Agenda and minutes

Venue: Due to Covid-19, this meeting will be held remotely and will be livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCazjNSGpqZZT41Vibn2ZK9A/live (copy and paste the link in your browser)

Items
No. Item

30.

Open Forum

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

Minutes:

The Chair read a question from a member of the public regarding alternative arrangements made for vulnerable people when bus services were reduced or lost due to road works, and if there are any plans to increase the service of AccessBuses. Officers responded that operators will put measures in place to reduce disruption wherever possible, including re-routing services and organising replacement vehicles. There are challenges whenever a service is re-routed, however operators work closely with the Combined Authority to anticipate and address any issues. There are 33 AccessBuses currently in operation around West Yorkshire, and the usage is being reviewed to track service use as the pandemic restrictions are eased. The fleet is being considered for renewal to some newer vehicles, and there are potential opportunities for the expansion of the fleet.

 

A question was raised regarding the invitation of elected members to the DCSC meeting. The Chair noted there had already been a response, but responded that the meeting is primarily a forum for between transport committee members, operators, and public representatives. Any guests are welcome to observe or to provide input through the Chair, and meeting details are published ahead of time on the WYCA website.

 

31.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Kaushik and Cllr Firth.

32.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Transport Committee members only.

Minutes:

33.

Exempt Information - Possible exclusion of the press and public

Minutes:

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

34.

Minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 2021 pdf icon PDF 151 KB

Please note that these minutes are presented for information and cannot be approved during this informal meeting.

Minutes:

Members noted the notes of the meeting held on 24 March 2021.

35.

Notes of the Informal Joint DCSC Meeting held on 26 August 2021 pdf icon PDF 185 KB

For information.

Minutes:

Members noted the notes of the meeting held on 26 August 2021.

36.

Introductions

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee members agreed to introduce themselves as they spoke throughout the meeting.

37.

Chair's Update and Transport Review

Minutes:

The Chair raised a concern regarding the cancellation of the 205 Arriva bus service between Dewsbury and Pudsey. WYCA have agreed to replace the service from the 25th of October with a contracted service from TLC Travel. The cost is approximately £120,000 per year, and TLC Travel are currently organising staff resources to cover the route beginning with a reduced timetable before instating a full service.

 

38.

Information Report pdf icon PDF 212 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee members noted a report which provided an update on matters relating to the Kirklees district. A list of current project activity in the Kirklees district was attached at Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

 

It was clarified that there are separate resurfacing works on the A62 which are causing disruption, which are in addition to the ‘A62 Smart Corridor’ works highlighted in the report. 

 

There are still questions regarding the closure of the Dewsbury bus station customer service centre and how it will be replaced. Questions have arisen as a result of a consultation on the topic, and feedback will be important to keep the affected customers informed.

 

There were questions regarding the nature of the works at Cross Church Street in Huddersfield, the integration of the ‘Bradley to Brighouse’ project with the project at Cooper Bridge, and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Concerns were related to the alignment of the projects with the key design principles of the government’s Gear Change document to be designed with cyclists in mind, to be unobstructed, and easy to understand for users. It was noted that projects should have a higher focus on active travel and bus priority, and that projects that do not meet these objectives should be queried regarding funding. Bus priority would play a key part in the modal shift from cars to buses, helping authorities meet carbon reduction targets.

 

It was raised that a Kirklees Council officer should be available to respond to any questions, officers agreed to follow up and invite a suitable representative to future meetings.

 

Members noted the report.

39.

Operator Updates

Minutes:

The meeting was attended by representatives from the rail and bus operators who provided the Sub-Committee members with updates.

 

TransPennine Express

 

TransPennine noted that they are operating to a 90% punctuality rate. Punctuality will be monitored around the larger hubs such as Huddersfield and Leeds as more services are reintroduced to the timetable as pandemic restrictions ease. Performance is now measured at all calling points in three key criteria; on time, arrived within three minutes, and arrived within fifteen minutes.

