tees-valley-bus-network-improvements

A review of the operation of the Tees Valley bus network undertaken in 2004 identified a variety of proposals encompassing the whole of the City Region, based on a stable hierarchical ne

Tees Valley Bus Network Improvements

Major Scheme Business Case

Summary

This document has been produced by the Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit, working

on behalf of the Authorities of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees, and in partnership with Arriva and Stagecoach

Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit

PO Box 199

Melrose House

1 Melrose Street

Middlesbrough

TS1 2XF

Tel: 01642 264800

Fax: 01642 230870

Hartlepool

Billingham

Stockton

Middlesbrough

Redcar

Saltburn

Tees Valley Bus Network Improvements – Scheme Summary

1 The Tees Valley City Region has been subject to a period of major change in

land use and employment, unprecedented since the establishment of heavy industry on the banks of the River Tees This change is ongoing, which in turn means that the City Region is undergoing significant change in the way

transport demand and supply is distributed, in part as a result of changes to development and land use reflecting key corridors and areas of economic activity, and also due to changes in patterns of travel with a focus on key centres

2 Central to transport in the Tees

Valley is the bus network (shown

below), which despite declining

patronage remains the most

important public transport mode in

the City Region, in terms of

number of passengers carried and

kilometres covered Buses are key

to providing accessibility to the

main centres and increasingly for

ensuring sustainable access to

regeneration areas and new

developments However, with increasing car ownership (from a base well below the national average) there is pressure on maintaining the current levels of accessibility in the face of an increasing funding gap between

network operating costs and passenger revenue

3 A review of the operation of the Tees Valley bus network undertaken in 2004

identified a variety of proposals encompassing the whole of the City Region, based on a stable hierarchical network approach and the development of high demand and quality links to key centres in particular The review included options for:

• A network to maximise bus patronage whilst maintaining accessibility

and social inclusion, with a cost neutral base option and costed, prioritised incremental improvements;

• Infrastructure and bus priority improvements with an implementation

strategy;

• Priority routes for low floor buses;

• Fare and ticketing improvements (and simplification); and

• Other marketing and information initiatives

4 Following the review, a comprehensive package of measures was developed,

titled the Tees Valley Bus Network Improvements, designed to address the

long term decline in bus patronage, offer a step change in bus service

provision, and provide a real alternative to the private car to help support the long term regeneration aspirations of the Tees Valley In short, to break out of the ‘circle of decline’ illustrated below

Declining patronage

Unreliability

Increased congestion

Reduced level of service /

higher fares

Increased operating costs

Reduced levels of service

Increased car traffic

5 The Tees Valley Bus Network

Improvements scheme covers

bus corridors within the five Tees

Valley Authorities of Darlington,

Hartlepool, Middlesbrough,

Redcar & Cleveland and

Stockton-on-Tees The

geographical coverage of the

routes that are the subject of this

scheme are only a proportion of

the bus routes that cover the City

Region However, the benefits of

the scheme will reach across the

whole of the City Region network, meaning the benefits are also felt away from the point of direct investment

6 The scheme focuses on a set of key elements:

• Core Commercial Services: These are the top tiers of the hierarchical

network structure proposed in the Tees Valley Bus Network Review – the routes are generally within the urban areas of the Tees Valley, supported by selected inter-urban links that complement emerging rail-based transport proposals;

• Bus Priority and Infrastructure: A comprehensive series of bus

priority measures implemented to alter the traffic balance in favour of buses, in the form of a ‘clearway’ approach along the whole route with effective enforcement throughout the period of operation;

• Passenger Facilities: All bus stops on the core commercial routes will

fulfil a set of benchmarks, including passenger shelters and CCTV coverage, and a ‘hierarchy’ of interchange facilities is proposed, from

urban town centres/bus stations to inter-modal interchange;

• Service Specification and Vehicles: Extension of the existing hours

of operation with consistent evening and Sunday services, regular even headways across all designated services, with newer, accessible, high quality specification vehicles;

• Fares and Ticketing: The proposal is to work with the bus operators to

promote cashless entry that reduces the need for the driver to handle cash fares, thereby reducing stop delays, and well as examining the use of technology to support a high proportion of pre-pay and multi-journey discounted tickets and a simplified fare structure considered;

• Complementary Measures: Complementary measures such as high

quality accessible information and real time journey information (screens at stops, on-line, on-board and SMS messaging) will help the

scheme deliver a ‘whole journey’ concept aimed at encouraging bus use for all types of journeys at all times;

• Delivery: The network improvements will most likely be procured

through a Statutory Quality Partnership (SQP) scheme in order to guarantee the delivery of both infrastructure and services, which will be the first multi-Authority, multi-operator agreement of its kind in the UK

