Bus Service: Confirmation of service from 2 January 2013

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A decision made on 30 November 2012:

Decision Reference: MD-T-2012-0093
Decision Summary Title :	January 2013 Bus Service Confirmation		Date of Decision Summary:	26 November 2012
Decision Summary Author:	Transport Logistics Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Confirmation of Bus Services from January 2013		Date of Written Report:	26 November 2012
Written Report Author:	Transport Logistics Manager		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Confirmation of bus services to take effect from Wednesday 02 January 2013
Decision(s): The Minister approved the following: The revised bus timetable that will run from 02 January 2013 until further notice, with further alterations and enhancements expected to be proposed in advance of Easter; and The changes to bus routes as detailed in the report.
Reason(s) for Decision: Numerous comments from members of the public were received following advertising in the Jersey Gazette and at Parish Halls, making desirable some modifications to the original proposals. As a result, it is considered that these revised proposals will provide a considerable overall improvement in services for the public. Significant increases in bus frequency and hours of operation within close reach of a high proportion of the Jersey population are prominent in these proposals, which represent the first stage in a series of improvements designed to generate additional usage in order to achieve Sustainable Transport Policy targets.
Resource Implications: The proposed bus service timetables are only slightly altered from the provisional timetable included within the HCT final tender submission, approved by the Minister on 06 July 2012 (MD-T-2012-0052 refers). Therefore there are at present no additional costs relative to the agreed contract price.
Action required: Advise CT Plus Jersey of the decision and issue Omnibus Service Licences to take effect from the first day of the bus operating contract. Prepare a media release outlining the service changes that will take effect from 02 January 2013.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Bus Service: Confirmation of service from 2 January 2013

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

CONFIRMATION OF BUS SERVICES FROM JANUARY 2013

Purpose of the Report

To seek the Minister‘s approval of a revised bus timetable from 02 January 2013, to coincide with the start of the new seven-year bus operating contract which will be undertaken by CT Plus Jersey Limited.

Background

The Minister approved ‘in principle’ the proposals for the revised bus timetable on 26 October 2012 under MD-T-2012-0083. Under Article 24 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935, the Minister had to consult on the proposals prior to a final decision being made.

Discussion

1. The proposals can be summarised as follows:

A. Services 15 and 18

Both routes to be replaced with an extended service 15 connecting Jersey Airport to Le Marais via St Helier. Frequencies enhanced seven days a week and evening / Sunday buses introduced to Le Marais for the first time. Additional ‘express’ journeys via Victoria Avenue.

B. Services 3, 3A, 3B, 23

Replaced by a simplified and enhanced timetable providing a more consistent frequency of service between St Helier, Five Oaks and St Martin. Service 3 retained and 3A renumbered to 13. Most journeys on 3 continue beyond Durrell as 13, and vice versa. Some elements of service 23 incorporated into service 20 (see below).

C. Service 19

Renumbered to 20. Section between Esplanade and Elizabeth Terminal replaced by an eastern extension covering part of existing service 23. Follows a one-way loop after Troy Court, taking in Langley Avenue and the top of St Saviour’s Hill before returning to Grands Vaux. Off-peak journeys proposed to be operated by smaller, 17-seat ‘Bluebird Orion Plus’ buses.

D. Services 1 and 1A

No change to departure times. Routes revised to serve the Dicq / Havre des Pas areas rather than Georgetown, which will now be covered by extended service 15.

All other bus services in the existing ‘winter’ timetable will continue unchanged from 02 January 2013 until at least Easter. Before then, a further consultation will take place on the next round of bus network alterations.

2. An advertisement was published in the Gazette section of the Jersey Evening Post on 01 November 2012, with a deadline for comments of Friday 16 November. A press release was issued to coincide with the advertisement and all Constables and Parish Halls were contacted with details to display.

3. Comments were received by e-mail or post from over fifty respondents. Appendix 1 summarises the issues raised, some of which were not directly related to proposed alterations but instead requesting new links or extended hours of operation on unaffected services. The most common subjects prompting a representation were:

(a) Changes affecting services 15, 1 and 1A, in particular queries about which stops would be served by the revised routes

(b) Loss of service on Route de Maufant and St Saviour’s Hill at peak times due to the cessation of service 3B

(c) Reduction of service to Langley Avenue / the eastern section of St Saviour’s Hill with the replacement of service 23 by service 20 in the area

(d) Removal of an established service 23 journey from Grands Vaux arriving at the bus station before 08:00

(e) Changes affecting service 19 that would leave Elizabeth Terminal unserved and possible overloading of small vehicles at times

(f) Loss of service on Marina Avenue and breaking of direct link between Snow Hill and Le Marais due to withdrawal of service 18

