Agenda item

To receive evidence from bus service user groups.

Supplementary information may become available if received from the user groups, prior to the meeting.

The Chair welcomed representatives from Exeter & District Bus Users Forum and Stagecoach South West.

The Exeter & District Bus Users Forum outlined key challenges as follows:

• congestion and traffic conditions, including variability between school and non-school days;
• the impact of new developments on service planning;
• issues arising from “super stops”, where multiple stops had been combined without sufficient infrastructure improvements; and
• that these were not necessarily unique to Exeter but faced across the country.

Members questioned representatives on ticketing models, planning for new developments, and the design and effectiveness of super stops. It was highlighted that early provision of bus services into new housing developments was important to embed travel behaviours before car dependency became established.

The Chair reminded the committee and those present that Devon County Council was the responsible authority for transport.

The Committee also heard from a blind bus user who shared lived experience of using the bus network, highlighting:

• difficulties locating shelters, vehicles and doors;
• challenges arising from glass shelters, floating bus stops and combined stops;
• the value of knowledgeable drivers and the assistance card scheme, provided by Devon County Council;
• limitations of app-based systems for users without smartphones; and
• quieter electric buses, where diesel buses were easy to hear.

Members welcomed this insight and discussed potential mitigations such as tactile features, audible signals and greater consistency in design.

The Managing Director of Stagecoach South West presented current performance information making the following points:

• passenger numbers remained stable despite fare increases;
• punctuality was reported at approximately 85%, carrying 250,000 passengers per week;
• the app was 93% accurate and the remaining 7% could be missing vehicle data;
• ticketing equipment and tracking was likely to be replaced during this year;
• there were currently 13 driver vacancies in Exeter which represented 3.2%;
• investment was being made in fleet replacement, including the introduction of electric buses, subject to depot power connections;
• reliability continued to be affected by congestion, roadworks and infrastructure constraints;
• the remainder of the fleet would be electrified in 2027 with £47 million investment of private capital which showed the confidence in Exeter;
• this year drivers would undertake specific training underpinned by the Department of Transport regarding the safety of women and girls at night;
• disability awareness training was extensive;
• there was more use of off-bus ticketing in Europe and in London there was no interaction with bus drivers and multidoor buses were used which risked fare evasion; and
• he was proud of what his team delivered every day and they were part of the communities in which they live and work and he would welcome positive ways forward.

Members’ raised issues including route reliability across the city, coordination with rail services, timetable changes, accessibility, pricing, and engagement with local businesses and Devon County Council being the transport authority.

The Managing Director of Stagecoach South West responded to members’ questions in the following terms:

• data informed timetable changes and service planning;
• there were operational challenges on cross-city routes and consideration may need to be given to splitting the P route in the next timetable changes if they did not see improvements;
• engagement with Network Rail and GWR was through the enhanced partnership and he would discuss Newcourt with GWR to understand the needs better as he hadn’t understood the issue for residents, particularly on rugby match-days;
• there were limits to fare reductions due to funding and revenue requirements;
• there was ongoing work nationally and locally to improve accessibility and the customer experience;
• there had been issues of poor parking and enforcement around the Marsh Barton rail halt as well as the bus stop not having a raised kerb, shelter or realtime information, which Devon County Council had been made aware of;
• the Flexi 5 and 10 had been withdrawn but the same discount was available when buying multiple tickets;
• lots of modelling had been carried out;
• Exeter was the 10^th most congested place in the UK which made it challenging to run buses reliably;
• the record for a bus running late was 90 minutes which during September when there were issues on Barrack Road and Topsham Road and it was a university open day;
• it had been enlightening to hear first-hand experience and that he had made note of things to do which he would also feedback through national forums;
• driverless ticketing was not being considered at present as this would need to be funded from revenue; and
• the Stagecoach industry position was that where new routes were to be implemented they would need to be underwritten by the local transport authority and the Devon County Council budget was fully committed but section 106 fund could be utilised.

A member stated that as a business-owner she felt there was room for wider discussion as many of her staff were non-drivers and she placed them where they could access via public transport rather than the best place as a business and if buses serviced other areas at key times data from mobile phones may be very different.

During discussion it was suggested that the Portfolio Holder for Climate, Ecological Change and Communities could be asked to raised issues with the relevant Devon County Council Portfolio Holder, that were potential actions which could be requested of Planning and route suggestions which could be made to Stagecoach.

Following discussion, the Chair proposed, seconded by Councillor Mitchell that the minutes of this item be sent to the Strategic Director for Place and the Portfolio Holder for Climate, Ecological Change and Communities which following a vote was CARRIED unanimously.

The Chair thanked the guests and stated that she felt enlightened and more able to understand the bus service across the city.

The committee took a break at 7.23pm and reconvened at 7.29pm