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A decision made (10/07/2009) regarding: Bus Services - Winter 2009/10 Proposals.

Decision Reference: MD-T-2009-0071
Decision Summary Title :	Proposals for 2009/10 Winter Bus Services		Date of Decision Summary:	9 July 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Director of Transport		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 :	Proposals for 2009/10 Winter Bus Services		Date of Written Report:	9 July 2009
Written Report Author:	Director of Transport		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Proposals for 2009/10 Winter Bus Services
Decision(s): The Minister, having provisionally approved changes to the winter 2009/10 bus timetable as shown in Appendix A to the accompanying report, determined that public notice of his provisional decision should be given in accordance with Article 24 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935.
Reason(s) for Decision: The changes proposed enhance the winter timetable, remove some anomalies or duplications and eliminate some inconsistencies between the summer and winter timetables.
Resource Implications: The total cost of these proposals is £14,500 but this will be offset by additional fare revenue. The net cost can be funded by increased revenue elsewhere on the network.
Action required: Advise Connex of the decision. Prepare advertisement to be placed in the Gazette section of the JEP and media release as soon as possible. Circulate proposals to all Constables, Parish Halls and other interested parties. Revert to the Minister for a final decision once the notice period has expired.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Bus Services - Winter 2009/10 Proposals.

TRANSPORT & TECHNICAL SERVICES

PROPOSALS FOR 2009/10 WINTER BUS SERVICES

Purpose of the Report

To seek the ‘in principle’ approval of the Minister to proposals for 2009/10 winter bus services and to request comments from the public on these proposals.

Background

The winter 2009 bus timetable is scheduled to start on September 27 2009 and run through until 29 May 2010. The Minister has already agreed that the Island Explorer will continue to operate seven days a week until 11 October and then on the following three weekends finally ending on Sunday 1 November.

Although both TTS and Connex would like to propose changes which would enhance the network and also reduce a number of anomalies and inconsistencies, it has only been possible to propose a limited number of changes, the majority of which were those implemented for the summer timetable which are required to be continued throughout the year. It is the intention that, in the future, proposals for the whole year – summer, winter and Island Explorer services – will be considered and consulted upon together in January.

Discussion

A list of the proposals for the winter timetable is attached at Appendix A. These have been subdivided under the following headings:

New services proposed for winter 2009/10 – two new services which will enhance the current network.
Changes to services proposed to be implemented for winter 2009/10 – this is a mixture of enhancements and also relatively minor timing changes to ensure consistency between timetables.
Changes to services introduced in the summer 2009 timetable and being continued for the winter 2009/10 – again, this includes some enhancements (for instance, the Route 15 ‘express’ service at 8.10 which travels along Victoria Avenue) as well as minor timing and scheduling changes.

There are two main additions to the network:

An extra Route 23 departure at 7.50 will serve Durrell (arrival at 8.18) and then travel back into town. This provides for a service to Durrell between 8.00 and 9.00 in the morning which has been requested particularly from volunteers working at the zoo. This service will run Monday to Friday.
The 3B departure from Liberation Station at 17.25 which operates in the summer will now also operate throughout the winter providing an additional afternoon commuter service to Five Oaks via St Saviours Hill. This again creates additional capacity but also consistency between the summer and winter schedules.

There are two proposals for changes to the winter schedule that will improve services:

Route 3B inbound from Durrell at 17.15 and 18.15 will be withdrawn but replaced with a Service 3A 5 minutes later which will serve Ransoms, St Saviour’s Hospital and Hougue Bie. This greatly enhances the afternoon services in this area.
Route 23 at 8.20 from Durrell will now operate Monday to Friday throughout the year as opposed to just during term times, which is another benefit to the travelling public. It will also operate 3 minutes later, arriving at Liberation Station at 8.54.

The remaining changes are those implemented for the summer which will be carried forward throughout the winter and includes the successful Route 15 commuter service which travels as an ‘express’ along Victoria Avenue.

The total cost of these changes is £14,500, with the Route 15 Express costing £9,500 of the total. However, all these services have the potential to increase revenue over time as patronage rises and may result in a break even position.

Article 24 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935 states that the Minister must give notice and consult on any modification to an omnibus licence. For this reason, once the Minister has approved these proposals in principle, the changes will need to be advertised in the JEP and representations or submissions allowed prior to the Minister making his final decision. In addition, it is also beneficial to circulate these proposals to all Constables and other interested parties to coincide with the advertisement and press release. Once the deadline for submissions has passed, the Minister will be requested to finally approve the proposals including any changes which may be requested.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to provisionally approve changes to the winter 2009/10 bus timetable as shown in Appendix A to this report and to determine that public notice of his provisional decision should be given in accordance with Article 24 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935.

Reasons for Recommendation

The changes being proposed enhance the winter timetable, remove some anomalies or duplications and eliminates some inconsistencies between the summer and winter timetables.

Actions Required

Advise Connex of the decision.
Prepare advertisement to be placed in the Gazette section of the JEP and media release as soon as possible.
Circulate proposals to all Constables, Parish Halls and other interested parties.
Revert to the Minister for a final decision once the notice period has expired.

Resource Implications

The total cost of these proposals is £14,500 but this will be offset by additional fare revenue. The net cost can be funded by increased revenue elsewhere on the network.

Written by:	Director of Transport

Approved by:	Acting Chief Officer

Attachments: Appendix A – Schedule of Proposals