sheffield Better Bus AreA

Transcription

1 sheffield Better Bus AreA efficient, SuStAinABLe & AfforDABLe. SuBmitteD By sypte on BehALf of the sheffield Bus PartNersHiP

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3 This bid is submitted by SYPTE on behalf of the Sheffield Bus Partnership Status: Approved for submission by SRO Version No.2 Applicant Information Local transport authority name: South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority Senior Responsible Owner name and position: David Young Director of Customer Experience SYPTE Bid Manager name and position: Peter Elliott Principal Programme Delivery Manager Contact telephone number: address: Postal address: South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, 11 Broad Street West, Sheffield S1 2BQ Website address for published bid: Sheffield Better bus area 3

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5 Contents Project Overview Sheffield Better Bus Area...7 Geographic area...7 Existing bus market...7 Our proposals...8 Governance arrangements...9 Total package cost...9 Section A. Strategic Case...10 A1. Transport Strategy...10 A2. Current problems...10 A3. Need for change...11 A4. Relationship with other schemes...12 A5. Devolvement of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG)...13 A6. Better Bus Areas...13 A7. Map of Area...13 A8. Description of Area...14 A9. Bus services within Area...15 A10. Operator involvement...16 A11. Youth involvement...16 Section B. Details of our Bid...17 B1. Our proposals B2. Stepped reduction in BSOG payments...17 B3. Sheffield Bus Partnership...17 B4. Hotspots Programme...18 B5. Changes to existing concessions...18 B6. Reductions in ticket prices...19 B7. Increase in tendered network...19 B8. Reduction in charges B9. Improvements to use of UTC facilities (control centre)...21 B10. Audio Visual displays...21 B11. Real-Time Information displays B12. Key route - Sheffield Gleadless B13. Parkway bus priority measures B14. Key route - Chesterfield Road B15. Key route - Penistone Road B16. North Sheffield II B17. Sheffield city centre...24 B18. Options considered but rejected...24 B19. Phased introduction of schemes Section C. Economic Case C1. Option appraisal C2. Do Minimum - continue business as it was at 1st April C3. Do Minimum no BSOG (Counterfactual) C4 Do something - preferred option...27 C5. Non-monetised benefits...27 C6. Baseline data...27 C7. VFM calculations...27 C8. Optimism bias...27 Section D. Management Case D1. Management arrangements / governance D2. Work packages D3. Decision making and tolerances D4. Programme D5. Risk management D6. Monitoring and evaluation Section E. Financial and Commercial Case E1. Procurement E2. Partner support E3. Impact on concession budget E4. Costs E5. Risk E6. Inflation List of APPendices...31 Sheffield Better bus area 5

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7 Project Overview Sheffield Better Bus Area Efficient, sustainable & affordable. The opportunity to determine locally how partners can make best use of Better Bus Area funding is very timely. South Yorkshire partners have recently taken a number of steps to improve local bus services in support of our economic growth objectives. To maximise growth, we are squeezing all we can from our existing assets and continuing to work together to support a more efficient, sustainable and affordable network. Our proposals are designed to improve patronage, reduce operating costs and have a good business case. The Better Bus Area will build on our recently agreed Voluntary Quality Partnership Scheme (known as the Sheffield Bus Partnership - SBP), established between the four main operators (First Group, Stagecoach, TM Travel and Sheffield Community Transport), Sheffield City Council (SCC) and SYPTE, to provide a service which reflects the needs of our customers. All involved in the SBP believe this proposal, combined with the Partnership Agreement will allow a step change in the contribution buses will make to achieving Sheffield s objectives. However, signing the Agreement is only the start of the journey. All parties recognise that the Partnership puts them at risk when dealing with future changes beyond their control and that many of the commitments will need to be funded from as yet unknown sources. This means the scale of what can be delivered is limited by what the partners can bring to the Partnership. This is why we welcome the opportunity to become a Better Bus Area. The devolved Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) will allow partners to target improvements in areas we have evidence to show are important to Sheffield and allow the Partnership to achieve its maximum benefits. Geographic Area Sheffield is England s fourth most populated city with approximately 555,500 residents. In consideration of this, delivering an extensive and assured bus service to public transport users is a crucial aspect of improving connectivity and linking people to jobs. The past thirty-five years have witnessed considerable economic and social disruption in the Sheffield City Region (SCR) with the loss of over 170,000 jobs in traditional manufacturing and primary industries. Over the last decade, South Yorkshire has re-established itself as a growth hub for Advanced Manufacturing and which has an emerging and more diverse industrial base with key strengths in Creative & Digital Industries, Biomedical/Healthcare and Logistics & Distribution. Our proposal seeks to support this economic resurgence. Existing Bus market Buses are the most widely used mode of public transport in Sheffield. Our commercial bus market is made up of two predominant operators (First Group and Stagecoach), complemented by a number of smaller operators. Summary of Sheffield bus market Number of operators: 14 Kilometres per annum: 29.4m Number of passengers per annum: m Buses hold a relatively high share of Sheffield s motorised travel market (27% of bus and car passengers crossing the inner cordon are bus users). However, the share has been declining over time. In 2011/12, almost 57 million journeys were made on Sheffield s bus network (1% less than in 2007/8). Sheffield Better bus area 7

