Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held of 6 September were an accurate record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

1.    Mr Balfour, Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, provided an introduction and overview of the progress made with the Select Committee recommendations.  He commented that the report represented an excellent piece of work and that he hoped the review of progress by the Scrutiny Committee would help increase Member involvement with some of the future plans, such as the development of a Member Panel for Bus Transport.

2.    Mr Balfour confirmed that, as per recommendation 17 of the Select Committee report, he had written to Government regarding extending the option of Bus Franchising as part of the Bus Services Bill but he noted that the government had not made further progress with the bill.

3.    Mr Balfour commented that, in relation to recommendation 4, Stagecoach had announced that all Young Persons Travel Pass holders would be allowed to use their passes outside the standard terms of use, meaning additional free transport available for young people at weekends and during school holidays.  He commented that this was a very positive step and that it was hoped that other large bus providers would follow suit, in recognition of the significant benefit to the users.

4.    Mr Balfour highlighted some of the positive work being done in relation to Community Transport, noting that this had been recognised within the Select Committee’s recommendations.  He cited examples in Stockbury and Detling where the Community Transport Project had brought the community together, in addition to providing key transport provision.  Assistance with local activities, such as transport for the football team, demonstrated the wider community benefit of these schemes.  Mr Balfour advised the Committee that Phil Lightowler, Head of Public Transport at KCC, was due to have further meetings with providers and other organisations about progressing and expanding community transport.

5.    Mr Lightowler advised the Committee that there were two workshops / events planned in November (2^nd / 9^th) around Community Transport.  These offered an opportunity to showcase the benefits of Community Transport to potential users, as well as taking them through the practicalities to ensure the details of grant provision, costings etc. were fully understood by the relevant groups.  He explained that a Community Transport Toolkit had been developed and was due to launch in support of these events.  This toolkit would provide groups with all the information they would need to start the process of setting up a Community Transport scheme.  Mr Lightowler explained that his colleague, Carol Valentine, would be taking the information to Parish Councils in the future to help promote the schemes.

6.    A member highlighted the positive contribution that Community Bus Services had made around the county, referencing the historicsupport for this work from former County Councillor, Keith Ferrin.  The Member noted the development of bus ‘click & collect’ services, which were demand led rather than scheduled.

7.    Mr Lightowler provided an overview of ‘click & collect’ services, explaining that a trial was being run by Arriva.  The scheme was responsive to demand, with flexible registration for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 141.