good news, thank you.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:26:39
open the floor to Members,
Councillor Mowat,
Cllr Anna Watson - 0:26:46
Nick just on that very last point, sorry, it's a race. I've put in for clarification point if that's alright Amanda task, so you say that I mean I think that's brilliant, that's a really positive story. I didn't know that, so I think it would be brilliant if there could be a bit more of a communication about that, because I think you know, I think the narrative about Busters is that they're being run into the ground, and so that sounds, I would. I think that'd be great and we can share that as councillors as well. When you say that you've protected 56 services, is that, can you just expand? It is at a route that you protected or an entire likened like it's a 6 6 2 from
x 2 and you've protected the entire thing, or is it just I don't know, do you not mean, is it just like a rout at a certain time of day, or is it the entire the entire bus? Its service is a rumbled question Council. It's one that I said to my team who asked that and half, so what
that we are good here.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:27:45
so so the answer I can give you as a such 56 contracts.
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:27:49
30 of those, 56 in in predominantly in the Leeds area, are full services, those services would have been withdrawn and and they are full services, the other 26 hour contracts up late, so they are or an uplift on contracts so those services would have been stopped but would protected them by increase in the value of those contracts in the short term just to maintain that stability so.
the the correct answer is 56 contracts, not necessarily 56 services, but the 30 services that we did in June were were beginning middle and end of of services, so I can get a breakdown of what that means, but it's a mixture of of of add-on sorts of, for example,
one might be.
if if a service runs, this is a or an example. I'm not thinking of a particular service. From 6 am to 11 pm, we might be support in the six until 8 am and the 9 until 11 pm bit of the service and the and commercials the middle bit runs perfectly well on its own so that those contracts are, so that's what I mean by contracts, but the first 30 were services. They would have gone yeah, and I can get a detailed, accurate breakdown if you need that Councillor Atha, you are, as
Cllr Anna Watson - 0:29:06
you'll know, by working with us and Councillor Scrutiny, we left the detail, I say with you, we always ask for data, though, if you are able to provide the detail that that's great yeah sorry for new venue, Councillors, if you know you, you'll find that we really love the data here this year, this is to Councillor Watson, we do we love a bit
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:29:22
Deezer, OK, Councillor Wilson, would you like to go next? Thanks for
looking at some of the stats around confidence in best value, bus
Cllr Izaak Wilson - 0:29:34
ticket.
and but also
when I was on the Transport Committee last year, I we will look at the passenger charter, I think it's called am one of the points I raised was that if you look at a bus, stop there's often very little information on that bus stop, but like how you complain,
how you provide feedback, really very little useful information on the bust of itself, aside from whether or not it's got a real-time information screen.
we were assured then, that
that like posters and things would be going up in bus stops and that information would be improved. I don't think I've seen that yet so have you got an update on on that, how we make sure we've got really good information, so because I think at the moment, if you're a bus user actually wouldn't know that you know, for example, you can complain and get something in my back or whatever it is, so we need to make sure people really know that, but also that the people have the right information about
the best Friday bus tickets, because we do have some very good value, bus pass tickets now, thanks to various changes, and just a very small second question if I can.
if, in March, the Mayor approves franchising, did you have a rough sense of what the time line is following that to get into Bus Fran get getting to being in practice, you've asked the million-dollar
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:31:06
question. Thank you, Councillor me, sorry, if I take, the first question on the passenger charter may be handed over to Simon for the
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:31:11
for for for this second part of your question Council. So it's available question, and it's something the that, in my previous role at the Combined Authority and led on in terms of the development and implementation of the passenger charter which I went through, which I think went through a Transport Committee in March this year, the really key element of that, as you say, is about the complaints procedure, the ability for passengers to with confidence, feedback, complaint or otherwise, to operate as under the Combined Authority and, as such, the instruction to to the teams was to ensure that there's information about the complex procedure on that on every R F D going forward
and that that is still being rolled out. Obviously, through the pandemic we took the 14,000 Aleph dies down to 5,000 due to the volatility in the market and that's now been rolled back out again. Some of the issues that we've got is because of the congestion and on the air the roads would have it. We get in slight or timetable tweaks from operators on a very regular basis, so all our F D programme is is is still extremely volatile, as it was sorry, sorry, asd sorry and all. If these are report and arrestee roadside displays sincere apologies so that the things that you say on s since it, and I I curse anybody that does for CSR and and I've even used the wrong acronym for which I said so that's a double up of
I I mean, why wouldn't get any confusions, not back, so let's not go there, so so the roadside displays all the things that you see at the bus stops and the bus shelters, with all the information on that passengers need, and in in the directive, out of that, Transport Committee was to roll them out, as you say, Councillor, absolutely right. The challenges that we've had since then, the the the timetables have been tweaked very re. I'm a very regular basis because services are sort of resettling down after COVID and the the punctuality and the reliability of some of the services on the basis of congestion has been challenged and therefore operated as a tweak in the timetable slightly, so this has meant a regular update on the timetables and are in, and so we've got a double problem in terms of rolling out the Post COVID 14,000 and then still got the volatility and the changes. In addition to that, we've had some challenges in the in the depot at Bradford, where we actually print the
roadside displays and that's swap things down a little bit, but you're absolutely right, this is a priority and for passengers to be able to have that consistent feedback mechanism into operators and to us it is a priority and it is still a priority, but it is taking longer than we expected it to Councillor. Thank you.
