Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport and the Interim Director – Highways, Transportation and Waste and to consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member on a proposed decision to accept the Department for Transport’s (DfT) funding to enable the Kent Connected initiative to be delivered

David Joyner, Transport and Safety Policy Manager, introduced the report which asked the committee to endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, on a proposed decision to accept Department for Transport’s (DfT) funding to enable the Kent Connected initiative to be delivered.

He said the Kent Connected initiative focused on a website bringing together a series of measures to improve journey planning and the funding would be used to:

i)             pay supporting costs associated with delivering the initiative;

ii)            enter into and amend procured contracts as necessary and subject to the council’s approval process;

iii)           make grants to transport operators, business and schools, in accordance with agreement procedures; and

iv)           promote the initiative to partner organisations and the public.

In response to comments made and questions raised by Members, Mr Joyner and Mr Balfour gave the following information:

i)             Promoting active travel, including walking and cycling, is an important part of this project.

ii)            This grant would fund the project for one year, including enhancing a number of existing initiatives, and the intention was to leave a legacy of measures and outcomes, which would still exist post funding.

iii)           Funding would be used to get the smart card scheme functioning and if successful, the objective is that the bus companies would maintain it without subsidy from KCC.

iv)           In terms of whether any individual bus operator would benefit from the smart card scheme Mr Joyner confirmed the intention of the smartcard was to support competition and would not favour one operator over another.

v)            That mode share targets would be measured in a number of ways, including through Business & School Travel Plan surveys and by asking  customers to report through the website on changes to their travel patterns and experience.

It was RESOLVED that the proposed decision to accept this injection of revenue be endorsed.