Agenda item

1.         That the proposed changes to local bus services in Surrey, as detailed in Annex 2 of the submitted report be approved, and that delegated authority be given to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning and the Strategic Director for Environment and Infrastructure to agree any adjustments before these changes take effect from the start of the 2016/17 academic year.

2.         That the award of the nine local bus tenders, as detailed in the Part 2 report (item 17) be approved.

Reasons for Decisions:

These recommendations will enable Surrey County Council to achieve the required savings needed from the review and are based on:

·                Responses to the public consultation on proposed changes.

·                Full understanding of the impact on the recommended changes to the public (including those with protected characteristics) and the environment.

·                Maintaining as many of the services that residents rely on as possible that get them to employment, healthcare, school and essential shopping.

·                Funding arrangement with service operators that is sustainable in the long term.

·                Ensuring the Council complies with Procurement Standing Orders, requiring Cabinet approval for those contracts that reach a specified value.

[The decision on this item may be called in by the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Scrutiny Board]

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning said that this was the second year in a three year programme to review bus provision in Surrey. He said that the County Council currently spent £7.3m on supporting local bus services.

During the first year of the review savings of £1.043m over a full year were made and this year, if Cabinet agreed to the recommended changes, full annual savings of £723k would be achieved. However, 72 bus users will potentially be affected by the changes but this was set against over 40,000 passenger journeys per day.

He thanked officers for their excellent work saying that, negotiating with suppliers to improve contracts had led to a third of the savings coming from reduced contract costs.

He accepted that providing bus services, particularly in the rural areas was important, together with services to schools, medical appointments, shopping and meeting friends and said that the changes proposed would maintain these links. 

The consultation had received over 2,600 responses from residents and stakeholders and four petitions had also been received and responded to. He said that presenters on Surrey Radio considered that the County Council had conducted a good review and had listened to the public. He highlighted the questions and results which were compiled in the Public Consultation Summary Report, (Annex A to the submitted report) and said that the key findings were set out in paragraph 6 of the main report.

He was pleased to report that, after considering the views of residents, plus discussions with suppliers, a number of routes that were at risk have been saved, including routes 46, 72, several 500 routes in Guildford and others.

There was a list of ten commercial services that suppliers were considering changing and he was reported that none of these had been amended, including Metrobus 281.  There would also be improved links to Dorking and Crawley from Mole Valley, including a service to Gatwick. Details of each of the original routes proposed and the subsequent changes were set out in Annex 2 to the submitted report.

He stressed the importance of encouraging more people to use bus services and said that the Council had established the Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Surrey with the aim of stimulating patronage on bus services, with the first pilot anticipated in the Autumn 2016.

Finally, he drew Cabinet’s attention to Annex 3, to the submitted report – the Equality Impact Assessment, which had been completed for Year 1 of the Bus Review and updated this year.

The Chairman of the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board was invited to address Cabinet and confirmed that the Local Transport Review, year 2, had been discussed in detail at his Scrutiny Board. He praised the public consultation process and said that the Board had supported the recommendations. However, he did stress the importance of accurate timetable information, if the Council wished to increase bus usage.

Cabinet Members highlighted particular routes in their areas, which they were pleased to report had been retained, in particular the new connectivity in Mole Valley and the reinstatement of a bus link from the Charlwood area to Gatwick airport.

Finally, the Leader of the Council thanked the Group Manager Travel and Transport and his team for their excellent work.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the proposed changes to local bus services in Surrey, as detailed in Annex 2 of the submitted report be approved, and that delegated authority be given to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning and the Strategic Director for Environment and Infrastructure to agree any adjustments before these changes take effect from the start of the 2016/17 academic year.

2.         That the award of the nine local bus tenders, as detailed in the Part 2 report (item 17) be approved.

Reasons for Decisions:

These recommendations will enable Surrey County Council to achieve the required savings needed from the review and are based on:

·                Responses to the public consultation on proposed changes.

·                Full understanding of the impact on the recommended changes to the public (including those with protected characteristics) and the environment.

·                Maintaining as many of the services that residents rely on as possible that get them to employment, healthcare, school and essential shopping.

·                Funding arrangement with service operators that is sustainable in the long term.

·                Ensuring the Council complies with Procurement Standing Orders, requiring Cabinet approval for those contracts that reach a specified value.