8 Our Proposals Many of the issues raised in the Green Light for Buses Document are relevant to Sheffield. Recently, local stakeholders have been reviewing what could be done to improve services and reverse recent downward trends in patronage. The starting points for this work was the Transport Strategy, along with research and consultation on what Sheffield s citizens regard as important. Several options, including Quality Contracts, have been investigated, but the chosen outcome is the establishment of a Voluntary Quality Partnership Scheme (VQPS) between local operators, Sheffield City Council and SYPTE. We believe that becoming a Better Bus Area (BBA), combined with the partnership working already started, will deliver significant benefits for Sheffield. We propose to reduce the level of BSOG paid to operators in steps over four years. It will be replaced by a mixture of schemes designed to ensure that there are no short term adverse effects on operators, improve the overall public transport offer and hence increase patronage. This mixture allows the lag between investment and growth in patronage to be covered. The main elements of our combined BBA and Partnership proposals are: Improved multi-operator ticketing. Reduced fares. Network Stability Agreement. Reduced charges for operators. Timetable improvements to reduce wait times. Infrastructure improvements. Improvements to fleet management and UTC control. Kick-Start bus services. Investment in the bus fleet. All these are designed to improve the bus offer to passengers, particularly punctuality, and reduce operating costs for operators. This will lead to increased patronage, reduced emissions and release road space for other users. With this opportunity, there is a risk which we have worked hard to overcome; any move away from direct BSOG payments cannot be allowed to destabilise the bus network in the short term. This is particularly important in Sheffield as the new and coordinated network has just been agreed at a cost and risk to operators. The package of proposals included in this bid is designed to work together to mitigate the risk of destabilising the network in the short term, whilst maximising the benefits. We believe that our bid meets all the requirements of a successful proposal: It addresses issues prioritised locally. It does not have any adverse short term impacts. It produces growth and builds on existing work. It has the support of local operators. It represents better value for money than the continued payment of BSOG directly to operators. It should be capable of implementation in similar areas elsewhere in the UK. The realisation of the proposals, which we have developed in partnership, will support our existing local commitments to improve bus services and provide an efficient, sustainable and affordable network. Full details of our proposals are given in section B. Developing the preferred option In developing the proposals, partners have been through an option identification process, with three options appraised in the bid. The options covered are: 1. Do Minimum: Continue to operate the network in Sheffield as we did at the start of the financial year (1 April 2012). The outcome being gradually declining patronage as a result of increasing costs, higher fares and declining passenger satisfaction. 2. Do Minimum: but BSOG withdrawn (Counterfactual case). The outcome of this would mean an increase in fares of up to 1w0%, a possible decrease in network of up to 10%, an increase in concessions costs as a result of average fare increases of 2.4m and a decrease in patronage of up to 6%. The main use of this option is to determine the extent to which the preferred option needs to address changes in fares and / or network. 3. Preferred Option: our bid as summarised above. Details of the appraisal are given in the Economic Case (section C) and in Appendix 1. Modal Trends In Sheffield Since 1990 & Forecasts The following charts show the level of trip-making in and out of the urban area of Sheffield, by mode. The large increase in 2000 coinciding with the completion of the inner ring road. Car trips have fallen since 2007 but are projected by the DfT to increase again. Bus trips have been falling sharply but are expected to flatten off and start to rise as the VQPS and BBA initiatives start to attract people back. However, removal of BSOG as a fuel subsidy without devolving the grant to enable service improvements (the counterfactual ) would cause patronage to fall further. 8 SHeffield Better bus area

9 000 people per day Key Sheffield - Gleadless (B6388) Key Route Sheffield - Penistone Rd Key Route Sheffield North - Barnsley Rd Key Route Proposed Parkway Bus Lane!( Hotspots ) Bus Interchange City Centre Project Crown copyright. All right reserved SYPTE bus passengers per day Location of proposals GovernAnCe ArrAnGements The Partnership and BBA will present SYPTE, SCC and operators in Sheffield with potentially difficult decisions over the life of the BBA. These are reflected in the governance arrangements which are designed to allow all partners to hold each other to account, while retaining a single point of responsibility for delivery of the public sector funded items; the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO), Mr D. Young. The details of the management arrangements are set out in the Management Case (Section D). This section also includes the programme for implementation of the various elements of the bid and the risk management proposals. All of these are based on Prince2/MSP principles. total PACkAGe Cost The overall costs of the proposals in this bid over five years are: Revenue: Capital: Total: 7.5m 11.7m 19.2m In addition to this, there is match funding of up to 400,000 from the public sector partners and local bus operators have committed to invest over 25m as a result of the arrangements described in this bid. This cost information is part of the Financial Case (section E). In the Financial Case we also set out: 1. How the individual elements will be procured. 2. Details of costs. 3. The main risks. SHeffield Better Bus area 9

