Report of the Executive. The purpose of this report is to brief Members on progress with regard to the Coach trial within Liverpool ONE Bus Station.

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1 Liverpool ONE Bus Station Coach Trial (PTE/38/12) Report of the Executive 1. Introduction The purpose of this report is to brief Members on progress with regard to the Coach trial within Liverpool ONE Bus Station. 2. Background 2.1 In partnership with Liverpool ONE and the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), the Executive is developing a 12 month trial of coaches using Liverpool ONE Bus Station. This work has been developed from discussions with Liverpool ONE Management Company Ltd, CPT and Liverpool Coach Welcome Group. 2.2 Liverpool ONE s location adjacent to a number of visitor attractions near the Albert Dock, together with the Bus Station s location within the boundaries of the Liverpool ONE Shopping Centre means that the facility is well placed to provide opportunities for coach companies bringing visitors to Liverpool for shopping and tourism activities. 2.3 More recently, Liverpool has been awarded the 2011 Coach Friendly Award, this demonstrates the significant contribution Liverpool has made to improve the standard of service and facilities provided to the coach and tourism industries. 2.4 Low and declining usage of Liverpool ONE Bus Station by bus operators has led to a situation in which there is capacity to allow entry to coach operators, without detriment to the bus network. 2.5 Liverpool ONE Bus Station has the potential to contribute to Liverpool's Coach Friendly status and further improve the offer for both visitors and coach companies coming to Liverpool by allowing visitors to be dropped off and picked up within the facility. Local Transport Plan Delivery, Bus and Merseytram Committee 20 August 2012

2 3. Proposals 3.1 Following recent discussions it has been proposed and agreed that for the basis of a trial, arrangements are put in place at Liverpool ONE Bus Station in order to allow coaches to share the facilities with the local commercial bus network. 3.2 At present the final arrangements are being made to the trial, so it is difficult to confirm arrangements at this time, however it is anticipated that this will run between 1 September 2012 and 30 September Demand for such provision is difficult to quantify but within Liverpool ONE Bus Station, stands 1, 2 & 3 have been identified and allocated for potential coach usage. Following a slotting system similar to that used for the efficient and safe operation of Local Bus Services, coaches will be allocated specific time slots at individual stands within the Bus Station for either setting down or picking up passengers. 3.4 The booking system and slotting arrangements will be managed and administered collectively by the Integrated Transport Service and the Hubs Service. Procedures and processes related to this are presently being developed, together with a bespoke mailbox system (coachbookings@merseytravel.gov.uk) that will receive requests for bookings and confirm arrangements with coach operators. Any coach operator wishing to book a slot will be required to sign the Bus Station Agreement for Coach Operators and the associated Bus Station Manual for Coach Operators. 3.5 The Hubs staff at Liverpool ONE Bus Station will undertake the safe management of vehicles (enforcing the Bus Station Rules), passengers (providing information) and third parties (such as coach welcome guides). 3.6 CPT, in cooperation with Liverpool ONE Management Company Ltd, have undertaken to promote Liverpool ONE Bus Station amongst coach operators in a wide catchment area (North Wales, the M6 Corridor, etc). 3.7 For the duration of the trial, the use of coaches within the facility will be limited to setting down and picking up passengers from the dedicated stands. Vehicle size is restricted to vehicles with an overall length of less than 13.5 m. Coaches will be unable to use the layover facilities within the Bus Station.

3 3.8 At the time of writing this report a number of work strands are being finalised relating to the implementation of this trial, these include:- (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Development of a bus station manual and agreement for coach operators. Communication with Bus Operators to inform them of the changes to use of the facility. Vehicle tracking modelling within the facility to ascertain the maximum size vehicle specifications for use within the facility (including potential use of the layover facility). Development of a coach driver s handbook. Development of coach booking mailbox, procedures and processes. 4. Financial Implications 4.1 The Hubs Service is responsible for the present policies relating to Bus Station departure charges and layover rates for local bus services. However, for the purpose of this trial, Liverpool ONE has agreed to pay 5k to the Executive towards departure charges for coaches during the trial period. At this stage in the development of the trial, it has not been possible to assess whether the departure charges the Executive would have levied if applied as part of the departure charge process would have been more than this. 4.2 It is anticipated that the trial will be a success and coach use of Liverpool ONE Bus Station can become fully established. As this aspiration is realised the Hubs Service will, in the future develop and administer charges related to coach use following a similar process used for local bus services. 4.3 It is not anticipated that the Executive will incur any significant costs in the operation of this scheme (in terms of staffing, security, cleaning, maintenance, publicity, administration, etc). 4.4 Depending upon the outcome of the auto cad tracking exercise presently being undertaken, together with lessons learnt as part of this trial, it may be necessary to implement some additional safety measures within the facility. These would be subject to a cost/benefit analysis, prior to any implementation.

4 5. Equality Impact Assessment 5.1 The Liverpool ONE Bus Station Coach Trial has been subject to an Equality Impact Assessment Rapid Screening Exercise. This found the trial to be compliant. 5.2 As the trial progresses into the implementation phase it will be important to further consider the equality implications in greater detail. Access audits of Merseytravel interchanges will also provide further sources of information which can be fed into the review process. 6. Environmental Implications This proposal is expected to make a positive contribution to the first policy area of the Environmental Policy (minimising the impact of transport and travel) by supporting non-car access to Liverpool s key tourist and leisure destinations. 7. Risk Implications The Coach access group comprising of the Hubs Service, Integrated Transport Service and Corporate Strategy and Marketing Service will consider risk management as part of the development of the trial, developing specific actions to mitigate risk. Any risks identified and subsequent mitigating actions will be reported in future progress reports. 8. Conclusions 8.1 Whilst the use of coaches in Liverpool ONE Bus Station presents a number of opportunities, it must be highlighted that it also represents a significant change in use of the facility. 8.2 This trial will allow the Executive to effectively explore an additional use of the facility. Not only will this increase the use of the bus station but contribute to Liverpool's Coach Friendly status and further improve the offer for both visitors and coach companies coming to Liverpool. 8.3 Colleagues within Hubs Service, Integrated Transport Service and Corporate Strategy & Marketing Service will monitor the trial closely and disseminate lessons learnt from it.

5 9. Recommendations Members are recommended to note the contents of this report and receive further updates as the trial develops. Background Papers Liverpool ONE Bus Station Coach Trial, DIT/E/26/12) The Executive, 8 August Report Prepared By Tony McDonough, Integrated Transport Operations Team Leader. Contact for Media and Public Enquiries Elaine Boundy, Media and Communications Officer.