7 Essentially, the Tees Valley Bus

Network Improvements major scheme

is about delivering a step change in

the quality of public transport

provision, aligned with the City

Region’s wider regeneration

aspirations However, the definition of

the scheme as set out above will

mean that:

• The major scheme investment is much better aligned with Local

Transport Plan (LTP) investment, which is generally on a corridor basis;

• There will be a clear focus on infrastructure measures along the key

corridors, where the greatest return on investment will be obtained;

• The current and future users will have a more clear indication that there

has been a co-ordination of services and an uplift in frequency to key destinations;

• Marketing and branding the new corridors will be much more focused

and effective; and

• The approach better supports the business case requirements of the

operators to invest in newer vehicles across the Tees Valley

Bus Services

8 The core commercial services to be covered within the scheme are included

in the table overleaf The definition of which services to include within the bid was derived from the Tees Valley Bus Network Review, whereby proposals for a revamped bus network for the Tees Valley were developed, using a hierarchy of different service types or categories, each matched by a series of service characteristics and aspirations

Local Authorities Served Service Route Section Operator

DBC HBC MC RCBC SBC

5/5A/15/

713/723

(part)

Darlington - Newton Aycliffe

Arriva 9

20/21 Firthmoor - Whinfield Arriva 9

22 Darlington - Minors

Crescent

Arriva 9

23 Skerne Park - Whinfield Arriva 9

24 Firthmoor - Springfield Arriva 9

25 Red Hall - Branksome Arriva 9

6 Clavering - Fens Stagecoach 9

7/7A Headland - Owton

Manor

11 Middlesbrough - Coulby

Newham

12 Middlesbrough - Coulby

Newham

17/17A/

17B/17C

(part)

Middlesbrough - Thornaby

27/27A Middlesbrough -

Netherfields

27 Middlesbrough - Marton Arriva 9

36/37/38

(part)

Park End - Norton Stagecoach 9 9

56/65/65

A/ X56

(part)

Middlesbrough - Loftus Arriva 9 9

63 Middlesbrough -

Redcar

64/64A

(part)

Middlesbrough - Eston Arriva 9 9

7 (part) Stockton - Yarm Arriva 9

15 Roseworth - Thornaby Arriva 9

52 Stockton - Billingham Stagecoach 9

58 Stockton - Hardwick Stagecoach 9

59 Stockton - University

Hospital of North Tees

61 Stockton - Elton Park Stagecoach 9 X6 Stockton - James Cook

University Hospital

9 The table below provides a summary of the proposed service categories from

the Bus Network Review

Category Description Minimum Criteria for inclusion Super Core High frequency, car competitive radial

urban routes linking multiple high demand areas with town centres Substantial growth potential justifies

‘Intermediate Mode’ designation

• Average weekday flow of 2,000 passengers in each direction

• Daytime frequency not less than

8 services per hour

Core High frequency, car competitive radial

urban routes linking multiple high demand areas with town centres

• Average weekday flow of 1,200 passengers in each direction

• Daytime frequency not less than

6 services per hour

Secondary

Local

Regular interval urban service, supplemental to Core and Super Core routes

• Average weekday flow of 400 passengers in each direction

• Daytime frequency not less than

2 services per hour

Tertiary Low frequency urban service fulfilling

tertiary and low volume needs and meeting urban social accessibility criteria

• At least 8 passengers per trip

Inter-Urban /

Express

Regular interval longer distance link offering direct service to multiple centres with elements of limited stop operation

• Minimum speed of 28mph

• Daytime frequency not less than hourly

Rural Low frequency rural service fulfilling

tertiary and low volume needs and meeting urban social accessibility criteria

• At least 6 passengers per trip

Cross-boundary

Secondary or tertiary service with majority of originating passengers commencing journey outside of the study area

• By agreement with neighbouring authority

10 This scheme includes the top two tiers of the above hierarchy, together with

selected inter-urban links, to develop a network of routes with a minimum of

10 minute frequencies, based over a number of core corridors, providing access to the major centres and attractors within the City Region

11 However, some of the elements of the scheme will also apply to the other

levels in the above hierarchy, ensuring that the expenditure from all Partners will benefit all services and passengers within the Tees Valley

Bus Priority and Infrastructure

12 During 2006, a list of the infrastructure schemes designed to deliver the

required journey time and reliability improvements for each corridor was

developed with the Partners This built on an initial list of infrastructure

measures contained within the Bus Network Review, all aimed at delivering journey time savings to support the minimum 10 minute frequency service desired for the core corridors The corridors included within the scheme are shown in the table below

