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  • Agenda item
  • Agenda item

    Big Conversation

    To note and comment on the report.

    Minutes:

    Phil Lightowler (Head of Public Transport) was in attendance for this item.

     

    1.    Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) introduced the report which provided Members with an update on the progress of the Big Conversation Consultation and the next stage of the programme. Mr Whiting took the opportunity to thank Rob Clarke (Project Manager), Phil Lightowler (Head of Public Transport) along with all colleagues, Members and Parish Councillors for their extensive work and input at all public meetings.

     

    2.    Mr Lightowler said that the consultation sought to understand community views on three proposed ideas: feeder services, bookable services and taxi-bus services, the concept of which was to link communities without routes to mainline services. The Big Conversation Consultation was supported through a series of public meetings and a survey which received 2355 responses. The next stage of the programme involved analysing the responses which would help to inform the development of the pilot schemes. An update report would then be presented to the Programme Board and then to the Cabinet Member for approval. A final report would be considered by the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee Mr Lightowler informed the Committee that the Bus Summit was due to be held on 30 October 2018 and details of the event were within the report if Members wished to attend.  Mr Whiting confirmed that the Bus Summit would be webcast to facilitate those who could not attend.

     

    3.    In response to Members concerns regarding the £18 per person subsidy figure, Mr Whiting clarified that the objective of the consultation was not solely about buses - it was to identify ways in which Kent County Council could save money on the expensive subsidies and how these could be reinvested into rural areas to improve and/or provide public transportation. The specific question around whether people were willing to pay towards an improved public transport service was asked at every meeting, however, the response to this question was not yet known and would be available in the published Lake Market Research report. Mr Whiting said that there was a £0.5 million budget set aside to facilitate the pilot schemes, however, the pilots would not be introduced until 2019. The criteria against which the three ideas were being evaluated against were set out at paragraph 3.2 on page 33 of the agenda.

     

    4.    Mr Lightowler assured members that the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) permits were a statutory obligation for Kent County Council and those who were entitled to and used an ENCTS permit would not be required to pay for public transportation. There were no proposals to introduce charging, however, Mr Lightowler acknowledged that this had been a major misconception reported throughout the Big Conversation. The Consultation focused on very new and radical ideas that addressed issues of entitled ENCTS users not having access to bus services and asked those users for their views on whether they would be willing to pay a voluntary contribution to fund a bus service.

     

    5.    In response to queries regarding the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA), Mrs Cooper said that the EQIA was a living document and that the initial assessment was carried out in June 2018. A revised EQIA would be published following the feedback from the consultation.

     

    6.    Members commended the work and support of all staff and Members involved in the Big Conversation Consultation.

     

    7.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

     

    Supporting documents: