Agenda item

Resolved: That Transport Committee endorses the approach to developing the Enhanced Partnership as set out in the submitted report including the timescales for public consultation.

The Transport Committee considered a report providing an overview of activity to develop the Bus Enhanced Partnership for West Yorkshire, and seeking endorsement for the timescales associated with the development and duration of the Enhanced Partnership, as well as for the approach to the development of Enhanced Partnership Schemes.

The BSIP, as had been discussed at previous meetings, was submitted to Government at the end of October, and a decision regarding funding was now being awaited. However, in order to access any available funding, Transport Authorities were required to either be in a Bus Enhanced Partnership by 1 April 2022, or to be significantly on the path of establishing a franchising scheme. The Combined Authority decided at its June meeting to develop an Enhanced Partnership with bus operators whilst at the same time exploring the business case around franchising.

Officers advised that the Enhanced Partnership consisted of two significant aspects; an Enhanced Partnership Plan, which was a strategic document with the BSIP at its base which included the wider view of how bus operators, the Combined Authority, and Local Authorities would work in partnership, and Enhanced Partnership Schemes, which were more technical and went into detail on how the investment of the public sector and that of the bus operators would be applied in conjunction. There was a requirement for the Combined Authority to be part of at least one Enhanced Partnership Scheme in order to access funding, and this was currently in the development stage, with the aim of a Scheme being in place for March 2022. The Enhanced Partnership would be presented to the Combined Authority at its December 2021 meeting and then brought back to the Transport Committee after further engagement and consultation in the New Year, in advance of a final decision by the Combined Authority in February.

Members welcomed the scale of ambition showed by the Enhanced Partnership and BSIP but questioned whether it was fully achievable, and the importance of using this as an opportunity to add in more routes and more accessibility for those who had an insufficient service, rather than simply replacing services that had recently been cut, was highlighted.

It was questioned whether the target of all buses in the region meeting Euro VI emissions standards by 2026, set as part of the BSIP, was achievable. Officers advised that the target would require the Combined Authority and partners to stretch themselves, but that it was hoped that the success already achieved in retrofitting buses, particularly focused around the clean air zones in Leeds and Bradford, could be expanded across all of West Yorkshire. It was also noted that a response to the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) bid was currently being formulated, to be submitted in partnership with operators; if successful, this would bring over 120 zero-emission buses into the region.

Members questioned why only one Enhanced Partnership Scheme was currently being planned. It was noted that these arrangements were still being developed by the Government, with the latest guidance on how to frame these Schemes having been received only two days before the meeting. As only one Enhanced Partnership Scheme was required in order for the Combined Authority to access funding and the Schemes themselves were required to be quite specific, the intention was to start at this level and examine options going forward.

Bus priority corridor schemes were also discussed, particularly in regard to the planned Cooper Bridge scheme. It was noted that although no bus lanes were able to be included for this scheme due to a lack of space available, it was intended that transponders would be used to assist with traffic management The topography of the region limiting space in some areas was noted as a wider challenge, with roads being required to take many different forms of transport into account, and that this could lead to difficult decisions needing to be made. A pipeline of bus priority schemes was also highlighted as being ready for delivery once funding was available.

Resolved: That the Transport Committee endorses the approach to developing the Enhanced Partnership as set out in the submitted report including the timescales for public consultation.