1.  BACKGROUND

  1.1  Stagecoach in South Wales welcomes the opportunity to present evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. As one of the Principality's major transport providers, Stagecoach believes that an effective, high quality passenger transport system has a key role to play in the social and economic development of Wales, and is therefore pleased to be able to contribute to the development of transport policy.

  1.2  Stagecoach in South Wales operates a network of bus routes covering the South Wales Valleys, providing services in five main categories:

—  Express services providing fast links between Valleys towns and villages and the centres of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.

—  Long distance stopping services, also linking the Valleys with Cardiff and Newport but providing local transport facilities throughout the route.

—  Local services between towns and villages within the Valleys.

—  Feeder services connecting residential communities with nearby centres, offering links to local amenities and providing access to the wider transport network.

—  School transport.

  1.3  Stagecoach operates a fleet of 319 buses from eight locations in South Wales, providing employment for over 700 people and accommodating around 20 million passenger journeys per annum.

  1.4  Around 90 per cent of services are provided commercially, with no financial support.

  1.5  The average fleet age is currently 6.3 years, better than the industry average of around eight years. However, the topography of the Valleys creates a demanding environment for bus operation, resulting in higher than normal unit costs of operation. Profit margins are among the lowest within the UK Bus division of Stagecoach, leading to difficulties in justifying new fleet investment and a reliance on mid-life vehicles cascaded from elsewhere.

2.  LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PARTNERSHIPS

  2.1  The core Stagecoach network is situated within the unitary authority areas of Cardiff, Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taff. Collectively, these authorities form the regional consortia of TIGER and SWIFT. A small number of services extend beyond these boundaries into Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Powys and England.

  2.2  The profusion of relatively small, poorly resourced unitary authorities creates difficulties in building effective relationships, for the following reasons:

—  A lack of dedicated public transport officers.

—  Local authority boundaries bear little relation to corridors of demand, meaning that effective planning of partnership improvements involves more than one authority.

—  Requirement to deal with so many authorities is very time consuming.

  2.3  A number of regional consortia have now developed, grouping local authorities for transport planning purposes. SWIFT covers the valleys above Cardiff and the capital city, while TIGER covers the valleys above Newport and the south eastern corner of Wales including Newport itself.

  2.4  Stagecoach welcomes the broader strategic direction that these consortia can give to transport planning, recognising that such matters are more effectively handled at the regional level. Indeed, the boundary between SWIFT and TIGER is somewhat artifical and there may be logic in merging the two.

  2.5  The consortia have already achieved a number of successes, such as TIGER's work with bus infrastructure on the Ebbw Vale—Newport corridor.

  2.6  However, due to resource issues there is again a danger that these strategies may not move forward quickly enough and careful attention needs to be paid to the staff resources available to the consortia. Attention also needs to be paid to ensure that the balance between bus and rail projects is maintained, recognising the much greater ability of buses to access communities.

  2.7  Stagecoach is not involved in any formal quality partnership arrangements in South Wales, but enjoys close relations with most authorities in its operating area.

  2.8  Taking account of all the above points, Stagecoach supports a position in which public transport operators continue to plan and deliver the bus service network, but that there is a greater level of partnership with the regional consortia in which the latter provide the infrastructure improvements necessary to allow the network to function effectively and deliver patronage growth. Such an arrangement reflects the strengths of the various parties, recognising that it is in operators' interests to plan networks which best meet passenger demand while the consortia can bring the local authorities together to create infrastructure improvements which follow demand lines rather than confirming strictly to unitary boundaries.

3.  CONGESTION

  3.1  One of the major obstacles in delivering high quality public transport is traffic congestion. This is unpredictable in its nature and delays to services lead to uncertainty among waiting passengers and inconvenience to those delayed.

  3.2  It is vitally important that operators and local authorities work together in identifying areas where problems of congestion are worst and implement measures to overcome this.

  3.3  The most effective means of addressing traffic congestion is through the provision of bus priority measures such as bus lanes or priority at traffic lights. The development of such schemes in South Wales has been slow in comparison to the rest of the UK while at the same time congestion has been increasing. Bus services are having to be retimed to allow for longer journeys and this reduces the attractiveness of public transport. Local authorities should be urged to develop more such schemes, even though these can be difficult to introduce, having regard for available roadspace and also opposition by car drivers.