10 Section A. Strategic Case A1. Transport Strategy The Sheffield City Region (SCR) Transport Strategy defines the partnerships transport priorities until Supporting economic growth in SCR is the primary goal of the Transport Strategy and of this proposal. By reducing congestion, overcrowding and improving reliability, the Transport Strategy aims to deliver improved connectivity both locally and nationally, supporting SCR to attract inward investment and economic growth. Three supporting goals have been identified in line with the primary goal: 1. Enhance social inclusion and health. Transport needs to ensure that people in all parts of SCR have access to a variety of activities, particularly those who cannot easily afford their travel, do not have access to a car or have other special needs. 2. Reduce emissions and create a culture whereby people are happy to make sustainable travel choices and where economic prosperity goes hand-in-hand with carbon efficiency. 3. Maximise transport safety. People should be assured that they can travel on our transport network free from harm and with confidence. The four goals are summarised in Figure 1 below. Underpinning our goals is the need to keep people and goods moving effectively, which derives directly from our vision. To support economic growth To reduce emissions Our proposals in this bid have been developed to directly deliver elements of the Transport Strategy. In the overview of this proposal, we highlight the emphasis on squeezing all that we can from our existing assets. Our Transport Strategy also highlights the importance of ensuring that growth is sustainable and giving people choice. Each of these themes is central to what we aim to achieve through the BBA. In SCR, the development and progression of Sheffield s bus network represents a significant opportunity to deliver a number of policies within the SCR Transport Strategy: Policy K: To develop public transport that connects people to jobs and training in both urban and rural areas. Policy O: To ensure public transport is accessible to all. Policy P: To work with operators to keep fares affordable, especially for travellers in need. A2. Current Problems Buses hold a relatively high share of Sheffield s motorised travel market (27% of bus and car passengers crossing the inner cordon are bus users). However, the share has been declining over time. In 2011/12 some 57 million journeys were made on Sheffield s bus network (1% less than in 2007/8), whilst 15 million journeys were made on Supertram (1.5% more than 2007/8) and 5.2 million journeys on trains (over 30% more than in 2007/8). The falling demand for bus is principally among cash fare payers who account for 60% of Sheffield s patronage. Proportionately, more complaints are received from Sheffield s bus users than from bus users in other districts of South Yorkshire (and from users of tram and train). Overall satisfaction rates for the two main Sheffield bus operators are at about 65% compared to the South Yorkshire bus average of 57.2%, Supertram 73% and train 70%. These figures are based on SYPTE s local data and differ from those published by passenger focus. To enhance social inclusion and health To maximise safety To keep people and goods moving effectively Figure 1: SCR Transport Strategy Goals. 10 SHeffield Better bus area

11 Whilst there has been investment in new buses and services by some operators, with beneficial competition and fares promotions on certain routes, other parts of Sheffield have had a poorer service, at a premium price. SYPTE and its partners have looked again at the problems associated with the bus network in Sheffield. These include: Excessive wait times at the stop (including punctuality/ lateness, reliability and frequency). Unclear bus routes and times of operation. Value for money (including product range, interchange ability, cost and fares variation). Access to Bus Stops. Driver Standards (including driving standards, customer care and failure to stop). Bus quality (including facilities, seat availability and cleanliness). This negative view expressed through complaints is reflected in SYPTE s market research. SYPTE s Passenger Satisfaction Report indicates that 3 out of 10 bus passengers are dissatisfied with the level of service they experience, 55.6% of respondents consider themselves detractors of the local bus network and on-bus users think they know just enough about local bus services to be able to use them. They have little confidence in their knowledge of frequency and running times the essential tactical information needed to make a bus journey. The Passenger Satisfaction Report 2011 shows non-users of the bus service are less satisfied than users with information at bus stops, interchanges and provision of timetable leaflets. However, one of the biggest knowledge deficits between users and non-users is considered to be fare information. A3. Need for Change The issues which need to be addressed to rebuild public confidence and reverse the decline in patronage are set out in the Transport Strategy and Public Transport Action Plan and are summarised below: Network Providing a consistent bus offer across the city which treats all customers equally in terms of service coverage, quality, frequency and cost. Furthermore, there is a need to reduce city centre bus congestion at key locations. Stability Providing a stable network which is not subject to the perception of continuous route, frequency or hours of operation change; or frequent increases in fare levels. Quality Address the on-bus experience by raising the customer offer both in terms of consistency of the bus offer and customer care. This would also include tackling air quality through an improved bus fleet. Performance Building confidence in the reliability and punctuality of the customer offer, as well as reducing detrimental impact of boarding and congestion delays. Ticketing Affordability Offering customers a simple to understand, affordable and transparent ticket range. These measures need to be supported by activity which promotes the network and customer offer as a whole. This will allow all customers to understand the travel options available, the associated costs and the steps taken to address their concerns, thereby, rebuilding customer confidence and leading to increased modal shift and bus patronage growth. This will include joint marketing and information on the whole bus offer. Delivery of these enhancements will allow us to offer: A high quality transport option for those without use of a car. A high quality choice for those with use of a car to support modal shift. An increase in the overall volume of people using bus services in Sheffield. Greater utilisation of resources to support sustained economic growth and reduce unemployment. Sheffield Better bus area 11