Darlington Hartlepool

• Clifton Road

• Corporation Road/Brinkburn Road

• Haughton Road

• Neasham Road

• North Road

• Woodland Road

• Yarm Road

• Brenda Road

• Marina Way/Cleveland Road

• Raby Road

• Stockton Road

• York Road

Middlesbrough Redcar & Cleveland

• Acklam Road

• Cargo Fleet Lane

• The Greenway

• Marton Road

• Newport Road/Stockton Road

• Overdale Road

• Middlesbrough Road

• Ormesby Road/Eston Road

• Normanby Road

• West Dyke Road

Stockton-on-Tees

• Bowesfield Lane

• Bishopton Road

• Durham Road

• Middlesbrough Road

• Norton Road/Billingham Road

• Oxbridge Lane

• Yarm Road

13 In December 2006, a series of round table meetings were held with Officers of

the Tees Valley Authorities to review the bus priority infrastructure measures proposed in more detail, following feedback from the Department for

Transport (DfT) on the need for such detail The examination of the proposed measures was based on the ‘clearway’ approach that underpins the principle

of the scheme

14 This version of the infrastructure register was then the subject of a further

round of meetings in March 2007, with the Local Authorities and the principal bus operators, to confirm the scheme content and phasing The outputs from

these meetings then formed the design briefs for the individual design teams

to draw up the scale plans required for this stage of the project, at least for those schemes early in the programme

15 During August and September

2007, further meetings were held

with the Local Authorities and the

bus operators following the

preliminary design process to

agree on the journey time and

reliability benefits that would

accrue from the proposals and

conditionally agree the list of

infrastructure measures that form

part of the funding bid to

Government

16 A final series of meetings were held in December 2007 and January 2008 to

confirm that the infrastructure improvements set out would actually support the core corridor frequencies desired, and that the overall cost estimate still sat within the likely funding envelope

17 This iterative process has provided a finalised infrastructure register The

measures within this list are those that are included within this scheme,

however, not all of the funding for the schemes will come from the funding bid

to Government – in excess of 10% of the total cost is being provided by the Local Authorities themselves, either through existing funding allocations or through private sector contributions secured by the Authorities

18 A series of schematic plans have been prepared showing the individual

measures on a corridor-by-corridor basis, which also reflect the anticipated phasing of the schemes as included within the register

Passenger Facilities

19 In addition to the infrastructure

schemes, an audit of each bus

stop on the core corridors has

been undertaken to allow a

comprehensive set of

improvements on a stop-by-stop

basis to be collated This was

derived from an agreed set of

benchmarks, as set out in the

table overleaf

Ref No Suggested Benchmark

1 All bus stops to be marked by a flag displaying the branding of the route and to have a specific location identifier and Traveline-txt code

2 All bus stops on the route to have passenger shelter where physically possible and

to be illuminated when in use, allowing for the possible relocation of stops

3 All bus stops on the route to have seating provided where physically possible

4 Litter bins to be provided at all stops

5 Up to date static bus service information (timetables) for specific service numbers

to be provided at all stops and remain visible at all times of operation

6 Real time information display for appropriate services to be provided at major stops served by suitably equipped buses

7 All bus stops on the route to have a coloured Bus Stop Cage marking to the

required standard

8 24 hour Bus Stop Clearway on all stops

9 Bus Boarders to be provided where the appropriate Bus Stop Cage length cannot

be accommodated due to local conditions

10 All bus stops to be wheelchair accessible, with a 2m x 2m boarding/alighting zone

to be kept clear of street furniture and other obstructions

11 Kerb heights at all stops to be at least 155mm high, +/- 5mm to accommodate low floor bus operation

12 Minimum area of hard standing for 5 passengers to be provided at each stop

13 Clearly defined pedestrian routes and crossing points where required to be

provided on the approaches to each stop, incorporating tactile paving and dropped kerbs at crossing points as appropriate

14 Inclusion of all stops in a specific maintenance agreement with an obligation to maintain the facilities in line with the prescribed standards

20 The application of these standards will not only enhance significantly the

existing facilities, but assist in providing a co-ordinated approach to the quality

of passenger facilities provided across the Tees Valley

21 A comprehensive bus stop improvements register, showing the range of

improvements to passenger facilities to be included within the scheme, has now been prepared

Service Specification and Vehicles

22 Through the development of the scheme, there has been an emerging

specification for the services to be included within the scheme This

specification follows on from the work of the Tees Valley Bus Network Review and has been agreed by all Partners:

• Minimum daytime frequency of 6 buses per hour between Mondays

and Saturdays, with 2 buses per hour on evenings and Sundays;