The importance of the bus to the Surrey economy

Workshop 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.

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

Working through the issues

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-bus Wi-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.

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.

Workshop process

•Each group identified a type of customer in their geographical area.

•All of them would be economically active. We gave them a name and a back story. We identified their motivations and frustrations.

•We described their ideal experience of bus transport.

Who is our customer?

•In discussion, we identified some of the benefits to this customer of bus transport.

•We also identified the problems this customer may face by using bus transport.

What are their current problems? •We asked - how we might overcome

this user’s challenges?•We came up with as many ideas as we could – anything was in scope, regardless of cost.

•We prioritised three to five ideas per group that we may be able to put into practice.

How might we overcome the challenges?

Profiles of some of Surrey’s economically active bus customers

Fred is a 37 year old local government officer living in Staines. He wants an

efficient journey to work. Door to door, he wants his bus journey to take no longer than it would do by car. He

plans his childcare around buses. He wants good value flexible travel and no ‘dead time’ between buses. He wants a

one stop shop for information, like Transport for London.

“I’m trying to use the bus – but where is it?”

Lucy is 17 years old and has a part time job in Kingston. She is in her final year at school in Esher. Her social life is in

Walton. She wants to be independent. Some of her journeys aren’t possible

by bus. Other routes don’t have buses that run in the evening. She wants free

travel, like there is on London buses. She wants more frequent buses (not

hourly) and reliability.“No-one understands me and I don’t

understand it...where is the app?”

Janet, who is 42 years old, travels daily from Woodhatch to her job as a shop

supervisor in Redhill. She wants to feel safe and secure on the bus as well as

warm and dry. She likes to go for a drink after work but her bus doesn’t run in the evening. Sometimes she makes extra bus journeys if the kids

are unwell. She’d like realtime information and transferable bus

passes and tickets. “The bus goes around the

houses...really I’d rather be in a car.”

Profiles of some of Surrey’s economically active bus customers

Peter is 25 years old and works in insurance in Epsom. He wants to arrive

at work on time and make a good impression. He gets stressed if the

journey is delayed by congestion. He uses a smartphone and is comfortable with using technology. He is frustrated by the lack of information and use of

technology on bus services. The buses always seem full. He wants a 24/7

service so that he can go out in the evenings.

“It is really old fashioned buying a paper ticket each time I travel.”

Wanda is 20 years old and works in retail in Woking. One day per week she travels to her retail course in Guildford.

She is young and tech savvy. She has grown up with the bus routes in her

area. She wants good bus reliability. She is concerned about bus to bus reliability

and personal safety. She wants great customer service from the bus drivers. “I wish my employer had a season ticket

loan scheme.”

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.

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.

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).

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.

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’.

Next stepsWhat By whom WhenEmbed public transport in the local enterprise partnerships’ strategic economic plans

Bus operators and local authorities

February/ March 2014

Bus operators to collaborate across Surrey

Bus operators and local authorities/ Transport for Surrey Partnership

Throughout 2014

A transport review to look at integration of transport modes, capital savings and collaborating with neighbouring authorities

Surrey County Council and stakeholders

2014-17 with phased implementation from 2014 onwards

Transport for Surrey Partnership to communicate the importance of bus transport to the Surrey economy

Transport for Surrey Partnership

Throughout 2014

Stay in touch:Mark Pearson, Chairman

TfSPartnership@surreycc.gov.uk

Transport for Surrey Partnership websitehttp://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roads-and-transport-policies-plans-and-consultations/roads-and-transport-policies-and-plans