Minutes:
Councillor Cramoysan addressed the committee on this item.
In summary, Councillor Cramoysan made reference to the following points:
· Referred to the spring bus, which was the primary service serving the residents of Kings Worthy had been noticeably unreliable with frequent cancellations – as was the case with other services as well.
· Elderly residents were dependant on bus services as a means to get in and out of the city to access essential amenities and services such as doctors, shops etc that were not available nearby.
· Those with access to vehicles that were entitled to concessionary passes were put off using bus services as an alternative due to a lack of trust that bus services would arrive when expected, without lengthy waiting times or cancellations, which did not align with the council’s carbon neutrality targets to reduce vehicular movements and lower carbon emissions.
· The importance of the Stagecoach feeding into the council’s vision process of how Winchester develops and operates going forward.
· The outcomes of the punctuality review conducted by Stagecoach.
· Sought the views of the forum on how to progress this matter to establish a dialogue with Stagecoach going forward.
In response to the points raised by Councillor Cramoysan, the Chairperson stated that with the huge investment due to take place in Winchester with Central Winchester Regeneration and works anticipated at the station, it was hoped the opportunity to discuss improvements to bus service, the removal of pinch points where buses are delayed, improvements to the environment for users waiting for buses and the effect of road closures on town ward areas would be progressed through building working relations and dialogue with Stagecoach.
The Chairperson announced that Stagecoach had been invited to attend the forum to provide an update on their plans for the future and to enable the forum to understand the issues experienced with operating bus services in a congested city centre and discuss services on particular routes. It was noted that Stagecoach representatives had given their apologies for the meeting and that Stagecoach would be contacted in due course to endeavour to secure attendance at a future meeting date.
The forum proceeded to raise comments on the following points during the discussion of this item:
(a) Traffic congestion in the town centre - by managing a reduction in traffic in the town centre as part of Local Transport Plan 4 agreed by Hampshire County Council this would help to improve the majority of delays to bus services, in conjunction with other measures that Stagecoach could adopt.
(b) An improved collaborative working relationship with the bus service operator to help minimise disruption to bus services as a result of road closures etc.
The forum thanked Councillor Cramoysan for his contribution and welcomed his views on this matter at a future meeting of the forum when Stagecoach were in attendance.
RESOLVED:
1. That the comments raised by the committee, as summarised above, be noted; and
2. That the ‘Update from Stagecoach’ item be added to the work programme for 2024/25, and a date be confirmed with Stagecoach in due course.