Warwickshire's Vision for Bus Travel - Consultation

Following publication of the Warwickshire Bus Service Improvement Plan in October 2021, a statutory consultation was carried out on the Warwickshire Enhanced Partnership (EP Plan); and Warwickshire EP Scheme 1.

A total of 252 responses to the consultation were received, of which, 231 no. were from the public and 21 no. were from either statutory consultees, County Councillors, local organisations or businesses. The key highlights taken from the analysis of the consultation responses were as follows:

A total of 78.2% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the vision for improving local bus travel in Warwickshire presented in the Warwickshire EP Plan;

A total of 8.8% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the vision for improving local bus travel in Warwickshire, with the key themes influencing their response being as follows:

• The need for further improvements to bus service integration;
• The need for bus services to be more reliable;
• The need for improvements to bus information provision at bus stops;
• The need for closer working links with neighbouring authorities including the West Midlands Combined Authority for those making cross boundary journeys from Warwickshire;
• Bus travel was too expensive; and o Bus services need to be more frequent

In general, there was a strong level of support for each of the planned measures within EP Plan, i.e., more frequent and reliable bus services, cheaper and easier fares and provide a more comprehensive bus network, which is easier to understand and use.

A total of 64.3% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the draft EP Plan will improve local bus travel in Warwickshire, assuming all the planned measures can be delivered.

A total of 45.4% of the respondents were ‘not sure’ or ‘didn’t know’ whether they were happy that the processes and governance set out were adequate for delivering the EP Plan.

On the 10 March 2022, WCC Cabinet considered a report which included the outcomes of the consultation. A series of recommendations were made in response to the feedback received through the consultation exercise. After receiving feedback from the DfT on the draft Warwickshire EP Plan, County Council officers will seek to include these recommendations when modifying the EP Plan in the phase of the action plan starting after the EP is brought into effect in April.

The recommendations included in the report were as follows:

• Provide better emphasis and explanation of the vision and measures of the EP to the public;
• Ensure that details of the EP governance are made clearer;
• Provide more adequate representation of the public in the governance of the EP;
• Continue focus on obtaining wider representation of different demographics and from different areas in future consultations;
• Consider all relevant comments relating to the detail of different measures when developing future EP Schemes, including those received by statutory consultees;
• An Equalities Impact Assessment should be undertaken on the current and future EP Scheme(s);
• The Warwickshire Bus Network Review to consider location and times of trip generators;
• Avoid introducing measures to restrict car use until a viable alternative is in place;
• Ensure all future documents are easier to read and understand;
• Continue regular dialogue with neighbouring authorities when developing EP Schemes, and include suggestions in future EP Schemes or a variation to the current EP Scheme;
• Carefully weigh up the benefits of focusing investment in urban areas vs rural areas when deciding on the programme of improvements, and circulate the reasons for prioritisation of funds to County Councillors;
• Review the targets for passenger satisfaction in the next revision of the Warwickshire BSIP;
• Provide more clarity within the next revision of the EP Plan on how the Enhanced Partnership intends to consult users on how well the EP is working;
• Seek legal advice throughout the development of measures and EP Schemes to ensure compliance with competition law.

After considering the report WCC Cabinet Cabinet made the following decions:

1. Authorised the Strategic Director for Communities to make the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme by the end of April 2022.
2. Authorised the Strategic Director for Communities to carry out the appropriate procedures to make the minor modifications to the Scheme mentioned in the report considered.
3. Authorised the Strategic Director for Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, to make the further modifications to the Plan and Scheme mentioned in the report having consulted with the Department for Transport (DfT) and undertaken the necessary statutory consultations.
4. Authorised the Strategic Director for Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, to submit the drafts of an Enhanced Partnership Scheme 2 and an Enhanced Partnership Scheme 3 to the DfT later in 2022-23 if he considers it appropriate in light of decisions on the award of external funding and negotiations with operators.

To read the consultation feedback report and other papers in full please click on this link.