OK, yes.
just as a layman.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:33:55
Cllr Izaak Wilson - 0:33:59
I don't quite understand why that information isn't copy a separate poster to the kind of timetable information. Do you see I mean there's there's often room for passenger chatter, the odd not even does have to be passage, not just literally information about how do you complain out, you know really basic information like opposed to them. A bus shelter do show, and and and and this is, you know that the
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:34:21
people that run these services will probably be able to tell you about the Nido, but there's limited space within the within the cabinet in which you put the roadside displays, and when you put multiple documents in due to weathering and dampness, they tend to tend to swamp and fall and cover each other over, so it's difficult to put more than one document in there, but it's or is a point that that's noted, and I think if I can go take that away and go back to the teams, see if we can get something a little bit because that's that's an issue that doesn't James L Lee, the roadside displays do, and we'll see what we can do. I know there was talk of getting a queue Acott.
attached to the roadside displays and that's something that we could put on there as a permanent feature, given that the link to the passenger charter is unlikely to change, albeit it's an evolving document it will, it will stay where it is, so I'll take that back, so it is a good point and and one that I'll see if I can do something with, thank you, thank you. Thank you it. Can I can I just say that in
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:35:14
Calderdale we now have TRO I don't know whether this is because, as the Chair of the Scrutiny era, we now have timetables in our bus stops and they've got QR codes so
not all of them, can you please do Councillor Foster's road as well for his?
but yeah yeah, because I was really surprised is something that we've been talking about for a long time and, as you say, it was brought up last year, wasn't it with the Transport Committee and the the way of complain in Israeli important?
thank you, OK, Councillor McKenna, which is not another question or another arms, I'm sorry, another answer, sorry so not so, bus franchise franchise roll-out so
Simon Warburton - 0:35:55
for the consultation, we now publish a draft franchising proposal to consult on, so all of this information is is, is now going to be laid out for consultation.
within the draft scheme that will consult on, there are three rounds of as a franchising, and the three rounds are based on.
groups of or parts of the conurbation so that we work our way round the conurbation.
we can make the most efficient use of internal resources in doing so, and we make sure that we focus our efforts in a series of of locations and therefore get everything right on on the day of transition in in those places and on that model, the the first round of contracts would be let at the end of quarter 2 in 2026.
and would operate from early 27.
we'd then have a second round which will be leapt from at the end of quarter 1 2027.
and would operate from the end of 27 turn of the year and the the third.
round of contracts would be let towards the very end of 2027 and would be operational by.
the summer light summer of 2028.
it it is not a process that happens overnight and add, and that's because these are the these, are significant.
public contracts that are then involved and, as we set out in the franchising case, there are stages of market engagement that we'd want to go through first, there are also processes.
such as the management of depots, that we would want to work through or in advance, we'll settle this out very, very clearly.
in the consultation documents, and we will be brief and or all elected members further members will be aware that there had been a private briefings in.
in recent weeks, so that you're aware of the decisions that the Combined Authority will be taken.
there will be further briefings for for elected members, we're also working very, very closely at the moment with local media as well from this point onwards, because we recognise that this is actually a very complex consultation that we're about to run, and we want to make sure that the the media's while brief so that they can help the public in understanding the nature of the consultation.
thank you, yeah, it just looks like a very lengthy legal process and
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:39:11
it's important that we do take a film with us, isn't it, so I really appreciate you reaching out to local authorities and bringing us with you, I think that's a critical part of the process so yeah, thank you Councillor Pinnock next door,
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:39:30
the McNulty has already touched on this is to do with early morning buses, because I've had an issue with that and but what are?
I don't know how easy it is for the authority to do with things like this, but the issue I had concerned the bus service, it starts in Carclaze but goes apparently only a mile up to most of it, say Bradford and so technically it's well not technically it is a Bradford service but it but it affects my area as well
and I just wonder whether whether things like that are fully taken care of because they are the ones that cross boundaries in that way.
couldn't can sometimes fall through fall through the net, because it appears they are our service, that's in council area x, but in fact they have a bit that serves council area Y and I well I just want to make sure that the these these areas are not forgotten. The other point I was gonna make has been partly covered concerned me with franchising what I too thank the authority for the consultation work you've done with our council groups
it is certainly the the members of our group when we had it, we were mightily impressed with the work that that you've been doing on this and and look forward to it happening, I'm now that Simon has set out the actual timetable, the speed of decision seemed to be quite quick but in in that it was going out,
the consultation will be would be finished by March next year, but of course that's only the that's only the beginning of it.
and there was me thinking it's gonna happen later, that year I've forgotten they did actually tell us in the consultation, and I'd just as a parting shot are we gonna talk about mass transit in all of this process?
we have a response on our IT and our work programme every day, yeah.
I thank you, thank you who would like to answer.
all Stanley cross boundaries, thus I I can reassure you that when we
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:41:58
look at services rather than a defined values, framework or guidance document criteria that that's approved by our elected members in Transport Committee.
and we look at, we look at the we'll look at services on a functional basis, what's the function of that's a service and what to do, and we'll look at patronage across the the the full route, end-to-end route. So yeah, absolutely Rye, when I've when I've talked about district, by district engagement that makes it sound like these are neat little packages of services in one area and we completely aware that and sometimes engaging with elected members on air services virtually impossible to do because you're covering the whole of West Yorkshire in some of these sites are a large parts of West Yorkshire, but we look at that. We look at the function of of the route so connecting people to employment opportunities
health services vital, so that's all that candidate who look at the patronage and will look at the the them, the the the subs, the number of passengers on any particular part of the journey and then the the price per passenger, if it's attended service as others are there's a list of if criteria that we look at and whether it's a cross boundary service or otherwise and a lot of them obviously out in West Yorkshire with the five districts wouldn't necessarily forward that that will impact on our view as to whether that service should be funded continued or otherwise.
and that will be our our approach going forward, as we review the attended network Inner Moss in a more structured way, going forward into 2024 once we get through the basic plus work that talks about earlier yeah.
thank you them.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:43:36
Councillor Downes.
sorry, I just wanted to talk a bit about experience of some of the bus
Cllr Joanne Dodds - 0:43:46
network surrounds around Bradford and because I am an avid bus user and the the main bus that goes between Bradford and Calderdale as been rundown for many years and what used to be a 10 minute service now is, is nobody's guesses of when that bus is gonna come and even though it might say on the timetable you have no idea and there's just three coming at once and then not known for 45 minutes.
and there's even been a petition raised by people along the way, because it's so bad, so because of that it's difficult for tipi encouraged people to come and use the bus, so that's one thing, but also the the buses that go out into the community and join up different mums are really being cut and I raised an issue with one that used to go up more Avenue because no longer does it run on an evening.
or on a Sunday, so some women contacted me and said you know they have to get a taxi if they want to go one evening and do things, and so they've just been sort of cheap to wear and there's other bus routes that have been taken on.
