Agenda and minutes

Items
No. Item

1.

Introductions

Minutes:

It was decided that the Introductions item would be brought forward to open the meeting.

 

The Deputy Chair introduced himself and informed the Sub-Committee that due to Cllr Salam’s absence, he would be chairing the meeting.

2.

Open Forum

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

Minutes:

Members questioned when timetables would be available at all bus stops across the region again. Officers advised that although it was the Combined Authority’s responsibility to provide and update these timetables at bus stops, this had been disrupted by the significant impact of the pandemic on bus services. Work was underway to ensure that up-to-date information was available at all stops, but with 14,000 bus stops throughout the region a return to normality would take some time.

Members also raised the issue of train delays caused by breakdowns and signalling issues, and questioned whether sufficient maintenance was being performed. The representative from Northern noted that train performance had been generally strong, with 88% of train journeys departing stations either early or within three minutes of their scheduled time. A benefit of the pandemic had been that there had been an emphasis on the importance of performance, particularly in light of issues with the May 2018 timetable, and the work being done by Network Rail to avoid signal failures and similar issues that can disrupt service was praised.

3.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Taj Salam.

4.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Transport Committee members only.

Minutes:

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

5.

Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

Minutes:

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

6.

Minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2021 pdf icon PDF 244 KB

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

Minutes:

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2021 be noted.

7.

Notes of the informal joint DCSC meeting held on 26 August 2021 pdf icon PDF 185 KB

For information.

Minutes:

Resolved: That the minutes of the joint DCSC meeting held on 26 August 2021 be noted.

8.

Chair's Update and Transport Review

Minutes:

There were no comments on the Transport Review or other updates from the Deputy Chair.

9.

Information Report pdf icon PDF 207 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee received an update on transport schemes within the Bradford area.

Resolved: That the information report be noted.

10.

Operators Updates

Minutes:

Arriva

Arriva reported that passenger numbers were continuing to slowly improve. The punctuality of many services had been affected by roadworks, with two burst water mains occurring within the space of a few days and causing particular disruption to the 268 service.

Recruitment was noted as being a challenge due to the national driver shortage, and it was felt that this was being exacerbated by the Government’s focus on the impact of this issue on the HGV industry rather than on the bus services.

FirstBus

FirstBus were experiencing similar issues to those reported by Arriva regarding recruitment, and FirstBus, like other operators, were working on recruitment and retention initiatives. Some service frequency changes had been introduced recently to manage the resource available, but it was stressed that these were temporary changes to cope with the national driver shortages, and much work was going into providing the best service possible despite these shortages, particularly in the context of passengers beginning to return to the bus network.

 

FirstBus highlighted that marketing and publicity efforts were being directed toward communicating service levels and promoting reasons to travel to the public to encourage users back to the bus service. This included a £1 evening fare initiative. Extra investment had also been made into front-line staff, with a full-time representative now in place at Bradford bus station.

 

It was also noted that there had been some recent vandalism issues in Holme Wood, as had been reported in local media. These events were generally isolated incidents and had not been repeated in this instance. FirstBus would continue to work with partners such as the police, Bradford Council and the Combined Authority on any future issues of this kind.

Transdev

Transdev reported that due to the impact of the national driver shortage, they were running a temporary timetable for the Keighley to Bradford shuttle service, and a small number of local services in Keighley were still running reduced journeys. Passenger numbers were noted to be roughly 70-75% of 2019 levels. Recruitment efforts for drivers were underway to bring the service back to 100%, but there were some delays in drivers getting through the training and licensing process on the part of DVLA.

 

Transdev were also running several marketing schemes to encourage people to return to the bus service, including the £1 evening fare promotion that FirstBus had discussed above, which was hoped to assist with the recovery of evening journeys relating to the hospitality sector. Free day tickets had also been issued over the Transdev mobile app to serve as a thank you for those who had been using the service as well as an encouragement for others to try it. A great deal of feedback had been received from these free journeys, with passengers reporting that the buses felt clean and safe.

Members questioned what arrangements had been made to provide alternative services for users whose journeys would be affected by the Morten Lane and Granby Lane bridge closures which were planned over the next  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Workshop Session - Travel and Transport Post Pandemic pdf icon PDF 211 KB

Minutes:

Members received a presentation on the impact of the pandemic on travel and transport in the region, and on plans for recovery and on the long-term impact on travel behaviours, and were asked to consider 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?

 

Resolved: That the report be noted.