  3.4  The Traffic Commissioner has the task of monitoring bus service punctuality and taking action against offenders. The standard applied by the Traffic Commissioners is that 95 per cent of bus services should be no more than one minute early or five minutes late. While the industry aspires to deliver a high standard of punctuality, this measure is felt to be unreasonable in many cases, as no allowance is given for the unpredictable nature of congestion in busy areas. Stagecoach would consider it appropriate to have a locally agreed target which is realistic in the area to which it applied, taking account of the level of congestion and bus priority.

4.  MASS TRANSIT OR SOCIAL INCLUSION

  4.1  Considerable emphasis is placed on patronage growth—encouraging greater use of public transport—and bus operators respond to this by adapting services and networks to meet changing needs. There are many examples of services being improved where there is evidence of potential growth, either by adding new links or increasing frequency. Services may also be reduced or withdrawn however, when there is evidence that the available patronage does not justify the resources used on a commercial basis.

  4.2  Invariably, these service improvements will enhance accessibility to key services and destinations from particular communities—for example, the recent extension of Stagecoach Express service X4 to provide a new link between the Heads of the Valleys and Hereford.

  4.3  However, it is also recognised that reductions in services do cause difficulties for people who are dependent upon public transport, and mechanisms need to exist to ensure that services can be provided for those who would otherwise be excluded from society. At present, this is achieved by the use of revenue support from local authorities to enable services to operate which would not otherwise be provided commercially.

  4.4  This system is considered to offer the best balance between meeting the needs of the mass market but also providing for social inclusion and should therefore continue, reinforced by improved partnerships between operators, regional consortia and individual local authorities as appropriate.

  4.5  A number of alternative legislative models have been put forward in recent times with a view to providing for greater social inclusion, but it must be recognised that very often the steps which will achieve this will detract from actions which would otherwise improve overall public transport growth—by focussing resources on lesser used services for example. As such, such methods of delivery would appear to require a greater level of public financial support than is currently necessary and should therefore be resisted.

  4.6  Social inclusion does not of course simply encompass the extent of service and network provision. The accessibility of the services themselves is important—many of the key commercial services in South Wales operate with low-floor vehicles as a result of commercial investment by operators. The condition of the waiting environment is also important, especially at times of day when people might feel more vulnerable. The continuing investment by several local authorities in improved bus stop infrastructure is applauded for this reason and should continue.

  4.7  Free travel for senior citizens and the disabled is a key measure in promoting social inclusion among those groups in society most dependent upon public transport. Early indications suggest that this scheme is proving very popular.

5.  INTEGRATION

  5.1  Many passenger journeys cannot be accomplished by use of one single bus or rail service. A change of routes and often of modes is required.

  5.2  Many people find interchanging between services and modes difficult and confusing, especially in areas with which they are unfamiliar and where the unavailability of suitable infrastructure creates difficulties in bringing services close together. It is likely that many people are put off making entirely practical journeys by public transport due to uncertainty over interchange.

  5.3  A number of successful projects have taken place to improve integration between services—most notably Caerphilly Interchange—a SWIFT project—where a bus station provides direct access to the station platform.

  5.4  The regional consortia should hold improved interchange as one of their key aims and more such schemes—although not necessarily on a grand scale—should be expected as part of a transport strategy.

  5.5  In Caerphilly, Stagecoach and Valley Lines will be introducing joint ticketing in June 2002, to enable bus passengers to buy a through ticket which incorporates the bus journey to Caerphilly Interchange and the onward journey to Cardiff by rail. More such initiatives will be forthcoming from commercial operators as infrastructure improvements remove the physical barriers to interchange.

6.  TICKETING

  6.1  Simple but user-friendly ticket schemes are a key feature of encouraging greater use of public transport, both in permitting greater integration between services and in taking account of people's diverse travel patterns.

  6.2  The new through ticket scheme involving Stagecoach and Valley Lines described in para 4.5 above is an obvious example of the use of ticketing to improve interchange.

  6.3  A further example of co-operation between commercial operators to improve access to bus network is the Network Rider ticket, in which several South Wales operators participate voluntarily and which enables passengers to choose freely between services of different operators.