by contracts where the they don't sort of fit with the schools. You know and in the hospitals, this one that goes from mine, that goes to the hospital and around several schools, but it only runs once an hour and it's really bizarre times and it just doesn't fit with anything, and so it's like that the don't speak to the commute, I'll listen to the communities when their designing, then and where they're cutting, and I noticed it said in 2.3 2 about there's gonna be a consultation with combat, obviously a list of services about
nothing ones are you gonna U-turn?
what part of the community I think is is gonna be taken into account with that is a very good question, thank you, who would like to answer one from it.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:46:02
so thank you for that and I think there is a really valid point and
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:46:09
one of the frustrations that you highlight and Councillor, I think are of, have been experienced by many passengers through, particularly coming out of COVID and the difficulties that we've had in maintaining that stability, that is something that I am or, as I said earlier about the basic plus something I'm really committed to to help him to develop account perform me recalls him with the resources that we've got at the moment but absolutely take on board that comment or about what you've what you've said about operators.
we worked really closely with them. We've got a good working relationship with them through our Bus Alliance at the moment and we have regular meetings and I can take this back to them and into in terms of the comments that you made and if we are, if you want an offline conversation about giving me some more of the detail that that specific service, I can also talk to my network planning team, who can look specifically into that to see what the problem is if there are any problems, but there are the problems and why those problems may be occurring that are often reasonable. Explanations for them that we can't solve strict straightaway, but sometimes by knowing about specific issues, we can do something pretty quick and get some quick wins. So I'd invite you to maybe contact me afterwards. Sock, in Lincoln to the Bus Alliance and to my network to do something about that.
with regards to the stuff that he talks about schools and hospitals.
are we we, we've got? Obviously the commercial services do run to schools. We've also got our own dedicated bus services that we commissions from West Yorkshire Combined Authority and I've I take a look at that. In fact, Simon and I had a conversation about this this morning and we feel that it is ready for a review. We get good feedback from schools and the services that we commission work as well as they can with the money that we've got, but absolutely I agree with you that that and that a review is is is needed in that area, and we we are doing that we are, in fact we've we've got the conversation this morning that work has been commissioned today to to to look at that and what I can do is expand that across the wider network, in terms of the commercial services to schools and hospitals, we've had an issue with the 1 1 3
for connecting Dewsbury and Pinderfields hospital, and we've we, even though that's an NHS contract third-party contract which stepped in and done some really meaningful work on that as well. So it's about knowing about these issues and doing what we can but again not not wanting to undermine the the level of frustration that passengers are feeling we do understand it, and it's why we've got this longer term integrated transport vision to to help with this. But again, not I wanna be really clear. My job is to to look after the here and now as best I can with what I've gotten that I will continue to do that, but welcome your approach to the meeting. Thank you for raising it. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Foster
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:48:47
Cllr Dot Foster - 0:48:52
thank you them, I just wanted to pick up reliability and punctuality in particular, reliability is yeah, so the little bit below to it, but not not a million miles off, so it's definitely better than it was.
the punctuality, particularly for stops on along the way, is less than 80%, that's really disappointing and it it's some less than it was in April, but figures we've got April and May in June, and it's LA yeah April was the better of the three and Jones in the middle and it is it just doesn't seem to be moving much at all and the one thing I mean per bus patronage is really really important.
and the one thing that gets people on buses is knowing that they're gonna turn up when they say they're supposed to.
yeah, so if we've got that reliability of service, we'll get increased patronage, the one thing that says to people forget it, I'm gonna take the car is because they can't guarantee that they're gonna get where they need to go when they need to get there because they don't know if the buses actually gonna show up or not, so it's a huge frustration that reliability is still so poor and I appreciate the position of roadworks and goodness I mean goodness, only knows what they're doing outside here.
yeah, I've got him, I've got locally whatsoever, but you know that there are, of course, issues with traffic jams and accidents and roadworks and all the rest of it, and some of those will impact but not level 0 we've got less than 80% reliability for stops along the way.
I've got a couple of other quick points if I can accessibility to information for people without access to smartphones, can we please keep that in mind, it's all very well putting QR codes on but yeah, my mum wouldn't have the faintest clue how to work, how to access information using cue all code she can send text messages with her mother and that's it.
and use it for phone calls, obviously, but you know it, the there's a, there's a a large amount of people who don't have access to that, so it really is important that they can still find that information.
are you have information about how to complain or how to how to raise comments and whatever it is that they need they still need that without just accessing smartphone Tech?
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:51:19
connectivity between routes and joining things up so that you've got,
Cllr Dot Foster - 0:51:23
if you want him to get a bus from, say, north Halifax, to Elland you don't want to have to wait for half an hour for buses in between times and that connects them, and you'd also want Hunt, I have the buses that go from relatively nearby places, you don't want to have forever not only a half an hour where, but also daft to walk quarter of mile between bus stops to be able to access stuff, it doesn't improve people's
desire to get out of their car and use the bus if it takes him three times as long to get somewhere using the bus as it does using a car or more than that, and the final little point, we were given some really excellent information on the sides at the bus presentation on Monday, but I was too far back in the room and I couldn't read most of it now. The thing has been now, it's been through, we could transport yesterday, can we please have access to the site, so I can actually look at the information and see it. Thank you some really good points
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:52:23
there just to reassure you on our Calderdale timetables. We've got the QR code and a list of the times, so thankfully we've been listened to because it is something that we've talked about before. Would you like
Simon Warburton - 0:52:40
to start out, but it goes up? So are issues around punctuality, absolutely clearly one of the strengths that we have around the system herein are it in West Yorkshire
I and I can say this with confidence and previously wrote to him in Greater Manchester, is we do, we do have a and increasingly extensive real-time passenger information system as well, which does help enormously in terms of
helping people to to to cope with some of the punctuality issues, of course what it also does is this deserved to demonstrate all the more to say to people when wow, when services are running light.
it is a combination of operators staying on on top of their their services and also some of the
some of the congestion issues that we face at pinch points, and you're right to point out that, in common with a number of places that that there is a significant amount of activity taking place on our our roads or at the moment, it is part.
the sign of a healthy local economy because it's often utilities supporting additional housing, it's often.
