The importance of the bus to the Surrey economy Workshop report 3 February 2014

1. The importance of the bus to the Surrey economyWorkshop report 3 February 2014 The TfS Partnership is a communications and consultation channel. It is the only transport partnership that reflects the boundary of Surrey.

2. Our approach • Transport for Surrey Partnership Board invited bus operators to join in a workshop. • Six operators attended, along with 16 representatives of local authorities and business representative organisations. • We set the scene by describing the current opportunities for growth, the regulatory framework and budget constraints. • We split delegates across tables according to place: • Large towns, west (Guildford and Woking) • Large towns, east (Redhill and Epsom) • Small towns, west (eg Addlestone, Camberley and Staines upon Thames) • Small towns, east (eg Reigate, Oxted, Leatherhead and Dorking). • We used the Discover stage of ‘design thinking’ to think through issues for bus customers, as used in Shift Surrey www.shiftsurrey.org

3. Working through the issues

4. Setting the scene – the operator perspectiveKevin Hawkins, Arriva • 26 bus operators run services in Surrey. • Operators are Surrey employers and operate fleets from Surrey premises. • The recession slowed growth in passenger numbers. It can still be achieved. • Technology is helping to grow the sources of passenger information. • Printed information is still important to the customer, especially at bus stops. • On-busWi-Fi is being introduced progressively. • Two and a half million people nationally now use Arriva mobile phone ticketing. • Real time information is growing and will soon be available on apps. • Passengers’ key concern remains bus punctuality. • Traffic congestion causes the most bus delays. • Bus operators need to be able to predict the day ahead. Just a few pinch points can seriously affect a service. • Bus operators enable the travel of many workers and scholars. They account for the most footfall in town centres. • Challenges include set-down by shops. Good access to town centres is critical especially as buses are now accessible themselves. • The vitality of town centres is attractive to bus operators too. • Examples of deep concern are continued bus access to Guildford and Woking town centres given current development proposals.

5. Setting the scene – the regulator perspectiveLaurie James, Surrey County Council • Surrey County Council is the bus regulator in Surrey. It does not have full coordinating powers for bus services. • It works in a de-regulated bus environment. • Where operators can’t sustain a service then the council may step in. • The council doesn’t license or franchise buses – as per Transport for London. • The council goes beyond basic social need. It is however, constrained by what it can afford. • People judge Surrey County Council’s service on the bus map. • The whole county network accounts for 29 million passenger journeys per year. • Transport for London routes go out as far as Redhill, Epsom and Caterham. • There is a vast difference in funding between London and Surrey. So Surrey passengers can see what benefits others are receiving. • The current net revenue support is £8 million. This follows a council bus review in 2012. Then, savings of £4 million were made without the need to withdraw buses. • The corporate budget remains challenging. We need to be smarter, innovative and seek out new savings.

6. Workshop process

7. Profiles of some of Surrey’s economically active bus customers

8. Profiles of some of Surrey’s economically active bus customers

9. Customer benefits of bus transport • Buses drop passengers off in town centres. • Customers avoid parking charges. • Customers think it is cheaper to travel by bus than to finance a car. • Customers have time to do things, such as to read a book or do work. • Customers may use a mobile phone on the bus, especially where there is Wi-Fi. • Customers are able to have an alcoholic drink and travel. • Customers like the familiarity of the route/ service.

10. Bus transport problems for our customers • Customers cannot rely on the timetable. • Buses may be infrequent eg hourly. • The lack of bus lanes means buses are subject to the same congestion as cars. • Routes may not be convenient. • Buses may not run in the evening. • Down time between buses/ bus to bus reliability. • Tickets can be hard to obtain and non-transferable between operators.

11. A selection of ideas (nothing out of scope) • We have a Surrey cycling town (Woking) so why not have a bus town? • Be more like Transport for London – a one shop stop. Offer journey planning education for http://journeys.travelsmartsurrey.info/. • Integrate timetabling with rail operators. • Make being on a bus more aspirational (leather seats, Wi-Fi etc). • Keep passengers informed of delays, in-journey information and install interactive screens throughout towns. Put realtime info on Google Maps. • Consider bus transport in developments/ developments along existing bus routes. • Positive marketing to communicate the benefits of bus transport: to businesses and individuals. Location-specific advertising. • Instinctive ticketing/ mobile style bundle ticketing/ transferable tickets. • Free travel for a week in January. A £10 credit on your 16th birthday. • Bus operators to have a collective voice. • More bus coordination in rural areas (eg Bus – rail – bus – bus). • Increase parking charges (remove free parking). Remove town centre parking altogether. • Solve the level crossing problem with train operating companies and/or grade separation on roads (bridge/tunnel options).

12. A selection of ideas (nothing out of scope) • More Bus Priority lanes and measures, put bus stops on the carriageway. • Better management of the traffic lights via the Network Management Information Centre. • Better feedback and phasing to ensure traffic flow. • Train bus drivers in customer service. • Small interventions at junctions (eg lines, paving) can make a big difference to traffic flow. • Extending the school day or stagger school hours. • To develop a bid for a series of small junction schemes, someone could ‘ride the route’ with the bus driver to see what junction problems are holding him up. • C – Limited Service.  • Remove traffic calming measures. • Offer incentives to get people to use smartphones. • Need to get more bus patronage to make it economic to run longer service times, eg by more pedestrianisation in town centres to deter car use; integrated policy/overview for a town bringing together bus/transport and parking control (eg Oxford) – a ‘Town Plan’. • More bus depots for economic running.

13. Priorities • To achieve better journey time reliability. • To make the bus and the waiting environment more aspirational. • To promote the things you can’t do while driving. • To make it simple to travel by bus/ have a personalised season ticket. • To display live information on public screens in towns. • To integrate the different modes of public transport. • To have buses running into the evenings. Specific proposals: • Extend PLUSBUS to Redhill and Reigate. • Aim for a LEP-funded package along a transport corridor. • Develop a bus town. • To have a Surrey-wide app integrated between bus operators . • Overcome level crossing issues. • Develop mobile phone ticketing ‘bundles’.

14. Next steps

15. Stay in touch: Mark Pearson, Chairman TfSPartnership@surreycc.gov.uk Transport for Surrey Partnership website http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roads-and-transport-policies-plans-and-consultations/roads-and-transport-policies-and-plans