Connex bus service and various issues in respect of the Service

1240/5(1937)

QUESTION TO BE ASKED OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE ON TUESDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2003, BY SENATOR E.P. VIBERT

Question

Would the President inform members –

( a ) of the fare revenue achieved by the Connex Bus company during July and August 2003?

( b ) how many officers of the Public Services Department have been engaged in monitoring the performance

of the Connex Bus Company to ensure that it is delivering the bus service in accordance with its contract?

 ( c ) how many representatives of the Committee travel on the buses to carry out ticket inspections, as

provided by the contract, and how often this is done?

( d ) how many penalty points, if any, have been accrued by Connex for service failure and the financial value

of those penalty points since the start of the Company's operations?

( e ) of progress in implementing the improvements to the core bus service as promised by Connex in their

contract for the summer of 2003, such as the introduction of a rural transport on demand operation to meet the needs of the more isolated rural communities', more journeys later in the evening, regular inner and outer loop services, a round the Island service and the provision of a hop on-hop off' service for local residents and tourists, as well as increased ridership and increased bus revenue promised through sales and marketing and a real-time information system provided both on buses and at key locations?

Answer

1. The  fare revenue on Connex services for the  reporting  period  7th July  to  the 3rd August 2003, was £255,239.75. The farerevenuestatement for thenextfour-week period, covering the remainderofAugust 2003, will not be available until 20th September2003. We are nowentering the final 4 week period of the first year of operation. A reportonthe first year's operation will bepreparedand published aroundtheendof October 2003.
2. The  Department has  one  officer  whose  responsibilities,  together with  supervising managers, include monitoring the public bus service. However, the Departmenthas insufficient resources to continuallymonitor the performanceofthelocalbusoperatorintheoperationof its contract. TheDepartmentisgrateful for the role playedbythe Jersey BusUsersForum, the written and verbal reports from membersofthe public, and the commentsof those in the Department who regularly travel by bus. All input from these sources is followed up.
3. Provision isrequired in the contract to permittheCommittee's officers, consultantsor auditors to travelon the buses for the purpose of ticket inspections andsurveys.However,usingcustomary industry practice, the Committee relies onthe four Connex bus inspectors tocarry out ticketinspectionson its behalf. These inspections are carried outrandomlyrather than at regular intervals.
4. Connex is requiredby the contract to notify theDepartment of all operational and administrative instances of service failures. These failures can be allocated as penalty points with a monetary value,tobe exercised at the discretion of the Environment & PublicServicesCommittee.Todate,thenumber of penalty points is167 over the total operating periodof47weeks.The financial valueofthepoints is currently nil since the threshold for application has not been breached.
5. Planning for improvements in the local bus service has been underway since the start of the contract. Changes have been modest at first but are accelerating asmore is learned of the requirementsof the public

and the operation of the network. A full Island-wide survey has recently been completed, from which will stem a

new core network to be progressively introduced after consultation. Members should please note –

( i ) that the previous operator failed to make available any information relevant to the operation of the

network, which has set back expected progress by approximately 12 months;

( ii ) the contract is for a seven year rolling improvement to the local bus service; and,

( ii i) f e atures such as transport on demand' and real time passenger information' are not part of a core

bus service and were not promised' for 2003. Nevertheless, they are being actively researched. Whilst the cost of on-vehicle location equipment is provided for in the full length of the contract, it will be up to the States to provide funding for the off-bus infrastructure if these features are to be fulfilled in future contract years."