12 In order to resolve some of the issues identified with the Sheffield bus market and to reverse the declining passenger numbers, we carried out considerable analysis of the options available. A Quality Contract Scheme (QCS) and a VQPS were developed in parallel and, upon consideration, it was determined that the VQPS represented the best value for money and would deliver greater benefits. A4. Relationship with Other schemes We are committed to implementing other schemes in Sheffield funded from a variety of sources. These are all aimed at delivering the goals of the SCR Transport Strategy. Local SustainABLe Transport Fund (LSTF) Our LSTF programme sees 32m of sustainable transport investment in 4 key corridors across South Yorkshire, including the Don Valley Enterprise Corridor in Sheffield. The programme includes investment in all modes of sustainable transport, including buses. Sheffield bus investment includes the introduction of bus priority measures along the Woodhouse to Sheffield corridor, resolving several hotspots, and upgrading of passenger facilities. Additionally, the LSTF is funding the provision of a permanent terminus location for the tram feeder bus service at Malin Bridge. Other LSTF investment will encourage greater adoption of sustainable modes of transport such as cycling and walking. The LSTF investments are supported by a large package of awareness raising activities to promote greater use of public transport. Full details of our LSTF bid can be seen on our website: Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF) Our BBAF Bid was designed in partnership with operators and local authorities across South Yorkshire to help support the delivery of the region s primary objectives (economic growth) in a sustainable way. 4.9m funding attracted 7.3m of local contributions and the overall scheme has a BCR of Full details of our bid and progress updates can be seen on our website: and_awards/bid_documents/better%20bus%20bid%20 Feb%2012.pdf Both the LSTF and BBAF schemes are committed and included in the Do Minimum and Do Something options. Bus rapid transit (BRT) North The BRT North scheme is designed to provide a fast, efficient and sustainable public transport link between Rotherham and Sheffield. The key elements of the BRT North scheme include the provision of high quality public transport through the Lower Don Valley between the centres of Rotherham and Sheffield. This will aid the delivery of improved accessibility and competitive journey times for public transport to strategic employment and redevelopment sites, together with existing commercial, retail and leisure sites. Furthermore, construction of the Tinsley Link, a highway between Sheffield Road and Meadowhall Way passing underneath the M1 motorway, will provide essential additional capacity for the use of all road vehicles (with priority measures for public transport) and reducing traffic flows at Junction 34 South. This project has Programme Entry approval and Full Approval is expected in Full details of this project are shown on our web site: SmartCard SYPTE and local operators have a programme of activities in place to increase the use of Smartcards in Sheffield. Most of the back office systems are in place, the majority of buses have Smartcard readers and there is a programme of promotional activity planned to increase use. These are all funded from a variety of sources (including the BBAF and investment by operators) so, whilst usage has not gained its full momentum, no additional funding is sought as part of this bid. In Sheffield, it will deliver: Smarter management of traffic on key corridors. Improved infrastructure to reduce the journey times and improve punctuality in two areas of Sheffield; Ecclesall Road and Sheffield to Halfway. Increase the use of smartcards across the city. 12 Sheffield Better bus area

13 A5. Devolvement of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) In autumn 2012, the Government started consultation on proposals to reform Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). Currently, BSOG is paid directly to operators based on the amount of fuel used. There is concern that this approach provides a reduced incentive for operators to improve environmental performance. The DfT have established the following policy changes that the reform should achieve: i to improve bus services for passengers. ii to improve the overall value for money of bus subsidy. iii to encourage bus patronage growth in order to reduce congestion and pollution levels. iv to minimise regulatory burdens and administrative costs. v to incentivise bus operators to deliver improvements in their fuel efficiency and to invest in more fuel efficient and quieter and cleaner buses. As a result of this, the DfT are proposing to make the following reforms to BSOG to achieve these objectives: Devolve BSOG to local authorities where the funding relates to supported services, allowing decisions to be taken locally on how it should be spent. Creation of a new local government fund (Better Bus Areas) to encourage local authorities and bus operators to work closely together to improve services and boost passenger numbers. Tightening the existing rules defining which bus services can claim BSOG, so that the funding is put to the best possible use. Fixing BSOG at the current rate, so that over time, the value reduces as a result of inflation. A6. Better Bus Areas Better Bus Areas are designed by DfT to promote economic growth and reduce emissions by improving bus services for passengers. Grants will be paid to local transport authorities to spend on improvements and replace the current BSOG payments to operators. To become a Better Bus Area, local transport authorities must submit a successful bid to DfT. These bids will need to show: Good Value for Money. Patronage growth, including mode shift from car to deliver decongestion and emissions benefits. Reductions in wait and journey times. Good governance. Support of local operators. As a result of City Deal discussions, DfT have invited SYPTE to work with them to introduce a trail blazing scheme to define the first Better Bus Area, building on the successful work that led to the development of the Sheffield Bus Partnership. A7. Map of Area The Sheffield BBA covers the entire area within the Sheffield district boundary. Therefore, the boundaries of the scheme correspond to Ordinance Survey district boundary data, as shown in figure 2. A more detailed map is shown in Appendix 2. Key Better Bus Area boundary Sheffield Bus Partnership Area Miles 3 Kilometres This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. SYPTE Figure 2: Sheffield Better Bus Area. Sheffield Better bus area 13

