Issue - meetings

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste on the proposals to use the current Socially Necessary Bus Service (SNBS) funding criteria to assess the future delivery of services and the timetable to go out to public consultation.

Roger Wilkin (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste) and Phil Lightowler (Head of Public Transport) were in attendance for this item.

1. Mr Balfour introduced the report for Members which detailed proposals to utilise the current SNBS criteria to identify potential savings, necessary owing to target savings of £4million in this area between 2018 and 2020.  The proposals covered two elements of SNBS.  Firstly the need to consult the public about the use of the KCC criteria to determine subsidised  bus route and secondly to consult and then review those routes currently subsidised, to assess the continued need for those services and to identify potential savings;.  It was crucial that the view of the public, users, and other stakeholders were sought on both matters.
   
   
2. The Committee, Mr Balfour clarified, would be asked following consideration of the report, to endorse the proposal to consult publicly on those matters previously set out.  He acknowledged that at this stage the full details of all subsidised routes and timetables was not available but assured members that all of this information would be available as part of the consultation in order that those responding to it had all of the relevant information when making their comments
   
   
3. He further emphasised that no decision on services would be taken before the consultation and that the committee was asked only to consider the virtue of  consulting on these matters to assure that aby decisions in the future were properly informed and that the council’s non-statutory spending was put to the best use.
   
   
4. Finally, Mr Balfour assured members that work had begun to secure alternatives to subsidised bus routes, including community transport initiatives and that, as always, any reduction in services would be mitigated as fully as possible.

5. Roger Wilkin (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste) advised Members that although contemplation of service reductions was never welcome, due to current financial pressures it was necessary.  It was therefore crucial that the potential impact of such reductions was understood and work undertaken to assess how they would be mitigated. The consultation would reveal whether the criteria adopted in the past were still relevant and would provide the correct template against which decisions would be taken in the future.

6. Phil Lightowler (Head of Public Transport) said that the consultation would also provide operators with an opportunity to put forward alternative proposals of mitigation if contracts were likely to be withdrawn.

7. The matter was opened discussion; the following comments were made and responses from officers and the Cabinet Member received to questions put: