Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dennis Baum.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting of the Transport Committee held on 7^th March 2019.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting of the Transport Committee held on 7^th March 2019, be approved as a correct record subject to the word “strategy” being changed to “priority” on Page 3, Minute No. 97, 6^th paragraph, 1^st sentence.

To consider a report from Merseytravel relating to the fourth quarterly Bus Alliance update of 2018/19 and an update on key projects being delivered by the Bus Team.

The Committee considered a report from Matt Goggins relating to Quarter 4 of the Bus Alliance update of 2018/19. He highlighted the following: -

·         Improving Bus Punctuality;

o   Five bus corridors have been initially identified to be targeted for improvements – A57 (Prescot Road), A562 (Smithdown Road), B5178 (Wavertree Road Corridor), the A59 (Walton Road/Scotland Road) and A567 (Stanley Road) corridors.

o   A Steering Group with representatives from the Combined Authority, Knowsley MBC, Liverpool City Council, Sefton MBC and St Helens MBC and the Bus Alliance Operators will oversee feasibility work;

o   The Green Routes Programme will be reported to both the LCR Bus Alliance and Key Route Network Groups on a regular basis and will focus on commuter corridors in order to have the greatest impact on passenger numbers.

·         Liverpool City Region Bus Alliance;

o   The Business and Investment Plan has been agreed by the Board and focus on three priority areas –

§  Improving Network Punctuality, Reliability and Resilience;

§  Improving the Customer Journey; and

§  Customer Development and Growth.

o   Bus Patronage for Q3 of 2018/19 has shown a 9% increase in fare paying passenger journeys compared with the same period in the last financial year.

o   Customer Satisfaction is slightly down from 92% to 91% of bus passengers satisfied with their journeys, but this figure is still joint highest of any customer satisfaction of any UK Metropolitan area.

o   City Centre Bus Re-routing Strategy has now been aligned with the Liverpool City Centre Bus Strategy.

o   Bus Hub achieved its planning permission and will now move to the next stage to finalise plans for bus routes.

o   Pioneering the installation of the Traffic Signal Bus Priority Scheme that is different from the traditional triggers.

·         Liverpool City Region Devolution Deal; and

o   Strategic Outline Business Case continues to be developed with an aim for it be completed by 2020

·         Other key work areas.

o   City Centre Enforcement

o   Stops and Shelters Inspection Programme

o   ETM Migration to Ticketer

Members of the Committee raised the following key issues during the discussions –

·         There have been changes to the bus network and budgets, but what stands out is the city regions increase in patronage;

·         There have been huge improvements in relation to the bus patronage, congratulations to the officer team.

·         Are there any comparisons to the other Combined Authorities regarding the bus patronage?

·         How are the discussions with the smaller operators progressing in relation to joining the bus alliance?

·         Good news about the Wirral replacement bus service and a warm welcome to Selwyn’s, however local residents are still campaigning for evening services.

·         What’s the financial implications of the Woodchurch Road corridor?

·         Is there any data available for the City Centre Enforcement issues?

·         With the migration to Ticketer would Arriva and Stagecoach be compliant.

Matt Goggins responded to the enquiries and informed the Committee that: -

·         There was a target of a 10% journey speed increases for end-to-end travel that would enable Merseytravel to be more efficient.

·         As part of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 106.

Members of the public will be given the opportunity to ask questions which

have been submitted in accordance with Meetings Standing Orders No. 11.

A period of 30 minutes will be allocated for this item and copies of valid questions will be circulated at the meeting.

Members of the public who wish to submit questions are asked to contact

Democratic Services by either:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 0151 330 1086

In writing: Democratic Services, Merseytravel, No.1 Mann Island, PO Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN

A pro-forma will be supplied which, for this meeting must be returned by

5.00pm on Monday 1 April 2019. In this respect, return details are set out in the pro-forma.

The Committee received two questions from Mr Andrew Wennell as follows: -

Question 1

This is in relation to the bus route 61 & X1 in Greenway Road, Runcorn.

Both these bus services operate on a 30-minute frequency but they turn up in Greenway Road at around the same time.

So rather than on average a 15 minute frequency down this road it’s more like one time to get which-ever bus you need.

So is there anything that can be done to improve the frequency down this road?

The Chair thanked Me Wennell for submitting his question and for attending the meeting and informed him that a formal response would be provided within 10 working days.

Question 2

Everyone is talking about using smart ticketing etc. on buses, trains & ferries in Merseyside, but you are unable to use mobile tickets on Mersey rail.

On Mersey Ferries you still have to queue up in the terminal to collect a ticket to travel.

a)    Why can't they have scanners at the top of the pontoon to get though quicker for the ferry?

b)    Walrus cards work for Mersey Rail but not the mobile ticket option, why?

The Chair thanked Me Wennell for submitting his question and for attending the meeting and informed him that a formal response would be provided within 10 working days.

Members of the public will be given the opportunity to submit a single

petition or statement in accordance with Meetings Standing Orders No. 11.

Members of the Public who wish to submit a single petition or statement

are asked to contact Democratic Services by either:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 0151 330 1086

In writing: Democratic Services, Merseytravel, No.1 Mann Island, PO Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN

All petitions and statements for this meeting should be submitted to

Merseytravel, using the contact details above, by 5.00pm on Monday 1 April 2019.

No petitions or statements were submitted for this meeting.

The Chair agreed to discuss the following urgent business: -

a)      Funding for 5 Train Stations

Councillor Gordon Friel informed the Committee that funding had been approved by Government for Birkenhead Park, Broad Green, Hillside, St Michael’s and Hunts Cross Stations to improve disabled access by installing new lifts to provide step-free access to platforms. The officer team were thanked and congratulated for their involvement.

b)      Councillors Last Meeting

The Chair, Councillor Robinson informed the Committee that it was the last meeting of the Transport Committee for this municipal year and he wanted the Committee to thank and bid farewell to Councillors Ron Abbey and Keith Roberts who had been involved in Merseytravel and the Transport Committee.

The Chair informed the Committee that Councillor Roberts had been involved in the Transport Committee for about 4 years and been the Lead Member for Ferries and Visitor Economy and had been involved in the process from the start for the new Mersey Ferries and on behalf of the Committee expressed his gratitude for all his hard work and contributions to the Committee.

Councillor Keith Roberts thanked the Chair for his kind words and thanked the Committee for their support over the last 4 years and expressed his appreciation to the brilliant officers of the organisation including Gary and Shane over the last 12 months.

The Chair also informed the Committee that Councillor Ron Abbey had been involved in Merseytravel and the Transport Committee for the last 16 years and was a real ambassador for the organisation for many years. He had held the position of Lead Member for Bus bringing both his knowledge and experience as a former bus driver himself. He had contributed a lot toward the bus service operators including the young people offers over the years and had been a real team player and on behalf of the Committee again expressed his gratitude and heartfelt thanks for the last 16 years and his contributions to the travelling public.

Councillor Ron Abbey also thanked the Chair for his kind words and thanked the Committee for their support. He expressed great pride for working with Merseytravel over the years, but re-iterated the importance of the good officers who worked behind the scenes of the organisation from top to bottom. He stated that it was a real opportunity to change the way people travelled across the city region and how as an organisation it managed the cost of travel going forward and making it affordable for everyone.