Agenda and draft minutes

Open session for members of the public to ask a question, raise a concern or provide feedback.

The Sub-Committee and member of the public in attendance were given the opportunity to raise any issues which were not covered on the agenda and the following comments were made:

·         A member queried how the Combined Authority’s aim to double patronage could be measured. The Sub-Committee was informed that patronage figures were available from 2016 and could be shared with members.

·         A member expressed concern that the new ticket machines at Leeds station were hard to use and the touch screen was unresponsive which could disadvantage people with arthritis.

·         That the bus stops outside Leeds station were small and had limited undercover areas – and may struggle to be suitable for increased patronage.

·         A member of the public attended the meeting to ask about the possibility of re-opening Calverley and Rodley station. In a 2014 report the Combined Authority explained that the re-opening Calverley and Rodley station would be re-assessed once Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge had been completed and travel patterns assessed.

·         In response the Sub-Committee was informed that in 2014 the Transport Committee longlisted stations for park & ride sites and that approved stations were still being worked on. Any work regarding the potential re-opening of extra sites, including the Calverley and Rodley site, would be kept under review.  

·         Members discussed the traffic flow around the corn exchange and whether the traffic light system could be better synchronised.

·         Members also raised the congestion caused by the works on the headrow and the impact on bus reliability.

·         Bus operators asked Leeds City Council to monitor the compliance of people carrying out roadworks as some were not providing bus operators with sufficient notice to plan diversions, or in some cases, providing notice but changing their plans without updating operators.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Hall, Councillor Buckley, Cllr Groves, Kat Handy, Charlotte Davenport, Hazel Lee, Michael Leighton, Clare Mason and Brannoc Stevenson.

Transport Committee Members only.

There were no pecuniary interests declared by members at the meeting.

There were no items requiring the exemption of the press and public.

David Brady, the incumbent deputy chair, was standing down and the Sub- Committee was asked to consider which member should take on the role. Peter Dixon and Mark Parry put themselves forward and the Sub-Committee voted for Mark Parry as the new Deputy Chair.

Resolved: That Mark Parry be confirmed as the deputy chair. 

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on the 4 February be approved.

Councillor Carlill introduced himself as the new Chair of the sub-committee and outlined some of the work underway the Leeds district which included the promotion of sustainable modes of transport such as cycling and walking.

The Sub-Committee was provided with the following operator updates:

First

·      Progress on mobile ticketing was now at 35%

·      Nearly 200 new buses for key corridors and 9 electric buses.

·      The retrofit programme had been completed.

·      A post-implementation review was underway following the September timetable changes to inform the December timetable changes.

Members of the Sub-Committee had the following questions and comments following First’s update:

·         Members discussed the irregularity of the 33 and 34 bus after 9pm with  customers facing up to 1 hour gaps between services. First committed to respond to Members of the Sub-Committee.

·         A Member enquired about the increase in journey times to services from Yeadon on the timetables. In response the Sub-Committee was informed that journey times on the face of timetables had increased to account for congestion.

·         First explained that Timetables need to be robust in order to ensure reliability and this might mean that journey times increase.

·         Members discussed the impact of the headrow on bus services including buses taking different routes into the bus station. First reported that these were interim measure to mitigate delays caused by the headrow works and that First would look at further ways to address the Headrow.

Arriva

·         Arriva reported that their fleet was compliant for the Leeds Clean Air Zone.

·         Arriva re-confirmed their commitment to the Bus Alliance and the view that in order to increase patronage it would be necessary to increase service frequency and that accordingly Arriva would be doubling the frequency of some of their busier services.

Members of the Sub-Committee had the following questions and comments following Arriva’s update:

·         A Member asked about the possibility of including Rothwell in the Leeds urban ticket. Arriva explained that it would be difficult to look at lowering fares on that route.

·         A Member raised the concern that buses were being held up when entering Wakefield bus station due to traffic wanted to turn into shopping area. The Sub-Committee heard that this had been identified as an issue and would form part of a Transforming Cities Fund bid.

·         The Sub-Committee discussed the provision of bus services to the airport as well as the high cost of fares. Arriva explained that Yorkshire Tiger operated the service on behalf of the Combined Authority and it would be for them to reconsider fares.

·         Members also discussed the desire for an express service to run between the Airport and Bradford and members expressed their concern that the express service would cut out stops.

Transpennine

·         Transpennine informed the Sub-Committee of several timetable changes as well as the role out of their new trains.

·         Previous timetable changes were reported to be steady and would be re-assessed for the December changes.

·         Transpennine outlined the need for the Transpennine Route Upgrade to provide increased capacity and resilience between Leeds and Manchester.

Members of the Sub-Committee had the following questions and comments following Transpennine’s update:

·         A member asked why Transpennine services stopped at Redcar and didn’t continue to Saltburn. The Sub-Committee was informed that it was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Sub-Committee was provided with a presentation regarding the Bus Alliance and made the following comments:

·         Members expressed broad support for the aims of the Bus Alliance but raised concerns regarding the impact that traffic congestion could have on the aims of the alliance.

·          Members discussed the importance of restricting car use in the city centre or the use of more bus lanes.

·         Members questioned how the success of the Bus Alliance would be measured and were informed that as well as through patronage figures the success would also be monitored through a Transport Focus designed customer survey.

Resolved: That the presentation and the Sub Committee’s feedback be noted.

Member considered an information report which provided an update on matter relating to the Leeds district. Members of the Sub-Committee raised the following points:

·         The possibility for the Combined Authority to become involved in the sale of bus companies.

·         The importance of frequent reviews of the bus networks to improve to ensure that service remain in step with developments. The Sub-Committee was informed that work was ongoing to pre-empt major housing and office developments and take them into account when planning future routes / networks.

·         That the bus network should be more legible for customers; with particular reference to passengers with disabilities – e.g. colour-blindness.  

·         A Sub-Committee member queried the robustness of the consultation for LCWIPS. Members were informed that the first consultation was a targeted exercise to identify possible desire lines and that a wider consultation would follow in due course.

Resolved: That the information report and the Sub-Committee’s feedback be noted.