Cable into support next generation, internet access and into housing and so forth and.
if I can defend my colleagues in the City Council, what's going on out here is actually gonna provide better movement for buses through the city centre, so I think it's 105, I think it's a, it's it's a very good thing printed information absolutely we're not going to turn our back on or an printed information and connectivity between routes is absolutely one of those elements that that caused us to look at whether reform is needed in the bus market.
so it is the reality at the moment is that it can often be two different providers of of services.
we cannot compel two private companies to organise their timetables around each other.
we can't even compel those two private companies to operate from the same, the same bus stands.
clearly, under a different model, that that would be that that would be very different.
it's the same company.
no further action is taken from the estimates operated by the same company yeah, thank you, thank you for that answer, it's really useful
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:55:38
to know and just to add something to, so we obviously looked at real-time information last year quite extensively and.
I can see that it's still under investigation and give us an idea of when that might come to us.
thank you.
so that this is actually an area that six-under dear boy, I was
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:56:01
involved with is quite heavily in my previous role. My understanding is that there's just been some funding made available to it to have a property dive. Look at the at I issued, what we've also got, I can tell you, is that are then operated by settlers or just in the new year, and we we, we've set out some a focus group of operators with us to to start to get some quick wins in the process. Obviously the the technology that sits behind it, but there's also the which is our technology, yeah, which which is ours, but it's only. This is a technical piece of work, but it's only as good as the data that goes in it, and I think some of the issues around the speed at which we get cancellations, data from operators, and so what I did was set up, a focus group in the new year that focus group now is moving on to its third stage and we've got one sets up in the next couple of weeks, to act, to get processes with, for flower operators, to get that information to us much quicker than they are doing, because once we've got that it will then actually show up on an no longer as a gospel service as a cancelled service and going back to your Parliament Councillor Foster. Once people know what the reality of that service is, even though it might not be coming at the time they want it, so I'll just know when that it's coming in 10 minutes instead of three minutes and that's reliable is is is what we're going from. That's what these workshops are about, but the wider investment is about looking at the technology that sits behind it now we can how we can actually get it working better than it is so sorry is a real keener focus. Let's use some sensors
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:57:34
rather than people sit in a sitting at all. You know putting this data in you know we watched pizzas arrive at our house. We should be able to say bus stop or show that there are no added progress to be made
Mr Mick Bunting - 0:57:48
that are, I think, just just to just completely hear that and absolutely we are committed to to to make the better it is something it, it is a a a a good service and we get a lot of really positive feedback from passengers, but when it goes wrong on R T, I real-time information
it does lead to extreme frustration and, understandably so, but but in the may and I think it's working quite well, but we have had some challenges with first and other operators in the way that they operate there, that their procedures to get that information to us. But there's been a recent depot closure. It has led to that internal challenges, but they to be fair, they have come to us to proactively resolve this and that this is what this focus group is all about. So we're committed to doing something about it, and it's great that those
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 0:58:34
relationships have been built stronger as well. I think that's a critical part of the process as well, so it's good to hear that the behind the scenes is gonna be looked at as well
Councillor Procter.
Cllr Kayleigh Brooks (Leeds City Council) - 0:58:48
thank you them, yeah I've got a few things, so the timetabling, I believe, the well when, when I'll last asked about it, the there was a limit as to how many times a year.
bus operators can change the timetable, I believe it's six right, it is still the case right, OK, cool.
mobility credits I can see on this list of listed funding mobility credits, there's an enhancement to the existing them, caught up to enable organisations to issue free tickets direct to people's phones.
is this plan to replace the paper scratchcards or is, or are they still available for people without phones good, thank you.
internal capacity improvements.
what the the breakdown of the
of how the these things are being budgeted for, so his communications, fares and ticketing, bus network delivery, development and procurement, and bus priority and safety, and is there anything within Communications?
that will sort of tie into what we were saying earlier about complaints and accessibility and being able to complain, because I think just a simple phone number that people can ring up, and even if it's, even if it's automated, why I'm complaining about this, why and you can it can maybe say which service you're out at the time and things why?
that'd be a really useful tool to capture data from people who don't have smartphones.
thank you.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:00:48
would you like to respond to the just say so again absolute
Simon Warburton - 1:00:55
reassurances that paperwork solutions remain, what we're what we're looking to trial is is the surf of digital technology to see if that then starts to become something which is which is useful in new quarters we were keen to.
wow we were keen to develop that sort of next generation travel marketing toolkit as as part of the the overall.
offer, but you're absolutely right, a phone line is still incredibly important, we do still maintain a Metro line, we need to make sure that that number is readily available, it should be on the bottom of all of our timetables but,
add, and I have to say credit to our staff, I think our Metro line staff are a really good, really well trained in being able to.
handle people's comments and or are in a really sensitive and or unhelpful way so yeah, that will, that will continue to be an important part of our our overall offer for passengers.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:02:08
thank you and I can area dear so sorry, what's a breakdown, then in
Cllr Kayleigh Brooks (Leeds City Council) - 1:02:13
the 2.2 million, between communications fares and ticketing, bus network delivery and first priority and safety, so the overall busy
Simon Warburton - 1:02:20
package is still being finalised, and that's her that's a holding number at the moment but I'm I'm happy to come back next time with where we are in terms of visa and what that breakdown looks like.
and that's then stolen my question.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:02:40
no, I was getting so basically I was gonna say from what I've noticed, there's 10, around 10 pots of funding in these papers and due to the complexity of that funding package, can you please reassure us that we are budgeting correctly for each pot?
Simon Warburton - 1:03:03
yes, I am sorry I ita I can reassure you that it is a, it is a significant challenge, one and something which has been raised regularly by by the Mayor and by the leaders of off of the councils that the more that we can move to single pot arrangements with central government,
the more we can genuinely exercise deep of the devolution or in in the city region, there is significant administrative cost to us at present in accounting to a series of of different government funding regimes, but I can absolutely reassure you that.