14 A8. Description of Area Buses are the most widely used mode of public transport in Sheffield. Our commercial bus market is made up of two predominant operators (First Group and Stagecoach), complemented by a number of smaller operators. As at 1 April 2012, First were running 17.9 million kilometres per annum and Stagecoach were running 10.1 million kilometres per annum. A further 1.4 million kilometres per annum were run by 12 smaller operators, being formed of a mix of commercial, supported and school services. Table 1 provides a summary of the Sheffield bus market that will be affected by the BBA Currently, there are some services in Sheffield that are excluded from the SBP, these include all school services, along with services that link the city centre to areas outside Sheffield. There are a small number services in the SBP that extend beyond the Sheffield boundary. The BBA does not allow services inside the area to be excluded from the devolution of BSOG and the sections of services outside the boundary of the scheme will not be covered. As such, all cross-boundary services will be treated in the same way; BSOG for the distance within the scheme area will be devolved, whilst the operator will be able to claim BSOG for the length of route outside of the scheme area in the same way as operators running entirely outside a BBA. It is anticipated that if BSOG payments are transferred from the Department for Transport (DfT) to SYPTE for tendered local bus services we will be expected to either: Transfer this funding direct to the existing operator as they did not factor this loss of revenue when submitting their original bids; or Allow the operator to cancel the contract if they are unable to incorporate this loss into their operation. Where the latter happens, we expect to re-tender the services and would anticipate a higher price than present, which would cover the loss of BSOG. However, in future years, we will carry out our normal practice when existing tenders expire, in that we will review how these could be replaced and seek any commercial operation. We initially anticipate a greater increase than normal given the loss of BSOG, but given the incentives to grow the market by the additional funding offer through the Better Bus Area bid (e.g. fares incentives, infrastructure and traffic management improvements), it is expected revenue will grow and, with all our contracts operating on a minimum subsidy basis (i.e. the operator retaining fares revenue), there should be a commensurate reduction in overall cost, in the longer term. Number of operators 14 Number of bus routes Kilometres per annum 29.4m Number of passengers per annum m Number of passenger concessions per annum (% of total passengers) Total revenue per annum Commercial revenue from all ticket types Annual PTE concession reimbursement Commercial BSOG 25.4m (44.63%) 55.7m 34.7m 16.1m 4.83m Commercial BSOG as % of revenue 8.7% Average adult cash fare Average commercial fare (from all ticket types) Based on number of bus services registered with the Traffic Commissioners. 2 Excludes non-concessionary children. Table 1: Key facts and figures of the area covered by the BBA in Sheffield (as at 1/4/2012). Table 2 lists the bus operators who will be affected by the Better Bus Area and provides details of the commercial BSOG they receive, based on the bus network as at 1st April We have worked alongside the operators to provide annualised kilometres for each of the services in operation on the 1st April and have calculated the fuel and the BSOG values by using the kilometres per litre figure from their latest BSOG returns to the DfT. Appendix 3 describes the methodology underpinning these calculations. To date, eight operators (First, Stagecoach, TM Travel, MAS Special Engineering, Sheffield Community Transport, Powells Bus Company, F Hulley & Sons Ltd and F Hunt) have completed and returned their BSOG data capture sheets. We are continuing to work with the other operators to finalise the detail on their BSOG data capture sheets, but in the meantime have used the data available from local service registrations and the DfT BSOG returns to calculate an approximate figure. It can be seen from the table that the operators who have yet to finalise their BSOG data capture sheets have a relatively small BSOG claim within the Sheffield BBA, which means that improving the precision of the calculations will not impact on the scale of this bid. Operator Value of BSOG in last claim First South Yorkshire Ltd. 3,168,753 Stagecoach (Group) 1,378,320 - Andrews (Sheffield) Ltd 1,260,370 - Stagecoach Yorkshire Traction 19,751 - Stagecoach Yorkshire 91,761 - East Midlands Motor Services 6,439 T M Travel Ltd. 144,094 MAS Special Engineering Ltd. 72,299 Sheffield Community Transport 24,793 Powells Bus Company 13, SHeffield Better bus area