4. In addition other issues requiring attention were identified by CT Plus and TTS officers:

Ensure any recent improvements such as those introduced in September 2012 were carried over into the January 2013 timetable

Some minor anomalies in the proposals that could be sensibly adjusted e.g. no need to serve Jersey Airport late at night with time and mileage savings if buses terminated instead at the previous stop outside the Lakeside Care Home; no need to serve Haute Vallee School on Saturday mornings
A loss of Sunday service to St Saviour’s Road and Grands Vaux with the cessation of service 23
A drop in morning peak period capacity on the St Aubin Inner Road with the proposal for four consecutive ‘express’ journeys on service 15 to be routed via Victoria Avenue
A late evening journey to St Peter’s Village on service 15 that would be impossible to operate with the regular double-deck buses without a further branch trimming exercise between the Mermaid roundabout and St Peter, and superfluous in any case due to the provision of evening journeys there on service 9
Running times on service 15 that at peak times appear likely to prove unrealistic, with a need to ensure additional resources were available in order to fill any gaps in service resulting from late-running buses

5. The following solutions have been discussed by TTS and CT Plus:

Re-route two morning inbound and two evening outbound journeys on service 3, Monday to Friday, along the sections of route previously covered by one morning and one evening round trip on service 3B. These journey variants to be renumbered ‘30’
Redesign service 20 to serve Patier Road and Bagatelle Road rather than Rue a la Dame and the northern section of Grands Vaux
Add an extra weekday service 20 journey in the westbound direction to replace the early morning service 23 departure, and amend a Saturday morning journey to omit Haute Vallee School
Assess the feasibility of using larger vehicles in peak periods on service 20, bearing in mind potential manoeuvrability difficulties at Mont a l’Abbe
Terminate the last three westbound service 15 journeys at the Mermaid bus layby, dropping the extension to St Peter on the last departure
Replace proposed service 13 on Sundays with a ‘13A’ to follow an alternative route that preserves a Sunday service to St Saviour’s Road
Divert two of the ‘express’ journeys on service 15 to boost capacity on the St Aubin Inner Road
Implement measures to maintain frequencies and capacity if operational experience reveals that significant delays affect certain journeys on service 15

Comments

There is no additional cost to TTS associated with the proposals, as the timetable is essentially that included in the final tender submission from HCT Group. Some minor net changes to the resource levels CT Plus requires to operate the timetable may result from the solutions identified in point 5 above, such as the additional service 20 journey in point (III). If so, these would represent a very small proportion of the annual contract cost and, should they reflect a net increase in overall operational costs, will be able to be accounted for at the same time as forthcoming changes for future planned timetable alteration dates in 2013.

A larger number of comments concerning these proposals has been received, compared to previous consultation exercises in recent years. This is partly due to the greater extent of service changes than has historically been the case during the current contract with Connex, and partly due to the higher than normal profile that Jersey public transport is experiencing in the lead-up to the change of operator in January.

Although in many cases worthy of note, most of the observations merit no further action at this stage, but some key issues have been raised and do need to be resolved bearing in mind the limited time available for amending any aspects of the proposals that have not proved popular.

Therefore it is recommended that the Minister approve the proposals for implementation on 02 January 2013, with the inclusion of the additional changes at point 5 above. These changes deal with the most significant issues raised during the public consultation, and overall represent further improvements to the public transport network. CT Plus are currently working to accommodate these revisions and they will be included within the publicity material that will appear in due course.

Recommendation:-

The Minister is recommended to approve the following:

The revised bus timetable will run from Wednesday 02 January 2013 until further notice, with further alterations and enhancements expected to be proposed in advance of Easter; and
The changes to bus routes as detailed in this report.

Reason(s) for Recommendations

Numerous comments from members of the public were received following advertising in the Jersey Gazette and at Parish Halls, making desirable some modifications to the original proposals. As a result it is considered that these revised proposals will provide a considerable overall improvement in services for the public. Significant increases in bus frequency and hours of operation within close reach of a high proportion of the Jersey population are prominent in these proposals, which represent the first stage in a series of improvements designed to generate additional usage in order to achieve Sustainable Transport Policy targets.

Actions Required

Advise CT Plus Jersey of the decision and issue Omnibus Service Licences to take effect from the first day of the bus operating contract.
Prepare a media release outlining the service changes that will take effect from 02 January 2013.

Resource Implications

The proposed bus service timetables are only slightly altered from the provisional timetable included within the HCT final tender submission, approved by the Minister on 06 July 2012 (MD-T-2012-0052 refers). Therefore there are at present no additional costs relative to the agreed contract price.

Written by:	Transport Logistics Manager

Approved by:	Director of Transport

Attachments:	Appendix 1