R
our our finance director here and at their team are well placed to work, keep us well organised across those complex budgets. That's very
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:03:58
reassuring. Yeah, it just means that you've got to double double gave the day the worked-up officer, I think I and just under the question on the back of that, so we we've had 33 million allocated for the mayor's first office stated this support the discounted tickets over the last next three years, and I understand from discussions that were burning through that fast. Can you just give us an idea, how much we've spent in the first year and what we've got left, if you've got any idea and reflect? Thank you
Simon Warburton - 1:04:32
so it doesn't yet have a final reconciliation for for for the first year, but we will be bringing that forward.
to the Combined Authority.
we are Les as as is the case.
across across the piece.
facing the usual challenges in terms of cost inflation that cost inflation is causing bus operators to.
to to to to to want to quite fundamentally renegotiate going forwards, which was always the provision within the arrangement, that there would be a one year arrangement that would then be re negotiated.
and it's another very good demonstration of the important service being able to move to flexible, suitable parts so that we can continue to identify what matters most.
for West Yorkshire and be able to manage our money to to achieve those ends, but yeah we will be bringing in.
and out to to the Combined Authority, and clearly, I'm sure, then the committee we interested to the two to look at that as well.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:05:54
yeah, I think it would be very useful for us to have eyes on thickness as well, thank you.
Councillor Watson are thanks, Amanda them, so I think that a couple of
Cllr Anna Watson - 1:06:04
things, one Ashley request that somebody made just this morning, but I'll come to that in a moment I mean, obviously you know we know that if we're gonna hit our Net Zero target for in the West Yorkshire strategy that we've got to have a beautifully integrated public public transport system and active travel sector OK, so I suppose one thing that I'm not seeing here and forgive me it could be covered elsewhere, but it would just be good to know
you know in Bradford we're very lucky at the interchange, you have bus information and you have train information in one place. If you're getting off the bus, you can see what trying to catch et cetera, that is not across West Yorkshire is it, so I mean I don't I don't normally look at Leeds. No one needs to know where the buses are because that, but I don't know if there's real time bus information at Leeds station I live in Shipley, we have a when the buses arrive in the town, there's no width, there's no information about what the next train is and vice versa, and actually buses in Shipley don't even go to the train station, so we don't have an integrated system, so I'm just wondering, within the bus canopy what we're looking at with improving our bus service. Where are we doing? The join-up with
you know West Yorkshire, Metro and the transport system, the the you know the train system.
to make sure that it's as easy as possible for people to.
use Bow, and I'm not, I'm not seeing that here, so I just want to establish a bit more about what might be going on, including things like integrated tickets, etc and the other thing is, as we look forward into the franchising for the buses, I think we've obviously got to think about how you know what are the expectations of people gonna be in the future and we are gonna see a massive uptake, hopefully things like electric bikes or more people using kind of fold-up bikes, et cetera, so you know when I go and I'm very lucky because I sometimes my work, my other work have to go and travel round
one visit on public transport. Other colleagues that live in the European Union, you can take your bike on you on the bus, so you know, I imagine our dream is that you know, and we know that we're gonna have to get there, that is going to have to be seamless for people to be able to go from active travel to using public transport, and I just want to know where that thinking is also when thinking about how that's gonna change and the expectations of people are going to change as we look at bringing in things like the fact that we're gonna be franchising, there's gonna be maybe different sort of bus design needed as well. Sorry that two big question, which would you like to contribute so that they are, so you are
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:08:51
couple of times through through the discussion referred before to to
Cllr Anna Watson - 1:08:55
to mass transit is what, quite rightly, does the question in terms of how does all this fit into a an integrated offer, I'm very conscious of the fact that, in the context of the work programme of the Committee the paperwork that we brought forward today's is very specifically focused.
around the the bus network.
we set out in the connectivity plan a very, very clear statement that the the agenda in West Yorkshire is around an integrated transport system or one that sits at the heart of the work that we've been doing.
to look at market reform within the the the bus network sits at the heart of the way that we're thinking around the mass transit system, and now we're gonna talk about that at a future meeting and as we go into.
next year I'd start to organise the team to think about the preparation of a new Local Transport Plan for West Yorkshire, which will set out that integrated transport agenda.
very clearly, so to say, I can absolutely reassure everybody that that that's at the heart of of our agenda and and it's, and it's about the thinking through a whole range of issues, so yes, within a within Apple stations there is real time,
information it in all of those bus stations, but of course hobble stations are necessarily always.
next door to to to our rail stations for all sorts of perfectly but perfectly logical reasons.
and so at times, the focus then is on making sure that we've got good white, find it between rail stations and and and bus stations and a really good public realm, so people feel comfortable walking between rail stations and bus station, and we talk before about the work taking place outside here and actually the cycle links and they are and what links between.
the rail station and the bus station will be significantly improved as as as part of the work, all of which is.
it is is really positive, so so it's very much about how we organise our town and city centres to to work as as pubs, because most of our towns and city centres have got really quite historic form in West Yorkshire, so we've got to achieve those integration outcomes without assuming that we can just turn up as the Transport Authority and take the pieces of land that you pay otherwise what to do so, yeah, that's that that's that's very important and in terms of cycling, so in terms of the bike agenda more widely just this last weekend
Simon Warburton - 1:11:55
we saw the launch of of the bank scheme here in the city centre, which I think is a really positive statement in terms of moving that agenda forward, very conscious of the fact that if we were to find ourselves in a a in or a bus franchising position and clearly that is not a decision that has been taken,
as yet
there is significant work that we would need to do to look at the hierarchy of needs on are on or are a feature bus fleet, so very conscious of the fact that there are a range of sensitive users or or on buses who we would want to disadvantage or are in any way wheelchair users, pushchair users and Ed and so forth.
but clearly, if we are able to
handle a model of bus design if, if that becomes a direct issue for us, that means that we can also accommodate bikes, then tha then, clearly are all the better where we can go in terms of cycle hire schemes in the future that helped me first and last mile movements.
at different ends, I think it would need to be a blend of solutions to to to to to get this right.
Cllr Anna Watson - 1:13:22
I thank you and then just just an offer, so and I was just chatting to them, they had a sustainability Net Zero of NHS England in Yorkshire and Humber and she said, obviously the hospital staff are key audience for information on birthdays.