15 Tates Travel (Group) 9,426 - South Yorkshire Rider Ltd. 7,916 - Tates Travel Ltd. 1,510 F Hulley & Sons Ltd. 6,913 Linburg Towing Ltd. 3,614 G&J Holmes Coaches Ltd. 1,366 Heatons Coaches 959 F Hunt (Coach Hire) 344 Johnson Tours 435 G&R Travel/Camerons Travel 358 Table 2: Operators that will be affected by the BBA and possible impact (ranked according to scale of impact) as at 1/4/2012. The initial estimate of BSOG paid in Sheffield in commercial services was 4.9m; this figure was used in the preparation of the bid. After further detailed work with the operators, the more accurate figure of 4.83m shown in table 1 was determined. The following appraisal is based on the initial estimate. Current Car Kilometres Table 3 shows Annual Average Daily Flows and changes measured at a sample of points over time on major roads in Sheffield. Whilst an overall 2.2% reduction in motorised traffic is recorded since 2007, levels of car and LGV usage remain significantly higher than in 2000, whilst bus and coach usage has continued its long downward trend. HGV traffic shows an accelerated decline. Overall motorised traffic is 2% higher than in 2000 well below the UK average of 26% increase that was expected in CO 2 emissions Sheffield is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 30% between 2005 and 2012 across all sectors. It might, therefore, appear that traffic needs to reduce much faster than currently. However, since 2000, UK transport s emissions of CO 2 have fallen at a faster rate than the decline in traffic and since 2007 these trends have diverged further. It is likely that the recent reduction in Sheffield s traffic has also been accompanied by much faster emission reductions, as improvements to engine efficiency, use of biofuels and reduced idling are manifest. However, it is quite possible that the level of local traffic will increase as the UK emerges from recession and the population grows, unless significant mode shift to public transport and/or non-motorised modes, or travel demand and economic growth can be permanently de-linked. A9. Bus Services within Area A full list of the bus services in the BBA (as at 1 April 2012) is included in Appendix 4, along with a note of changes to 2nd quarter, where these are significant. Most of these services are included in the Sheffield Bus Partnership and are shown on the map in Appendix 5. The BBA also includes registered school services, although these are not included on the map owing to their low frequency Change Count points Pedal Cycles 2,129 1,966 2, % 50.7% Motorcycles 5,302 5,471 5, % -2.6% Cars 717, , , % -2.0% Buses & Coaches 16,237 12,647 10, % -13.5% Light Goods 92, , , % 4.4% Vehicles All HGV s 54,575 51,673 43, % All Motor Vehicles 886, , , % -2.2% Table 3: Total traffic on Sheffield s major roads (000 vehicle miles per day). Source: DfT. Sheffield Better bus area 15

16 A10. Operator Involvement All other operators have been issued with a final draft of this bid and given the opportunity to comment and meet with SYPTE. From these meetings and the other responses received a summary of the operators comments is given below: that their concerns would be taken on board and, in some cases, options would be explored to implement their ideas elsewhere. Full details of this exercise are given in Appendix 7. i. Overall supportive of the BBA proposals. ii. Some concerns about the as yet unresolved details of the bid and are keen to be involved in their resolution. iii. Keen to see the BSOG claim process and governance of the BBA to be as simple as possible to reflect their limited resources compared to the large operators. SYPTE has committed to involve all operators in the next round of details and develop a mechanism for ensuring smaller operators views are taken account of in a time efficient way. Confirmation of operator support is given in Appendix 6. A11. Youth Involvement In an effort to ensure our scheme options satisfy the younger demographic of Sheffield s bus users, we arranged a workshop with Sheffield Youth Parliament. We used the meeting to collate views in regard to areas of the bus service that require development, as well as opinion on our current scheme options. In summary, the Youth Parliament members were generally supportive of the ideas we are already considering as part of the BBA bid. In particular, they are concerned about the gradual continual rising of child fares and were supportive of using BBA funds to hold (or reduce) the price. They were also supportive of improving the use of existing traffic control measures. The Youth Parliament also suggested some additional schemes, or changes to existing schemes: A summer rider ticket. A multi-journey child ticket. An enhanced bus information mobile phone app. Smartcard technology for the Megatravel pass. Improved security / quality of dedicated school buses. The workshop proved successful due to the collation of scheme option ideas from the perspective of a young bus user. Although not all of the ideas generated will be adopted into the BBA or the partnership, we made it clear 16 SHeffield Better bus area

17 Section B. Details of our Bid B1. Our proposals Below are details of the individual schemes that make up our bid. Per Annum costs are full year costs at current prices. The stepped reduction of BSOG means that some of these measures will have a phased introduction; more on this in section B19. All proposals have been reviewed by our Legal department to ensure they comply with the relevant legislation, in particular: i Transport Act ii Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007. iii State Aid Rules. Our proposals run from Q4 2012/13 to Q3 2017/18 to match the life of the Sheffield Bus Partnership (This means 2017/18 is not a full year in this bid). Changes to BSOG are done in financial years. B2. Stepped reduction in BSOG payments The original intention for this bid was to develop proposals that would allow BSOG payments to stop on day one. However, this has proved not to be possible and more details of this problem are given in section B18. This left a stepped reduction in BSOG payments to operators as the only viable option. Our proposal is that operators will continue to make BSOG claims as at present, but in a form that allows the mileage operated in Sheffield to be identified separately. Operators would receive BSOG at the current rate, but reduced by the percentages below. (These reductions will not affect top-up payments). Year 1 (2013/14) 0% Year 2 (2014/15) 25% Year 3 (2015/16) 50% Year 4 (2016/17) 75% Year 5 (2017/18) 100% The reducing BSOG payment would be replaced by the Partnership and BBA proposals. B3. Sheffield Bus Partnership This Voluntary Quality Partnership Scheme aims to improve the bus offer in Sheffield and, ultimately, reverse the declining patronage trends by addressing the issues identified by passengers. The Sheffield Bus Partnership is made up of SYPTE, Sheffield City Council (SCC) and the four main Sheffield bus operators (First, Stagecoach, TM Travel and Sheffield Community Transport) working under a Voluntary Partnership Scheme. An Improved Network Public consultation has shown where passengers want improvements to bus services in Sheffield. It also showed where reductions could be made at minimal impact; this has allowed resources to be better deployed in Sheffield. In addition to this, the operators and SYPTE have worked together to ensure that timetables on routes served by more than one operator are coordinated to minimise waiting times. This has resulted in a network design that better serves the needs of users, but at a reduced overall mileage, which will reduce emissions. A more stable network Operators have agreed that changes to the network will only happen once a year and that any changes will need the agreement of SYPTE and SCC. Improved multi-operator ticketing A new range of multi-operator tickets, Citywide will be introduced to allow passengers greater choice of which buses they can use. The daily Citywide ticket has dropped day ticket prices from 5.00 to 4.30 (14%) making it more competitive compared with similar single operator tickets (for more details on ticket prices see section B6). Reduced Fares As a result of the partnership discussions, fares have been reduced. For example, some operator daily, weekly and monthly fares have been reduced by between 30% and 40%. (More details on fares is given in section B6). Sheffield Better bus area 17

