Agenda item

To interview the Executive Portfolio Holder for Economy & Transport regarding SBC holding HCC and the bus operator service providers to account.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Lloyd Briscoe, Executive Portfolio Holder for Economy & Transport, to the Committee.

The Chair asked for Cllr Briscoe’s view on Arriva pulling out of the ZEBRA scheme. Cllr Briscoe advised that it happened last March, and he had been having conversations with County Councillor Phil Bibby as the lead for transport at HCC. The same issue had happened in Milton Keynes. He explained that SBC were upset that they were losing the electric buses as it was also about the carbon emissions. He raised issues with Arriva’s comment that there was a reduced customer demand post pandemic as the reason for pulling out the scheme and that private operators were not accountable to democratic services. He explained there was a new scheme called ZEBRA2 which HCC are applying to for funding, but this wouldn’t come to Stevenage due to Arriva and HCC nominating another service provider.

The Chair asked whether there was a way to encourage the County Council into awarding the scheme to Stevenage, and whether there was opportunity to regularly discuss bus services with HCC and Arriva. Cllr Briscoe advised that there was a bus service improvement plan on the HCC website, and this was a positive move. It was his opinion that the bus operators were there to provide a service to residents, not to just make profit, and believed that private suppliers weren’t meeting customer demand for buses.

A Member agreed that Arriva had broken the understanding about electric buses which SBC had put a lot of work into and asked how much it cost SBC and HCC to prepare. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that it cost SBC Officers time. HCC had consultations so they would’ve paid extra for that.

Another Member asked whether there were any timeframes, whether there was a demand for the service and whether this changed depending on different times of the day. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that Arriva hadn’t said anything about shifting the buses they used. Buses being smaller would be more economical and efficient but still required drivers and was a capital expense. Cllr Briscoe advised that the Baroness Taylor spoke about the ZEBRA scheme in Stevenage in the House of Lords and described a cyclical issue with people believing the service was unreliable so not using it, but Arriva could not invest as they were concerned about lack of use so didn’t provide the service.

The Chair raised issues around the connectivity of the bus stations and to the town centre and asked whether this would be improved with the Stevenage Regeneration. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that there was an immediate improvement to the signage, drop kerbs, and easier routes which was worked on by the regen and engineering teams. The new civic hub and town square would create easier access routes when completed. There was also an ongoing discussion with Age UK to support shop mobility. The shop in the bus station was originally intended for them but they didn’t want it and wanted to be based in the indoor market.

A few Members asked why Age UK didn’t want the shop as the indoor market could be inaccessible and was only open a few days a week. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that the response from Age UK was that they didn’t want to run two facilities and so declined the shop and remained in the indoor market, however made a note that more discussions could take place.

Some Members raised issues with connectivity and suggested a small train to connect the bus station and the town. They also raised issues with the design of Lytton Way bus lanes. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that as regeneration takes place, the town centre will grow towards the bus station. He also advised that Lytton Way was still a work in progress and there would be a north south bus route which would improve bus connections.

The Chair thanked Cllr Briscoe for his contribution to the meeting.