28,000 people working at all g. I, she said she would love it if she could talk to you and get that information into the hospitals across West Yorkshire, so those staff know exactly so that there's an internet system. You would just look upon the internet you can see when your next bus was. She said she thinks it could be a real game changer for the bus use and passenger, so I would just I hope you would accept that definitely
thank you. Thank you, Councillor Watson, yeah, it joins up with
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:14:14
something I've wanted to talk light-touch here, so as some of these large businesses, large organisations move towards hybrid working as well. So if we add that to it, I noticed on page 42 that we're working with businesses to plan the network post COVID down to a three-day week, so you were talking about this hierarchy. Are we working with businesses to encourage that modal shift, so providing models of hierarchy of transport? So you know if somebody is a consultant, they've got to travel around the UK, is that organisation prioritising, although some are, but how can we encourage more organisations to
provide that hierarchy of transport and encouraged that is that something you do in currently yeah with the we set out in the
in the the basic plan
Simon Warburton - 1:15:05
that we want to re-establish a travel plan network approach, and that's that that's one of our priorities, working absolutely with.
work with large organisations such as hospitals and and the NHS as a as a headquarter employer as as well and
we recognise that employers are a critical conduit through the way in which, as employers.
we make demands of our employees, shapes travel behaviour quite significantly.
but it's not just employers, the the way in which we work with retail destinations, we the way in which we work with our event destinations, all of these things report, it's really important.
not to lose sight of the fact that at most 20% of the journeys that we make our journeys to and from work, it's a, it's a far more complex pattern.
of travel that we're gonna need to be able to work across, as we look to encourage people to consider their travel choices, thank you Ann,
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:16:25
and the next question is that any copies on page 44 you've mentioned the modal shift.
so in March 19 car use 61%, and you predict it will be up, a modal shift will be up by 5% by 2025 and 10% by 2030 can you just give us an idea, how are you gonna do that behaviour change, thank you.
so it's not prediction, it's a target.
Simon Warburton - 1:16:53
we'd be, we were very clear, as the city region outweighed the we want to be able to.
step forwards and an address, the serious climate change.
agenda
that that surround us, is it in order to do that, we've got to set some challenging targets for for ourselves so that we can continue to test whether the policy toolkit that we have is is fit for purpose. It's it's a very good reason why we're very serious in terms of considering the right future for the bus market. Here we've seen very long-term decline in bus travel that long-term decline if continued, will take us in the wrong direction.
in terms of being able to achieve those outcomes is why we're very serious in terms of.
the priority investment in mass transit
so that we can make sure that the
the shape of West Yorkshire is well supported by the right transport schemes. It's why infrastructure like the infrastructure or outside here is so important to encouraged or changed travel behaviours that there isn't one silver bullet here, it's it's about us continued to make sure that they are the targets that are the right targets for us to follow and challenging every decision that we take against those targets. Thank you. Councillor Foster
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:18:32
Cllr Dot Foster - 1:18:37
okay and I also have an questionnaire on the Cowboys and, in particular, what numbers are so.
in the first month, increased VAT bus patronage.
the the figure of 10,801,487 is that.
passenger journeys, because it would be helpful if it said that, and similarly, improved service provision is our numbers of services, that figure of 226,749 is the baseline for UNSW March 2019, so once we establish that for the first one bass bus patronage obviously dropped massively because of Covid,
to fall just shy of 400 1 half million, so given we are now 2023 be useful to have the March 23 figures in there as well, to see where things are Bow 29 2019 levels plus 15%, by 2025, given the latest figure we have on there is four and a half million and the 29th 2019 figure is 10 nearly closing 11 million.
that's one hell of a leap, how on earth are we going to get there?
thank you.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:20:03
so since I am absolutely right in terms of terms bus patronage, yes,
Simon Warburton - 1:20:07
it is, it is bus bus journeys made and you're absolutely right that there is a there's a bit labelling in this table that would help you honestly so as if it was a very good, very good prod for us the the the targets are challenging.
and that they're challenging for.
in all of our.
o all of the transport authorities outside of London.
one, and it's the reason why collectively.
as local transport authorities outside of London, the case that we've been consistently making through this journey of devolution that we're on is that we need a transport system like the transport system that that's that's in place in London, where people can intuitively take decisions to travel by public transport there is a very simple reality that that is not the transport system that we have.
at present, frequencies on our bus network are not strong enough.
they that the the the range of choices
that people have is is insufficient, and too often people are making a perfectly.
the logical choice at the moment to get into the car that sits on the drive, because the alternative is, is not strong enough, people don't take those decisions to the same extent in London at all, in fact, people increasingly choose car-free lifestyles in London but they do so because the offer is therefore the option.
and
that's that's the fundamental reason why we make the case that we do, we could shy away from challenging targets, but to do that would be to ignore the reality of the situation.
enter here, Simon Kaye and Councillor Neet.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:22:13
page 50.
Cllr Oliver Newton - 1:22:17
page 50 yeah historically park and ride those under separate regime, but.
is there with a graph, so let SOC Mowat?
I represent a and Outer South region of Leeds, which serves two, if not three, of the park, and rides around Leeds, especially the Alan Road one in the Stan mum.
so back as I thought it was before this debt, but anyway I do have questions, but I'm just highlighting and speaking out loud and hopefully following a question from Matt and April 23.
journey at the Elland Road Park and Ride journeys after 6 30 will be withdrawn, Saturday and Sunday services will be withdrawn.
part 3 states and journeys after 7 30 will be withdrawn off peak and Saturday frequency will be reduced and no service on Sunday.
looking at the graph, you can say that there is a dip after this day after 2023, and that I appreciate that it is now to pre pandemic limo levels enjoy in just saying July 23, the number of park and ride journeys was 72% of they come in equivalent number in July now.
if Members look at that in context,
then you know it if cost is going to be lower, I'd like to know.
precisely what it is, because I, I think, the July 23, especially when the service reduced in April, then you know it, it would be lower anyway, and also related to that aim, it says on the website, as I've just seen it now, that the the last frequent surveys at Elland Road is seven o'clock with two trips beyond seven o'clock which finish at half half 7,
at the start, someone says that the frequency stops at half five, with six trips beyond, and here and there, until 10 past a now, there are those gantries on the around Leeds that say, if you finish work later, use the steps and park and ride
precisely, yes, correct, but the frequency stops later Alan Road.
which doesn't realise he's not really explained on the gantries to Jonestown, where I'm going with that, so, and also related to the yes,
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:25:00
we don't get questions like yeah, so sorry that it's come up, yes, I'm sorry Les later on as well in the
Cllr Oliver Newton - 1:25:08
unrelated to that. One of my constituents said to me when the April changed as an NHS worker at LGYH, my colleagues and I often use a park and ride to commute to and from work, and these changes are going to dramatically affect our changes if they start at 3.00 they can't get home again when it finish it when they finish 8 and 9, and also when the myth that mass fares came in it was a 3 pounds return and now it's had to go to a for pound return.
so while the card app is the still park and ride tickets here, you click on the same price to them all, so what the amounts will remove welfare anyway, so there isn't really a question, but there is a point there is important, information is now on offer and it needs to have
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:25:56
an eye on the gate.