18 Planned investment Operators, SYPTE and SCC have committed to future investment in Sheffield. These investments include new buses, accelerated introduction of Euro 5 vehicles and investment in the highway network. However, these investments are limited to the funding available at present. The BBA proposals will allow the level of investment by all partners to be increased and the benefits to be sustained over the life of the partnership. Information and marketing The benefits of all these changes will be maximised with a coordinated marketing campaign and improvements to information provision. Performance and Management The five year minimum Sheffield Bus Partnership holds partners accountable for delivery of investment and operational KPI s, which if breached will be addressed by an agreed improvement plan. However as stated previously, for these improvements to be sustained the other measures in this bid are required. Further details on the Partnership are available on the website B4. Hotspots Programme The partners maintain a list of hotspots as part of the ongoing dialogue between SCC, SYPTE and the operators. Hotspots are areas where small scale interventions could overcome pinch points or other problems on the network. Experience has shown these can have a much bigger impact on the bus network than their scale would imply. Hotspot interventions include minor changes to highway layout, amended priorities at junctions, improved signage and changes to enforcement. The nature of problems on the highway can change as travel patterns and bus routes alter, land use changes or developments build out. This can lead to new hotspots emerging and affect the priority of existing ones. The current list for Sheffield contains 70 hotspots and is shown in Appendix 8. Remedial measures for these hotspots are at varying stages of development and previous experience has shown that about a third of identified hotspots do not progress because of deliverability problems or low value for money. The estimated cost of the interventions over the five year period is approximately 2.5m, twice the cost included in the bid. Partners will deliver the best schemes from the rolling hotspot list over the life of the BBA. Appraisal indicates the following scope of costs and benefit: Hotspots programme Cost: Capital 1.25m (over five years) Revenue 0 Benefits/Impact i 4 million passenger trips benefitting from an average saving of 2 minutes per trip. ii Reduced operating costs. iii Reduction of 200 tonnes per annum in carbon emissions. iv 600,000 more trips per annum. Last year s hotspots list was the source of some of the schemes in our LSTF and BBAF bids. As these now have committed funding, they have been removed from our list and are not included in this bid. To make improvements that can be noticed by passengers, we also need to tackle the large problems on routes, these are dealt with later in the bid. B5. Changes to Existing Concessions Several options for changes to existing concessions and the introduction of new concessions and tickets were considered. However, for several reasons (for more details see section B18), we are only preparing to amend the reimbursement rates to reflect the withdrawal of BSOG. The calculated cost of these (for a full year with no BSOG) is: ENCTS reimbursement amendments - 1,095,000 per annum. Child reimbursement amendments - 600,000 per annum. These changes will be introduce in steps in line with the stepped reductions in BSOG. The figures for changes to existing concessions are totals for the Sheffield BBA area, individual agreements will be made with each operator. The proposals rejected at this stage will be considered for later implementation as part of the SBP governance. Changes to existing concessions Cost: Capital 0 Revenue Up to 1.7m in a full year but see spend profile. Benefits/Impact Mitigate the withdrawal of BSOG. 18 SHeffield Better bus area

