Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sabiya Khan, Charlie Keith, Mark Thompson, and Tony Hames.

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

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

Cllr Dave Merrett declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of the Northern Transport Activists Roundtable, York Bus Forum & as a concessionary bus pass user.

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

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2023 be approved subject to the addition of Cllr Harry McCarthy to the attendance list, as he was present.

The Chair welcomed new and returning members to the Committee and:

• Provided a reminder about the challenges with quoracy and the need to keep scrutiny officers informed of attendance so substitutes could be arranged in good time.
• Emphasised the importance of keeping discussions at a strategic and regionally focused level, rather than too focused at ward/local council level, which is more typical in local scrutiny.
• Update the committee that she met with the Mayor, Chief Executive, Directors, and the Chair of Transport Committee to inform them of the committee’s work programme and discuss the live issues in the transport sector.

The Chair also thanked the Scrutiny Support Officer Hannah Scales for her support throughout the years and wished well in her new role, as this would be her last meeting. 

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

The Statutory Scrutiny Officer presented a report providing an overview of the governance and scrutiny arrangements established by the Combined Authority at its annual meeting.

It was noted that the Mayor’s Question Time was now scheduled to take place on 1 December 2023 instead of the usual January time due to diary constraints.

Resolved:  That the scrutiny and governance arrangements are noted.

The Statutory Scrutiny Officer presented a report providing an overview of the work programme agreed by members over the summer period, following the work planning session held in July.

The Committee agreed:

• To establish a working group to investigate the Flexi Bus scheme, focusing on an overview of the scheme itself and its goals, its performance and why it was cancelled, and determine who made the decision to cancel the scheme – before reporting back to a future meeting as appropriate. The following members volunteered to participate:

¾    Cllr Amanda Parsons-Hulse

¾    Cllr Andrew Pinnock

¾    Cllr Dot Foster

¾    Cllr Anna Watson

¾    Cllr Dave Merrett

• That once the Bus Franchising and Mass Transit schemes had progressed to delivery stage, the Committee should set up two permanent working groups to shadow and scrutinise the projects – possibly in 2024.
• The Mayor’s Housing Pledge is best covered during the Mayors Question Time session with her on 1 December, and that the sustainability and carbon footprint of housebuilding be added to the discussion.

Resolved:

i)                 That the work programme be adopted as amended. 

ii)                        That a Flexi Bus working group be established to:

1.     be provided with an overview of the scheme and its goals.

2.     assess its performance and the reason for its cancellation.

3.     determine who made the decision to cancel the scheme and why it was not a Member or key decision.

The Executive Director for Transport provided a report summarising the latest passenger experience and transport network data and the latest performance update of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) – in addition to a verbal update on the Combined Authority’s decision to begin the process of formally pursuing Bus Franchising (taken the previous day) and the next steps.

In terms of Bus Franchising:

• The Combined Authority agreed on 28 September to begin the statutory process for bus franchising, following an independent evaluation by Grant Thornton.
• The consultation will begin on 10 October 2023 and all the documentation, including the independent evaluation, will be published for the public and members to see.
• The consultation will run until 7 January 2024 and assessed by an external agency independently and a report will be submitted to the March meeting of the Combined Authority for final approval.
• If approved in March 2024, the timeline for the implementation of franchising long term is planned to take place in three rounds over several years, focusing on different locations and maximising resource use.
• The first round of contracts will be let in Q2 of 2026 to start delivery in 2027. The second round of contracts will be in Q1 2027 to begin by the end of 2027. The third round of contracts will be at the end of 2027 to be operation by Summer 2028.
• Some issues are still outstanding, such as management and ownership of bus depots – currently in private hands.
• It is a lengthy process involving significant public contracts and funds, and complicated legalities and planning, with numerous stages of preparation and engagement.
• It is vital that members, and the public, are briefed regularly and kept in the loop as the process develops and additional deeper briefings are planned.

The Committee discussed the long-term plans to transition to a bus franchising model and the short-term plans to improve bus services in the interim while that is pursued. 

The main points of discussion were:

• Passenger feedback and complaints: Discussions around the Passenger Charter revealed that most passengers don’t know they can complain or how to complain, therefore data around confidence in the system is incomplete without better advertising for the ways passengers can feedback. Roadside displays (RSDs), and tickets, are considered a key place that complaint information can be advertised widely to ensure that people’s views are taken on board – including complaint information to passenger charities in addition to Metroline, a WYCA-managed customer service line which logs all complaints, even those forwarded to other operators.

• Roadside displays (RSDs): Due to how RSDs work and are affected by weather, only one document can be displayed at once so all information including bus times and complaints etc must fit on one sheet. Despite a directive issued by the Transport Committee to maintain RSDs after they were deprioritised during COVID, work to update RSDs has been delayed due to a number of factors, including: the volume of requests (over 74,000 across the region) and issues  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.