Decision details

To seek Cabinet Member approval for proposed changes to the Connect2 Wiltshire bus services in Calne and the Kennet Valley, in order to achieve financial savings.

I approve that the original proposals that formed the basis for the consultation be amended to incorporate the changes referred to in paragraphs 8-9 of this report, and

be adopted as the basis for the changes to the service that will be introduced on 27 October 2014.

This decision was published on 07 August 2014 and will come into force on 15 August 2014.             

It is considered that the revised proposals offer the most acceptable balance between meeting the needs of users and ongoing affordability for the Council.

The original proposals that were put out for consultation were developed with the intention of achieving financial savings by reducing the costs of operation, while maintaining a reasonable level of service that will continue to meet the needs of the majority of existing users of the services.  An alternative option would have been to seek to increase fares income by expanding the use made of the services, through a combination of service improvements and promotional activity. However, experience suggests that this approach is only likely to be successful on services that are already relatively frequent and where there are a sufficient number of potential users to generate significant volumes of extra traffic, and that regrettably cost reduction was the only option in this case that would generate the required level of financial saving.

The consultation itself was designed to identify any significant impacts on the travel and access needs of current users that would result from the proposed changes, and every effort has been made to look for affordable ways of revising the proposals to address the main issues raised. A number of changes have been made to the proposed timetables as a result. However, it is not possible in a situation where resources are limited to cater for the needs of everyone, and it is unfortunately not affordable to maintain a higher frequency of service overall, or to restore some of the diversions to outlying villages where use of the service has been low.

Community transport has been, and will continue to be, considered as an option for meeting needs that cannot be served cost effectively by the bus service. For example, it was suggested to Winterbourne Monkton Parish Council that a lift giving scheme might be developed locally to take residents to the bus stop at Avebury, if it was not possible to continue to divert buses via the village. It is now proposed to divert a limited number of buses to meet the main demands, but a lift giving scheme could supplement this to provide transport for residents who need to travel at other times. It is possible that local lift giving could also be developed in other areas where there are important needs that will no longer be met by the bus service. The Community Transport Development Fund is available to support the setting up costs of new community or voluntary transport schemes or expansion of the services provided by existing schemes.

Consultation has been carried out to seek the views of users and other interested parties on proposed changes to the services affected:

·                     163 responses were received to bus user questionnaires (Appendix 1) that were made available on the buses and also on the Council’s website.

·                     A letter (Appendix 2A) was distributed by the Area Board managers to affected town and parish councils in their area, local members, and other local contacts.  A copy was also sent to a number of groups representing bus users, older people, and those with disabilities, and to local community and voluntary transport schemes. The consultation letter and accompanying information sheet (Appendix 2B) were also available on the Council’s website. Written responses were received from eight organisations or individuals.

            The main points raised by the written responses are summarised in Appendix 3, and the responses to the user questionnaires in Appendices 4A and 4B.