Agenda item - Bus network recovery

Bus network recovery

Meeting of Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee, Friday, 29th January, 2021 10.30 am (Item 19.)

Report for consideration by the Combined Authority Committee.

Decision:

The West of England Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED to agree:

1. That a procurement process be initiated for new local bus service contracts to

replace those expiring in August 2021.

2. That authority be delegated to the Head of Strategic Transport Integration, in

consultation with Members of the Transport Board, to award new local bus service

contracts to replace those expiring in August 2021.

3. That authority be delegated to the WECA Chief Executive, in consultation with

the Chief Executives of the constituent councils, to agree to take on devolved

emergency funding to support local bus services and associated powers should a

suitable offer be made by Government.

Minutes:

The WECA Committee considered a report providing an update on how the bus network was recovering from the coronavirus emergency, explained possible bus service funding models under consideration by the government, and sought delegated authority to enable urgent decisions to be taken, if necessary, between committee meetings (agenda item 19).

The Chair highlighted the following aspects of the report and commented as follows:

* The report set out the background to the fact that in light of the pandemic and its effects on bus services, the government was considering devolution of the emergency funding arrangements to the Combined Authority as the first step in a transition to a potential formal Enhanced Partnership with local bus operators.

* The full details of the government’s proposals were awaited. The report accordingly set out the process for the award of new local bus service contracts to replace those expiring in August 2021 and proposed that authority be delegated to the Combined Authority Chief Executive, in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent councils, to take a decision on accepting devolved emergency funding to support local bus services and associated powers should a suitable offer be made by government.

The recommendations as set out in the published report were then moved by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Savage.

Cllr Romero commented that the further detail awaited from the government will be important; whilst the opportunity for greater control over bus services will be welcome, there is also a real concern that with the bus services as they have become during the pandemic, there is a need to avoid ending up in a situation where there is a service in place which has insufficient financial support - additional resource will be essential. If the Combined Authority does take on additional responsibilities, it will be necessary to ensure that bus service need is assessed, as for example, in rural areas, the need for rural bus services is often pitted against the economics of providing services elsewhere, across towns and cities; it will be important to be mindful of this factor as further detail emerges.

Cllr Savage welcomed the report and commented that it was clear that public transport will have a key role to play post-Covid. It was important to be pro-active as a Combined Authority in working with the bus companies and understanding future trends, threats and opportunities. The position will need to be monitored closely and assessed over the next 12 months and beyond.

Mayor Rees commented that whilst greater control over local transport solutions is desirable, it must be adequately resourced. There is a concern that bus patronage will not recover for some time, which brings additional, significant risk to managing bus services. Increasing numbers of bus service routes are being seen as unprofitable, therefore a considerable amount of additional government funding will be required to accompany additional responsibilities, so that a comprehensive bus offer can be developed locally. Whilst supporting the report, there are a number of risks to be assessed carefully at a future point as further detail is provided by the government.

Cllr Davies commented on the uncertainty of the situation. If viewed in the context of the climate change aspirations locally about using different, more environmentally friendly vehicles, investment in this for bus companies will need to take place over a considerable period of time; if the government proposal amounts to a ‘quick fix’ for a few months, this would suggest significant additional investment will not be available to support measures that will improve air quality in towns and cities. On that basis, a longer-term approach will be preferable; much more than a few months of additional, limited funding will be required if we are to attract people back to using public transport and achieve climate related actions.

The Chair then moved to the voting on the recommendations. Voting took place as per constitutional requirements.