  6.4  Smartcards are seen as having a key role to play in improving the quality and flexibility of ticket schemes. Key advantages among many include the ability for passengers to choose between a number of ticket products while retaining only one card and the ability to renew season tickets without having to make the effort to visit a retail outlet.

  6.5  The increasing use of smartcards by SWIFT authorities for concessionary travel is welcomed and other authorities are encouraged to adopt this technology.

  6.6  In Caerphilly, Stagecoach is now offering commercial season tickets in smartcard form and these have been well received by passengers. This is the first commercial smartcard scheme in Stagecoach anywhere in the UK, and coverage in South Wales will improve as the cost of cards reduces.

  6.7  These developments have been made possible by a joint approach between SWIFT and Stagecoach to the funding of the on-bus equipment and other regional consortia, local authorities and transport operators are encouraged to adopt this partnership approach.

  6.8  In any smartcard scheme, care should be taken to ensure that compatibility with other neighbouring schemes is maintained.

7.  INFORMATION

  7.1  Key to encouraging usage of public transport is the provision of high quality information.

  7.2  The traveline telephone enquiry service provided by PTI Cymru Ltd is an example of operators and local authorities co-operating to deliver high quality information by telephone and subsequently the internet and other means.

  7.3  Stagecoach is piloting a new guide to bus services in Merthyr Tydfil which will incorporate within one leaflet a network map, guide to service frequencies, bus stop locations, ticket details and information on places to visit. The guide will be distributed door-to-door and includes information relating to all operators. This will be the first in Wales and if successful will be replicated in other towns.

8.  SCHOOL TRANSPORT

  8.1  Many schoolchildren and college students depend upon bus services for their daily journeys. This may be in the form of dedicated contract buses or the purchase of season tickets on commercial or contracted local bus services. In many cases, local authorities purchase the season tickets on behalf of the students in order to avoid the additional expense generally associated with the provision of dedicated contract vehicles.

  8.2  Stagecoach welcomes this source of business and works closely with the local authorities to ensure that scheduled bus services meet the needs of schoolchildren and college students where appropriate. This may include adjusting the times of services and/or vehicle capacity as appropriate.

  8.3  Where local authorities and/or schools and colleges seek to use scheduled bus services for the carriage of schoolchildren or college students, it is important that they take account of the available capacity.

  8.4  While the provision of dedicated contract buses may present the most attractive solution to parents and schools, it should be recognised that this is likely to be the most expensive way of securing provision and their desirability should be seen in the context that this will obviously place the greatest financial burden on local authorities.

9.  CRIME

  9.1  An increasingly dominant issue is the level of crime and anti-social behaviour evident in some areas at certain times. In particular, late evening bus services are often subjected to assaults on staff and passengers, vandalism and missiles being thrown. Problem areas can include residential districts and town centres.

  9.2  In some areas, the likelihood of anti-social behaviour is so great that services have had to be suspended in the evening. This reinforces social exclusion and penalises those most in need of the service. The alternative however is an unacceptable risk to the safety of staff and passengers.

  9.3  Bus operators need co-operation from local authorities, police and local community organisations to tackle these issues. At present, the level of interest displayed by these parties is variable.

  9.4  Bus stations can also attract anti-social behaviour. These can be very unwelcoming locations as a result, especially in the evening when the number of bus passengers is reduced. At present, local authorities—who generally manage the bus stations—struggle to allocate resources to provide appropriate security staff for these locations but there is a requirement to overcome this shortfall if bus stations are not to become "no go" areas.

10.  CONCLUSION

  10.1  Stagecoach perceives that there are many opportunities within South Wales to grow the usage of public transport.

  10.2  The ability of bus operators to deliver this growth depends upon effective partnerships with local authorities and especially regional consortia, in which each party demands high standards of the others.

  10.3  Bus operators must have the freedom to plan and adapt bus services to take account of trends in patronage. This will ensure that attractive services are provided in those areas where growth is achievable. With the support of local authorities, networks can be developed which take account of concerns relating to social exclusion.

  10.4  Stagecoach and other operators are keen to work with the regional consortia to develop effective strategies for developing public transport services.

  10.5  The regional consortia are well placed to implement the infrastructure measures necessary to deliver these strategies and operators will respond with improvements to services.

May 2002