Simon Warburton - 1:26:02
so why give completely the spoil capsule that are working very hard to encourage us to step the service up again?
on the park and ride.
it's a, it's a great service, really important part of the offer for the city.
and it's really is really regrettable that that the frequency and they and the length of operation was what was was changed, so any any feedback that you've got through customers that you want to tell residents that you want to feed through to us, please do because the more that we can present the case,
back to first, the better.
I think your observation is a very fair observation in terms of the app, let's take that one away and.
it results in terms of the app lets take that away and or resolve it, because the idea that the information is on the app, the better earlier.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:27:05
yeah yeah, I, I forgot to mention as well that year this change in
Cllr Oliver Newton - 1:27:09
April, coming up to Christmas late-night Christmas shoppers there is an incentive as of 1 pound 50 return after three o'clock.
you go out, shopping of some food come back at 8.00, is no bus, so that's really important coming up to Christmas as well, it's a
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:27:23
no-brainer, really, isn't it?
OK, thank you, Councillor Pinnock,
home
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:27:29
before we get to the franchising.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:27:36
thing happening, how can we support the bus operators that we've got?
because some of them have faced existential threats to their viability,
how do we make sure that that they can be supported
I presume this will be without any government money but but we have we have to have people who actually run the bus services and the there's not a limitless supply of them, so it's a very simple question but slightly complicated answer is that part of our 56 contracts I will
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:28:17
say it is very, very much it's about commercial services really so so
Simon Warburton - 1:28:23
so I am very much so so the work that that Mick referred to before these are in the main de minimis public spending decisions into what are otherwise commercial services in order to keep keep the show on the road
and we've we've done that in really quite a discreet inappropriate way, because actually our principal focus areas is maintaining the network.
for the travelling public, I think the work that we're doing around all PCSOs agenda and just with general support that we get from West Yorkshire police in terms of the presence, infestations and so forth all helps in that regard will continue into.
invest in facilities, I'm delighted to say that the first half of Halifax bus station will be open for operation again.
on Sunday
the yeah these, the these are all important elements in terms of trying to present the offer
as as well as as as we possibly can do, but they are very challenging times for operating services, Y you right to raise that Councillor.
efforts in just one other point on that one and agree with everything sounds that obviously there.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:29:47
Mr Mick Bunting - 1:29:50
the a large part of the income for appraising from concessionary fares, and, of course, we've seen a major reduction in in
concessionary fare uses returning back to 2 buses since the pandemic, but there are some big campaigns going on at the moment. The D F, T and local campaigns chain encourage concessionary fare users to get back out, not only to get back on transport but for their own mental wellbeing, social inclusion, all those good things in getting back out there, so that's that's another key element of this, but that that is being looked at and campaigns are there to try and get people back on the buses, and that will help give some further financial stability to our operators. Thank you. Councillor Mowat
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:30:31
yeah, obviously, as a city outside the main authority area of Europe, but
we had the first end of the 2 bus forum in York in.
July.
Yorke's parking rights figures are now above pre pandemic usage levels, and the main network in the city, which first operate is now 95% of pre pandemic, I'm obviously Yorkshire different place from conversions in in West Yorkshire, but that that grow.
we we've seen the same reduction in work related use, receiving similar reductions in the concessionary use.
but what has made the difference is actually the leisure side, so we have substantially increased our usage on Saturdays and Sundays that has offset the weekday reductions, we've got better use from students and young people and we've got better use from families, and that is of, and that's very much linked to the initiatives by the your bid.
and the retailers to encourage people to come back shopping in in the city centre to the events, promotion which obviously your views are very different in that respect in terms of our range of visited facilities, but I do wonder if there are some lessons that might be pertinent to West Yorkshire in terms of trying to get the the leisure side up and maximised in the sense that it brings in money that will help to offset the short-term difficulties in in the other markets.
I mean I'd to pick up a comment that Councillor W at Watson May as a as a user of Leeds bus services when I come from York, since the Metro office at the station shut, it's a disaster.
I am trying to work out where the appropriate bus stops are are relative to the station.
all you had ignores, or are you heading down, Neville Street or whatever are you know, you do not cater for people visiting the city, who need to use the bus services and or and understanding the network is very difficult for people visiting the city and are keen to make the same comments about some of the other main settlements in West Yorkshire but I don't have a car and I always use public transport.
and it is very difficult
in terms of understanding the networks which buses would have to catch up from the station.
at stations are to get to to where where you want to, so I just I just flagged, that was something that I do think ought to be addressed if you're gonna get.
Cllr Dave Merrett - 1:33:40
more more wider use of your buses, and not just local.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:33:44
wanted to pick something up, you're K P eyes, I was very surprised, there were no figures subsequent, the 2020 19 and 2021, so some some reason why we haven't got the 20 20th March 2023 figures and we will be getting the annual figures in future.
Key question.
