Agenda and minutes

To note apologies for absence and confirm the quorum of 11 members is met.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Joanne Dodds, Tina Benton, Mark Thompson, Robert Finnigan and Tony Hames.

The meeting was confirmed as quorate, with 11 members present out of 11 needed for quorum.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

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

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2022 be approved.

The Committee received a verbal update from the Chair where the Chair welcomed the Mayor and reminded members of the pre-agreed topics and set out the structure of the meeting.

Resolved:  That the Chair’s verbal update be noted.

The Chair thanked the Mayor Tracy Brabin and officers for attending Transport Scrutiny to answer the Committee’s questions. Officers present to support the Mayor included the Director of Transport Operations & Customer Experience, Director of Transport Delivery & Policy, the Head of Transport Policy, and Head of Energy and Environment Policy.

The session was split into topic areas and members would be able to ask any questions under those topic areas, and any follow ups. The topic areas were Buses, Rail, Mass Transit, Net Zero & Decarbonisation, and Active Travel.

Buses

• The Mayor felt she had done everything in her power to support and work with bus companies and services. Bus companies have been supported with Combined Authority money during the pandemic and since, the Mayor ran a bus driver recruitment and training programme alongside operators for 1000 new bus drivers, and future shift proofing.
• Despite this, when the government provided extra funding to companies, after mayoral lobbying, they still withdrew and cut down on routes. The main problem in her view is that bus services are run for profit and will always focus on that, rather than prioritise socially necessary routes, some of which the CA subsidise.
• Bus franchising may be a solution long term, with a goal of having a London-style bus service every 15 minutes for the whole region, but moving towards franchising requires following a very long and expensive statutory process. WYCA intends to make a decision on progressing this before the 2024 elections. The Mayor has lobbied the government to try to shorten the timescale and difficulty. Greater Manchester is still progressing the move to bus franchising 5 years later.
• The importance of accessibility was emphasised while situations where wheelchair users being set behind pushchairs on buses are still common. The Mayor’s ‘big bus chat’ had provided a useful forum as well as ‘Message the Mayor’ on BBC Radio Leeds and led to some changes such as adjusting speakers at bus stops for the hearing impaired and ensuring better training for both drivers and passengers on using these services.
• There was tension between talking about the failings of the bus services and encouraging more people to use the system, as it is a challenge to persuade people to use a ‘broken system’. Services are back at 80% pre-covid levels, the ‘Mayor’s Fares’ scheme pushed it to 84% and 100% for young people. Frustration was expressed at bus companies increasing cheaper fares of £1.80 to £2 following the ‘Mayor’s Fares’ scheme for more profit.
• There had been some improvements in the Real Time Information system, but several elements still needed work such as ensuring the correct information is submitted by bus operators as frequently as needed, to avoid the phenomenon of ‘ghost buses’, and to work around infrastructure schemes which have disrupted some roads and areas. Work was underway through the Enhanced Partnership to improve this.

Rail, Waterways & Freight

• The cancellation of HS2 had impacted the entire region and the Mayor hoped that despite the disappointment with HS2,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

The Committee discussed the Work programme for the remainder of the 2022/23 municipal year. The Committee confirmed the agenda for the last committee meeting of the year, on 9 March, would focus on transport consultations, transport in planning, affordable housing, and freight/waterways/inland port. The Committee also discussed and agreed a workshop, to be held on 16 February, to focus on decarbonisation, behaviour change, active travel, and modal shift.

Resolved:  That the appended 2022/23 Work Programme be amended to include the agreed changes to the agenda of the 9 March 2023 committee meeting and 16 February 2023 workshop.