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A decision made 23 April 2010 regarding: Bus services - summer 2010.

Decision Reference: MD-T-2010-0040
Decision Summary Title :	2010 Summer Bus Service Confirmation		Date of Decision Summary:	13 April 2010
Decision Summary Author:	Transport Logistics Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Confirmation of 2010 Summer Bus Services		Date of Written Report:	13 April 2010
Written Report Author:	Transport Logistics Manager		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Confirmation of 2010 Summer Bus Services
Decision(s): The Minister approved the following: 1. That the summer 2010 bus timetable will run from Sunday 30 May 2010 through to Saturday 2 October 2010; and 2. The changes to bus routes as detailed in the attached report.
Reason(s) for Decision: Although eleven comments from members of the public were received following advertising in the JEP and at Parish Halls, it is considered that the 2010 proposals as planned will provide a sensible overall improvement to services for the public. The proposals represent better targeting of capacity to passenger demand, with the potential to increase revenue through additional usage.
Resource Implications: These proposals represent an additional cost of £15,261.18 which shall be provided for through increased revenue and agreed developer contributions.
Action required: 1. Advise Connex of the decision. 2. Draft a media release advising of the Minister’s decision. 3. Advise the members of the public who submitted comments of the Minister’s decision.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Bus services - summer 2010

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

CONFIRMATION OF 2010 SUMMER BUS SERVICES

Purpose of the Report

To seek the Minister‘s approval of the 2010 summer bus services.

Background

The Minister approved ‘in principle’ the proposals for the 2010 summer bus services on 26 March 2010 under MD-T-2010-0030. As this represents changes in an omnibus licence, under Article 24 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935, the Minister had to consult on the proposals prior to a final decision being made.

Discussion

1. The proposals can be summarised as follows:

(a) Repositioning of some weekday morning peak hour departures to provide better spacing between journeys towards St Helier on services 1 and 15, plus an earlier departure on Service 21 to reduce waiting time for pupils after school.

(b) Continuation of the additional weekday morning peak hour services introduced on 01 February 2010.

(c) Change of service 4 route in Trinity from a clockwise loop to a figure-of-eight, and removal of Bouley Bay section of route from most journeys as the Yellow Explorer route now covers this location.

(d) One extra weekday morning peak service 18 journey to alleviate overcrowding, and conversion of two existing morning / evening peak service 15 departures to ‘express’ operation via Victoria Avenue.

(e) Service 8A journeys (except final departure of the day) on Monday to Saturday moved 30 minutes later to provide better spacing between Explorer service journeys towards St Helier from Living Legend and War Tunnels.

(f) Removal of Monday to Saturday Conway Street / Broad Street / Castle Street section of route from inbound services 7 to 15 inclusive after 1600 due to congestion causing delays for subsequent departures.

2. An advertisement was placed in the Gazette section of the Jersey Evening Post on 25 March 2010. In addition, all Constables and Parish Halls were contacted with details to display.

3. The department received comments from eleven people:

(a) One gentleman and one lady who requested clarification of the proposed Service 4 routing. The concern in both cases was that Bonne Nuit was not mentioned in the concise wording of the Gazette notice and therefore the location would not receive a bus service this summer. This was subsequently clarified by issuing a map of the current and proposed route to the individuals in question and ensuring that the media was briefed about this particular point.

(b) A gentleman who made a number of initial comments including a suggestion to adjust the final (17:05) 8A departure on Mondays to Fridays slightly later in light of the proposed Monday to Friday evening peak service 15 ‘express’ journey which would not serve the St Aubin Inner Road area, and an observation that the final 8A departure on Sundays was poorly used. This individual subsequently made further comments in respect of the revised Bouley Bay bus service this year and stated that “…all traders there would object if they were aware of the proposal”.

(c) A lady who wrote to remind us of a commitment made last winter to continue an earlier Monday to Friday service 23 journey into the summer as this was omitted from the advertised proposals.

(d) Two ladies who felt the four month long summer schedule was too short in duration with most bank holidays falling into the winter timetable and as such receiving a poor level of service. One went on to say that service 12 was too low in frequency.

(e) A gentleman who suggested that the services to Broad Street could be reinstated in the evening and maintained during weekends and on Bank Holidays.

(f) A gentleman who stated that connectivity between services at the bus station was poor and often involved long waits.

(g) A lady who stated that the morning peak inbound service 5 journey was now at saturation point and discouraging extra passengers. She suggested an additional journey at 07:20.

(h) A lady who felt that the last service 8 departure of the day was too early at 17:40.

(i) A business owner who had previously campaigned for bus services to operate over a longer part of the year to Bouley Bay and was generally supportive, though suggested that further changes would be desirable for the 2011 season.

Comments

1. The cost of the summer 2010 proposals totals £15,261.18, and relates directly to the six additional morning peak journeys over the summer 2009 schedule (the five journeys introduced on 1 February 2010, and an additional service 18 journey). All other changes are being achieved within the existing contract value.

This is unchanged from the costs quoted in the ‘in principle’ decision, in which it was stated that developer contribution funding was expected shortly and could be used to cover some of the additional expenditure. However, a cost saving of £9,054.93 has been achieved on the 2010 Island Explorer network and this offsets the extra cost of the summer schedule. Additionally, the changes are expected to increase revenue which will reduce the net cost further.

2. There have only been a small number of comments concerning these proposals, and none are sufficiently adverse in nature to justify rejection. It is recommended that the Minister approve them without alteration for implementation on 30 May 2010.

3. Connex have agreed to incorporate two minor amendments following the above responses from members of the public, namely the suggestions relating to Monday to Friday services 8A and 23 at 3(b) and 3(c) above.

Recommendation:-

The Minister is recommended to approve the following:

1. That the summer 2010 bus timetable will run from Sunday 30 May 2010 through to Saturday 2 October 2010; and

2. The changes to bus routes as detailed in the report.

Reason(s) for Recommendations

Although eleven comments from members of the public were received following advertising in the JEP and at Parish Halls, it is considered that the 2010 proposals as planned will provide a sensible overall improvement to services for the public. The proposals represent better targeting of capacity to passenger demand, with the potential to increase revenue through additional usage.

Actions Required

1. Advise Connex of the decision.

2. Draft a media release advising of the Minister’s decision.

3. Advise the members of the public who submitted comments of the Minister’s decision.

Resource Implications

These proposals represent an additional cost of £15,261.18.

Written by:	Transport Logistics Manager

Approved by:	Acting Director of Transport