19 B6. Reductions in Ticket Prices As part of the SBP/BBA proposals, the operators have agreed to reduce prices of certain products in Sheffield. A summary of the before and after costs are given below. The overall impact of these changes is expected to lower the average fare in Sheffield by 5%. The initial cost of these reductions is being borne by the operators in return for the commitments made by SYPTE and SCC as part of the BBA and SBP proposals. The operators return on this investment will be made as patronage increases as a result of the overall package The reduction in multi-operator ticket prices make them more competitive with single operator tickets than they used to be. Ticket Type: Pre Agreement: Post Agreement: % Change Multi-operator (administered by the TravelMaster Panel): Day Week week Annual First: Day Week Month Stagecoach: Day Week week TM Travel Day Weekly Appraisal indicates the following scope of costs and benefit: Reductions in ticket prices Cost: Capital 0 Revenue 0 Measure funded by operators Benefits/Impact i Average fare reduction in Sheffield 5% from 0.99 to 0.94, benefits approximately 10 million existing passenger journeys. ii Patronage growth forecast to be 1 million trips per annum (2%). B7. Increase in tendered Network This proposal would see the tendered network change for two reasons: To fill any gaps caused by reductions in commercial services as BSOG reduces. To fund Kick-Start services particularly to areas of employment. Initial discussions with individual operators (in confidence) have identified which services might be at risk as BSOG reduces. The exact details of the impact will depend on the viability of services at the time cuts in BSOG occur (in steps from 2014). Which services should be replaced by tendering will be based on the results of the consultation and research referred to in section A and subsequent work. The mechanism for their replacement will be governed by the need to obtain the best value for money for SYPTE. This process will be managed by the Project Board detailed in section D of this bid. Case Study: Kick-Start Service 39 Operated by Stagecoach This service, between Chesterfield town centre and Grangewood and Holme Hall is operated by Stagecoach. As a result of Kick-Start funding, the following was achieved. Pre Kick-Start 10 minute frequency, Peak Vehicle Requirement (PVR) 7 vehicles and patronage 731,000 trips per annum. Kick-Start Increased frequency, new vehicles, bus branding, marketing campaign including Tele-sales, vouchers and door-to-door distribution of information. Kick-Start grant of 159,000 across 3 years. Post Kick-Start 8 minute frequency, PVR 8 vehicles, patronage 957,000 trips per annum, growth of 31%. The enhanced service is now operated fully commercially once more. Several potential services for Kick-Start funding have been identified. These include: Service 123 Crystal Peaks to Endcliffe - increase frequency from every 30 minutes to every 20 minutes. This provides enhanced frequencies to major employment sites at Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield University and the Crystal Peaks development, where planning approval for a new ASDA superstore has been granted. Service 265 Sheffield to Barnsley - increase frequency from every 30 minutes to every 20 minutes. Sheffield Better bus area 19

20 In addition, we would consider enhancing the service provision on the following routes using de-minimis payments: Service 29 off-peak frequency to be improved from every 2 hours to every hour, thus improving links to Northern General Hospital and Thorncliffe Industrial Park. Service A1 provides a link between Sheffield City Centre and Meadowhall, serving the Advanced Manufacturing Plant at Waverley, Sheffield City Airport and Shepcote Lane industrial sites, as well as the wholesale markets area and it is intended to provide additional peak hour journeys to encourage employment opportunities. Services X10/31/87. Introduction of Sunday and evening services to and from Meadowhall are designed to develop access to employment opportunities at this major retail site which has extended opening hours. Service 10/10A Evening and Sunday services to be provided on this city circle route that provides links to Royal Hallamshire Hospital and employment sites in the Heeley area. The main imperative for operators is to implement schemes that will deliver growth in the later years where the reductions in BSOG are greatest. For this reason the first call on the BBA grant in year one is the implementation of the infrastructure projects. The funding of Kick-Start services cannot begin until the level of grant to SYPTE increases from year two onwards. Therefore, a final choice of which routes will be funded will not be made until late As above, the details of the services to be implemented will be overseen by the Project Board and reflect the situation at that time. Appraisal indicates the following scope of costs and benefit: Increase in tendered network Benefits/Impact i Improved access to employment sites. ii Up to 200,000 trips per annum. iii Helps mitigate removal of BSOG. B8. Reduction in Charges Currently SYPTE makes several charges on operators and removal of these will reduce the cost to operators of providing services in Sheffield. This would mitigate in part the reduction of BSOG and could lead to small increases in passenger benefits. Interchange Charges At present SYPTE charges operators 383,000 per annum for the use of interchanges in Sheffield. Using the BBA grant to replace this would reduce operators costs by an amount equal to the charges. It would allow operators to plan routes to best suit the needs of passengers without the need to consider the additional cost of interchange use. More use of interchanges increases passengers ability to transfer between services in the best possible environment, reducing the interchange penalty and hence improving accessibility. The benefits of this to passengers are small and positive and over time they will increase. Appraisal indicates the following scope of costs and benefit: Reduced interchange costs Costs: Capital 0 Revenue 383,000 per annum Benefits/Impact i Improved use of existing interchange facilities, benefit small and not included in overall appraisal. ii Reduced cost of operating services in Sheffield ( 383,000 per annum). iii Impact approximately 8.9m people use interchanges at present so even small percentage growths represent quite large numbers of passengers. iv Contributions to mitigation of BSOG removal and potential increase in fares. TraveLmASter Cost Reductions In South Yorkshire, the TravelMaster Panel, made up of representatives of operators and SYPTE, manages the range of multimodal and multi-operator tickets. SYPTE s costs in providing retail, customer information, administrative and other support to TravelMaster are met by a mix of commissions of sales and top-slicing from the TravelMaster revenue pool. The total value of these deductions attributable to Sheffield is 316,000 per annum. Removing these deductions would reduce the pressure on operators to raise fares to recover costs following the removal of BSOG and could help encourage the use of these tickets. 20 SHeffield Better bus area