 

Passenger numbers are roughly 70% of the pre-pandemic figure and is slowly growing over time. Changing customer habits have resulted in lower-than-expected figures for the typical weekday commute, whereas weekend and leisure activity has seen large increases. Routes are being monitored to better serve customer needs. New Nova trains have also been introduced which will provide extra capacity.

 

Works have completed at Dewsbury station to build an additional shelter and new customer toilets, which are due to be opened shortly following the final snagging process. The new toilet facilities include baby changing as well as accessible toilets for customers.

 

A question was raised to clarify what is meant by 70% train capacity. Officers explained that the figure is in terms of passenger journeys compared to at the same time pre-pandemic. The new Nova trains will add capacity to existing routes, but it will remain that some routes and times will be more popular than others.

 

Northern

 

Northern reported that 88% of their trains are arriving within three minutes of the scheduled time at each station. Northern trains are also running a reduced service with the intention of increasing capacity as restrictions ease.

 

Passenger numbers are roughly at 70% of pre-pandemic figures, with similar trends of lower commuting travel and higher leisure travel. New ticket offers such as flexible tickets are being advertised to commuters to encourage a return to using train services.

 

Staffing has been impacted by the pandemic, with some alterations made to ensure availability, this has however lowered the potential flexibility if a driver is unavailable at short notice and resulted in some cancellations.

 

Driver training had to be suspended for an eight-month period as social distancing is not possible within small train cabins. A Covid-safe method of training was developed in conjunction with operators and trade unions, and training has since resumed.

 

Northern was unaffected by the fuel supply issues since fuel is delivered to the depots by rail. Services such as cleaning had been temporarily impacted by staff being unable to get to the stations, but the issue has since cleared. The cleaning of trains will be kept to a high standard even as the pandemic restrictions are lifted.

 

The Neville Hill depot has now come under the control of Northern which will allow for further improvements to the depot.

 

The next scheduled timetable change will occur in December 2021, there are no major changes planned for Kirklees.

 

Cllr Bolt thanked Northern for the update, and for the support to Mirfield in Bloom when there were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

40.

Workshop Session - Travel and Transport Post-Pandemic pdf icon PDF 210 KB

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee members were given a presentation on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on public travel use in West Yorkshire.

 

The presentation comprised a breakdown of available data from operators and gathered by customer research. Feedback was sought on three key questions:

How has Covid changed your travel habits and perception of safety?

What needs to happen to enable transport to support an economically sustainable recovery?

How do we ensure transport options enable the widest range of people to be included in society?

 

The following questions and comments were raised:

·       Developers of larger planning applications should be pressed to support multi-modal M-Cards so new residents in developments where transport options are limited can make the most of the options they have.

·       There should be a more comprehensive understanding of current and upcoming projects so they can be linked to ensure active travel methods are integral to their design.

·       Full carbon evaluations should be conducted for every scheme to reduce or eliminate its carbon impact, and developers should be contributing to offset any disruption to the public.

·       The lighting of new projects and developments should be considered to ensure all users, especially women and girls, feel confident using them to travel at night and in winter months.

·       How do customers find the best value for money among ticketing options, given that some tickets can be cheaper when bought individually compared to using an M-Card.

·       Are there options for cheaper regional M-Cards, for example Huddersfield only, which would include all operators within the region. Officers confirmed that there are already five zones that form a map encompassing the West Yorkshire region, which may align with this suggestion.

·       In many cases, travelling by car is the easier and faster option than the train or bus.

·       Accessibility onto some train platforms such as Slaithwaite or Marsden is limited or non-existent. It was noted that these accessibility issues have been raised previously but should be raised again to Network Rail as it is unknown if they are included in the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

·       Bus services should be given more priority and be more reliable.

·       It was suggested that station access should be a recurring theme on future agendas to discuss the topic and raise any issues. In order to give full consideration to an item such as access it would be beneficial to receive a report with the relevant information to be considered ahead of time.

 

Members noted the presentation and thanked officers for their presentation.