Cllr Dave Merrett - 1:34:10
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:34:14
Simon that offie, it is that if a, but let me take that question that last question awake is because again I think it's
Simon Warburton - 1:34:19
it's a very good.
very good question.
and I want to give you a better answer than I can do right at this moment in time, York, yes, at the be, really that's a really helpful, prompt actually for us to talk to City Council officers, particularly around the park, and ride service, I'd be really interested to to talk through with them.
and thank you for your observations in terms of in terms of the the visitor experience, I think it's really but aspect for us to think through yeah, thank you, as it is very useful to have an insight from
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:34:59
York, thank you, Councillor Foster, thank you it's just a quick one
Simon Warburton - 1:35:09
and again relating to the KPI as safe and inclusive bus network. Why are our targets, not 100%, improved satisfaction with personal safety at the bus, stop or female passengers making complex journey? We only have a target for 2020 30 of 90%. Why is it not 100% and the same with the others, but we should be wanting everybody to be feeling safe and secure all the time. Those targets need to be 100% and they need to be 100% in 2025. Quite frankly, not in 2030, we shouldn't be sort of worrying that we're not safe on the buses, because feeling safe is another reason why bus patronage will increase, hence TA helping to address the other KPI. As that is just I mean satisfaction with value for money. Y there's always going to be a wavering on that one, but yeah information and safety. Those targets should be 100% and 0 point,
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:36:08
and hopefully the pinup PS PCSOs. We can hopefully reassure people and
would you like to come back on that really briefly, but I think it's a
Simon Warburton - 1:36:21
really strong point Council, thank you for it and you just do just to add on to the funding that we've got for the PCSOs, we've got the Safer travel Partnership that we are in, which we work alongside the police, and I think the the recent example of what we did with our sick, with the unsocial patriotic bus station, that rapid deployment of staff to tackle that is showing the the the the deep level of partnership that we've got with the police to tackle these behaviours, and I think that's all right, Councillor Foster in terms of our ambition should be to try to reach everybody and to have everybody feel safe and that the search for travel partnership and the responsive nature in which we can re deal with on an intelligence-led basis. Incidents of anti-social behaviour and crime, an increase in those perceptions of safety is absolutely priority for us, but but take that on board, I think it's a valid comment. Thank you.
thank you, I just like to ask a naive Sutton, novice question, are
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:37:14
these figures based on logic, or is there a bus modelling programme that you use to identify the possible outcomes?
Simon Warburton - 1:37:26
0sorry for Mike Phelan so so certainly the the patronage figures are taken more from a working back from where we need to be in terms of of a modal shift from a decarbonisation.
perspective.
some of you of the targets.
are probably more of a pragmatic management response at the moment, the 90% targets, but I think the observation is that it is, it is a very, very fair observation, why wouldn't you do it yourself?
against a 100%.
we we do use
modelling to t, to assess the likely impact of of of different initiatives.
it's one of the areas that we know that we want to continue to strengthen on.
as as an organisation, historically transport modelling has tended to be much stronger around capital schemes than that around service.
interventions, but certainly within the management plan for the franchising proposition if that were pursued.
we recognise that we would, we would want to strengthen our revenue modelling activities.
sorry.
how?
yeah done for this committee.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:39:10
I thought we all do in the middle, let me finish, thank you also, it was a sort of grinder.
it's called the internet done okay, so I've just got Councillor Watson, we need to start thinking about wrapping up as anyone got to go for transport at 12.00 because we've only got four minutes.
no, OK.
Councillor Watson,
Cllr Anna Watson - 1:39:42
sorry, page 46, where it says tackling the climate emergency implications. Now I know that this is a really. This is a piece of work that needs to be done. It's about modelling, isn't he and his kind of builds on Amanda's point about modelling we've got to know as Transport Scrutiny that what is planned here is actually going to lead to an idea of how much is this going to deliver in our decarbonisation pathway, we know that W is at 38%, we need to see your kind of reduction of in transport if you're looking at all the different sectors it might be more than that I can't remember because I can't get on the internet to check.
we know that it transmits a massive part to play in our next 0 delivery, and we're not on track at the moment within West Yorkshire and that we looked at the Mott MacDonald report last time and we had a bit of a conversation. We know we need more understanding about how the models work. So I would hope in future, when we are getting reports coming to us, that they are actually giving us them figures there on what what is our expectation of how much is it going to deliver on our Vardy, colonisation, not just the 0 0 you know, supporting transport network will do it. We actually need to have some data there, and I know that's pieces of work that will be ongoing, but we need to be absolutely reassured that by mistake we're not actually going in the wrong direction, of which I think we might have found out about. Some of the 1 billion spend that's already gone on
if that's OK, so I'd like in future that we have more detail and at that point, if that is not possible.
of course, it's possible Council.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:41:28
we'd like details so too, to a degree, if it's possible at the moment,
Simon Warburton - 1:41:36
Councillor, so it's absolutely what I would like to be able to bring forward to in the government's carbon plan it was.
it was made very clear that government was going to produce a local authority toolkit, we're still waiting for it.
and that's it, that's a fundamental shortcoming that that we've that we've got at the moment is that at the moment we are still awaiting both guidance from government in terms of how to handle.
carbon values in preparing a Local Transport Plan and the wider local authority carbon measurement toolkit, both both of which were promised in the
in the Corporate Plan.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:42:28
now we don't have a modelling toolkit.
Simon Warburton - 1:42:34
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:42:41
and I've got a very last practical question, any mobility hubs.
can I just check that this is gonna be for storage, for not just for electric bikes, but I know we haven't got at permissible scooters and things yet, but you know other forms of powered two wheelers, so whether that's
scooter scooters are.
motorbikes or any sort of power to Raila basically can we have some storage because powered skate that year.
whatever it is, people need for that, first and last mile they need somewhere to store it, so is that what the mobility hub fund is for?
Simon Warburton - 1:43:25
I hope so they certainly intended to to to have a future micro mobility in mind, yes.
just learned a new word, micro mobility, it was power to weightless last year.
Cllr Amanda Parson-Hulse - 1:43:38
this year it's thank you everybody for more than two weeks.
so just to sum up, then, we've had details on all 56 contracts and need for information for timetables and passenger charters on, so we know how to complain timetable for franchising, we've talked about the decline of specific services we were, we've got a review coming in for school buses and we've endlessly talked about our punctuality issues, real-time information and connectivity, something that's absolutely critical in in this jigsaw puzzle.
working with the big organisations such as the NHS retail events. Thank you for our input from York,
and yeah really pleased to hear about the safer travel and PCSOs an object or journey sonnets 0, so thank you everybody.
I'd really really liked just double check that people can make it to the December meeting, because we need to make sure that that yeah, we've got at least 11 of us in the room for them for the next meeting.
wow, if we make some.
we haven't met a mince pie monitor place.
all right, thank you, so much of what I have a safe journey home, thank you, and thank you to anybody who has joined us online, thank you.