Minutes:
The Chief Executive reported that the following questions had been received from Mr. M.J. Hunt CC:
The budget for
bus stops, shelters and passenger information
1.
What has been the budget for bus
stops, shelters and passenger information over each of the last five years?
Reply
from Chairman
Year |
Budget – covering: Bus shelter cleaning and maintenance contract. Bus service area guides and timetables. Bus stop infrastructure (flag, poles and shelters). Public Transport Technician equipment. |
2017/18 |
£70,000 |
2018/19 |
£70,000 |
2019/20 |
£67,500 |
2020/21 |
£67,500 |
2021/22 |
£50,500 |
N.B
the above table does not include real time information costs.
2.
How many new bus shelter requests
have been received and how many agreed in that time?”
Reply from
Chairman:
Since 2018 we have
received 7 new shelter requests that have not been agreed and 4 replacement
shelter requests which have all been agreed.
“The Passenger
Transport Strategy
3.
The Passenger Transport Strategy,
agreed by Cabinet states:
11.1 Leicestershire County Council will continue to provide and maintain
infrastructure that facilitates passenger transport use, in cooperation with
operators where appropriate. This includes bus stop poles/flags and shelters,
information display cases at stops, and interchange facilities.
Selection of locations for any new bus stops and shelters will follow
good practice and will particularly consider accessibility for people with
impaired mobility.
What is “good practice” when selecting
the location of bus shelters and where can it be accessed?
Reply
from Chairman
Experienced
County Council officers make the assessment by using their knowledge of the
network and by carefully considering each request based on frequency, usage and
locality as well as reviewing daily passenger usage. As there is no specifically defined scoring
criteria covering other factors to determine shelter requests, it is recognised
that this approach requires a review.
The intention going forward is to work towards developing a clear policy
for bus shelter requests which will include a scoring framework for a range of
factors.
4.
When considering “accessibility for
people with impaired mobility” is this likely to include members of the public
with learning difficulties and unable to use a private car?
Reply
from Chairman:
The
strategy and paragraph referenced covers physical impaired mobility and
consideration is given to accessibility in terms of raised kerbs where
appropriate and low floor vehicles.
Through the siting of bus stops (i.e. flag and pole) access to public
transport is available on a universal basis to everyone in Leicestershire regardless
of disability or learning difficulties.
It is therefore anticipated that those with learning difficulties and
unable to use a private car would have access, as above, or to other County
Council transport provision i.e. Special Educational Needs (SEN)
transport/Adult Social Care transport where eligible.
Supplementary
Question from Mr. M. J. Hunt CC:
Mr.
Hunt CC requested clarification on whether the Strategy covered impaired
mobility or just physical impaired mobility and what in fact the difference
between the two was and whether access to public transport was intended to be
on a universal basis. The Chairman
offered to provide Mr. Hunt with a written answer after the meeting.
5.
How many bus shelters do not meet your
criteria or have low patronage and for how long do we continue to maintain
them?
Reply
from Chairman:
Once
a shelter is installed, usage is not monitored, and we would only look to
remove a shelter in extenuating circumstances.
The reason for this is that the cost to remove a shelter is far greater
than the on-going cleaning and maintenance costs. In addition, the bus network
is subject to change and where operators reinstate services, a bus stop may
once again come back into use. The shelters that are the responsibility of the
County Council are maintained through an external contractor.
6.
Until several years ago several
local highways functions, including bus shelters, were delegated to district
councils covering unparished areas. Can you confirm these so called
“Highways Agencies” have now ceased and the responsibility for bus shelters now
resides exclusively in accord with the County’s Passenger Transport Strategy?
Reply
from Chairman:
There
are over 800 shelters throughout the county and the County Council are
responsible for 217 of these. The
remaining shelters are the responsibility of parish or district council both in
terms of ownership and on-going maintenance. The District Council previously
supplied bus shelters under the local Agency agreement with the County Council
however they no longer provide these.
Supplementary Question from Mr. M. J. Hunt CC:
Mr. Hunt CC requested clarification on the part
of the answer which stated “The District Council previously supplied bus
shelters under the local Agency agreement with the County Council however they
no longer provide these.” Mr. Hunt CC asked for confirmation that this meant
District Councils no longer provided bus shelters at all and whether Parish
Councils provided them. The Chairman offered to provide
Mr. Hunt with a written answer after the meeting.
7.
With the growth of ‘on demand’
services will some bus shelters become redundant?
Reply
from Chairman:
No. Fixed bus stops and shelters will continue to
be used for demand led services with the addition of some virtual stops where
appropriate.
8.
What proportion of passengers now
use ‘on demand’ services as opposed to a ‘traditional’ bus?
Reply
from Chairman:
Currently
in Leicestershire there is only one ‘on demand’ service which is in the New
Lubbesthorpe area. This therefore
represents a very small number of passengers using this type of service. The County Council has been successful in
receiving the recent Rural Mobility Fund and it is anticipated that a further
new ‘on demand’ service will start early next year. Usage for the New Lubbesthorpe service is
growing steadily and is still a relatively new service which started in April
2019.
Please
note ‘on demand’ has been defined as a service which can be booked via an app
on the day of travel within a defined zoned.
There are also approximately 47 demand responsive transport (DRT)
services in the county. These services
need to be pre-booked the day before travel and operate on a fixed time and
destination basis.
Supporting documents: