Agenda and minutes

Venue: A REMOTE MEETING

Items
No. Item

30.

Open Forum

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

Minutes:

Graham Peacock highlighted that pocket timetables and timetable displays had been widely removed from bus stations during the pandemic and that members of the public without access to smartphones could therefore have difficulty effectively utilising bus services. In response, the Sub-Committee was advised that additional roadside displays and pocket timetables were due to be issued in the next few weeks.

 

Nabila Ayub from Careers and Technical Education Partnership advised the Sub-Committee of her organisation’s work with young people showcasing career paths available in the district and in improving opportunities for engagement with students. She requested that operators contact her after the meeting if they were interested in being involved. The Chair thanked her for this and noted the importance of this engagement with young people.

 

Transdev thanked young people across the district for taking part in a Dragon’s Den challenge with the rail industry and noted that their work could be seen at Saltaire, Shipley, and Bradford Interchange stations.

 

No other questions or concerns had been raised from members of the public prior to the meeting.

31.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence received from Councillor Michael Ellis and Councillor Hassan Khan.

32.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Transport Committee members only.

Minutes:

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

 

33.

Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

Minutes:

There were no items which required the exemption of the press or public.

 

34.

Minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2019 pdf icon PDF 135 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2019 be approved.

35.

Minutes of the joint DCSC held on 17 July 2020 pdf icon PDF 149 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:  That the minutes of the joint meeting of the District Consultation Sub-Committees held on 17 July 2020 be noted.

36.

Chair's Update

Minutes:

The Chair reported that bus service levels had risen from roughly 5% across the district at the beginning of lockdown to 90% of services running with between 50% to 60% patronage. Traffic volumes were increasing and rail services were running as normal, although the numbers of passengers were significantly below what would be expected for this time of year.

 

It was reported that as required by the Emergency Active Travel funding agreement, a number of arterial roads had been marked with lanes for cyclists and pedestrians. A report from the Bradford Cycling campaign providing feedback on the new cycling facilities was distributed to members after the meeting. The question was raised of whether more could be done to ensure cyclists did not cycle on footpaths; the Chair responded that this message would be pushed wherever possible through district programmes.

 

The Sub-Committee discussed capacity issues on buses and the need for a bigger community focus on cycling. Concerns regarding the safety of bus drivers were also raised and the Sub-Committee noted the arrangements in place to protect drivers.

 

It was noted that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority had been awarded a single payment of £1.086 million revenue funding to support bus services in the region. The pandemic had delayed a number of initiatives intended to utilise this fund, but three had been completed:

 

·       A Keighley to Halifax via Denholm service

·       New links between east Leeds and five local towns

·       A Barnsley/Doncaster to southeast Wakefield service

 

The rest of this fund had been put in a contingency plan pot with the agreement of the Department for Transport.

 

It was noted that Yorkshire Tiger had given notice of early termination of their contract in the Shipley and Bradford area. These services had been given to TLC, with Transdev taking over the airport service.

37.

Information Report pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Minutes:

It was noted that on-going traffic light installation at Greengates in Bradford had caused delays to bus services in the area. These delays would be likely to continue until after Christmas, but after completion it was expected the new traffic lights would be of great benefit to bus service provision.

The Sub-Committee was advised that operators were still reviewing their services to ensure they would be able to prioritise resources to meet demand, but noted this was a rapidly changing environment.

It was reported that the Combined Authority had applied for Emergency Active Travel funding from the Department for Transport and had been successful in its application for tranche one. An application for further funding from tranche two had been submitted and a response was expected in the near future.


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

38.

Operators Updates

Minutes:

First Group

 

First Group informed the Sub-Committee of the measures they had implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

 

It was highlighted that First Group had committed to operate as a zero-emissions bus company nationally by 2035 and did not plan to purchase any new diesel buses after 2022.

 

The Sub-Committee was advised that First Group had held discussions with Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw regarding the Bradford-Shipley corridor, with the aim of pushing traffic onto Canal Road and improving the reliability of the bus service on Manningham Lane. First Group was now waiting for evidence regarding the service’s ability to handle these traffic volumes and the staging of required work.

Some punctuality issues had been observed on Wakefield Road, and First Group would continue to monitor this.

First Group discussed their support for the Bradford bid to be the 2025 Capital of Culture bid, and noted they were available to assist with this in any way possible.


Discussions were ongoing with National Power Grid regarding future roadworks in Bradford. A recent unexpected road closure would mean that no bus services would be running in Wilsden for a period of five weeks. First Group had only become aware of this on 6 October and had been working with the Combined Authority to implement an emergency bus service into Bingley. Some customer complaints were expected, but little could be done due to the short notice received. There was some concern raised regarding the possibility of future problems further along the route of the proposed works.

Transdev

 

Transdev informed the Sub-Committee of the measures they had implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

It was reported that an electric vehicle would be trialled on the shuttle service between Keighley and Bradford, with the hope of this service becoming all-electric if the trial went well.

 

The Sub-Committee was informed that Phil Jolly had left Transdev to work for the Combined Authority. The Sub-Committee noted its thanks to Phil Jolly for all his work in his previous role, as well as their thanks to bus drivers throughout the district for the care and courtesy they had shown over the course of the pandemic. The Chair welcomed David Umpleby Service Delivery Manager at Transdev, who would be attending future Sub-Committee meetings.

 

Arriva

 

Arriva noted that despite a drop in peak-time demand, particularly for services travelling into Bradford City Centre, demand had returned to normal for some services. Due to the need for social distancing, extra journeys had been added to the timetables of the three busiest bus services.

The Sub-Committee was advised that as part of the West Yorkshire Bus Alliance, Arriva was currently in the process of retrofitting exhausts to a Euro 6 emissions standard, and that this programme had been made possible by the Combined Authority’s successful bid to the Clean Bus Technology fund.

 

Northern

 

Northern advised that many changes had been made to services in a short period of time, with six timetables introduced since the start of the pandemic as services were gradually  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

39.

Workshop Session - Carbon Reduction Pathways

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee was given a presentation on West Yorkshire carbon emission reduction pathways which was one of the significant areas of activity being undertaken by the Combined Authority to tackle the climate emergency. 

 

It was reported that the Combined Authority had commissioned a study to identify potential carbon emission reduction pathways and the interventions that need to be implemented if the net zero carbon 2038 target were to be achieved.

 

The following comments and questions were discussed:

 

·       The role of cargo bikes for small business owners and traders, particularly in city centres, alongside a ‘hub, spoke and last mile’ delivery process.

·       The potential rollout of electric trains or other alternative to diesel trains, such as hydrogen trains.

·       Whether it would be practical to persuade a large enough segment of the public to change their travel habits.

 

The dangers of catching Covid-19 on public transport were also discussed, and the point made that there was no evidence currently available showing that public transport carried any extra risk.

 

The Sub-Committee was thanked for their feedback. They were asked to forward any further comments to the Combined Authority. 

 

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