Bus Service Improvement Plan Progress (including BSIP+)

[TheManOnThe172]

I went to a presentation (for parish councillors) by my local authority recently, which included an update on their BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan).

Given that every successful applicant had their bid scaled back, there was always going to be a period of negotiation about what each applicant was going to do within the budget that they had been set.

But I think I picked up a hint that the Department for Transport (DfT) might be dragging their feet on this. The grant funding is a apparently now to be spent over three years rather than five, and given the delays, this boils down to 2.5 years even if things happen fairly quickly from now onwards.

I also thought I picked up a hint that DfT were perhaps seeking to scale down the amount they were going to authorise. And if they hadn't been planning that last week, perhaps Jeremy Hunt will be in touch shortly to suggest this?

Any views on whether we are likely to see a BSIP programme at anything like the scale announced back in April?

 

[Stan Drews]

I went to a presentation (for parish councillors) by my local authority recently, which included an update on their BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan).

Given that every successful applicant had their bid scaled back, there was always going to be a period of negotiation about what each applicant was going to do within the budget that they had been set.

But I think I picked up a hint that the Department for Transport (DfT) might be dragging their feet on this. The grant funding is a apparently now to be spent over three years rather than five, and given the delays, this boils down to 2.5 years even if things happen fairly quickly from now onwards.

I also thought I picked up a hint that DfT were perhaps seeking to scale down the amount they were going to authorise. And if they hadn't been planning that last week, perhaps Jeremy Hunt will be in touch shortly to suggest this?

Any views on whether we are likely to see a BSIP programme at anything like the scale announced back in April?

I think it will be quietly kicked in to the long grass!

 

[Man of Kent]

The funding allocations were only ever for three years, the first being this financial year, so yes, timescales are becoming compressed. However, the original instructions were to give indicative spending plans for a five year period, which can be seen where such plans were revealed in the public documents (there was no requirement to do so). It is true that as no authority received its full ask, there has been a long period of negotation to determine what the award can be spent on.

At a Dept for Transport seminar last week, they said they had made awards to around 80% of the successful bidders, but talking to two which have yet to be confirmed, they say they are jumping through hoop after hoop as DfT seeks further clarification.

Unfortunately the new Chancellor's warning of spending cuts may well affect unconfirmed awards, as well as future financial years across the board. The likelihood of an unsubsidised bus network benefitting from widespread infrastructure improvements is fading daily, unless there are some significant policy changes (such as road pricing....).

 

[Simon75]

The funding allocations were only ever for three years, the first being this financial year, so yes, timescales are becoming compressed. However, the original instructions were to give indicative spending plans for a five year period, which can be seen where such plans were revealed in the public documents (there was no requirement to do so). It is true that as no authority received its full ask, there has been a long period of negotation to determine what the award can be spent on.

At a Dept for Transport seminar last week, they said they had made awards to around 80% of the successful bidders, but talking to two which have yet to be confirmed, they say they are jumping through hoop after hoop as DfT seeks further clarification.

Unfortunately the new Chancellor's warning of spending cuts may well affect unconfirmed awards, as well as future financial years across the board. The likelihood of an unsubsidised bus network benefitting from widespread infrastructure improvements is fading daily, unless there are some significant policy changes (such as road pricing....).

With now the announcement of a new Prime Minister, could this change yet again?

 

[Roger1973]

Does anyone know if any local authority has got their hands on the money yet?

From what I've heard, it's still somewhere between 'indicative allocation' and 'confirmed allocation' but nobody has actually got the money handed over yet.

 

[stuu]

Somerset County Council have announced their funding will be used for bus lanes in Taunton and Bridgwater, as well as bus detectors at 26 junctions. Also "mobility hubs" for Taunton and Somerton.

Apparently this will all be done for £5m so can't involve much in the way of actual engineering

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Somerset County Council have announced their funding will be used for bus lanes in Taunton and Bridgwater, as well as bus detectors at 26 junctions. Also "mobility hubs" for Taunton and Somerton.

Apparently this will all be done for £5m so can't involve much in the way of actual engineering

Just removing on-street parking in the town centre would be a start.

Taunton is so car centric - huge amounts of cars allowed to drive unfettered through the town centre.

 

[stuu]

Just removing on-street parking in the town centre would be a start.

Taunton is so car centric - huge amounts of cars allowed to drive unfettered through the town centre.

View attachment 122458

The pedestrianisation/bus only plan for East Street has gone quiet lately. I think a lot of development plans are in limbo because of the reorganisation of the councils into unitary authority from next year

 

[M803UYA]

Somerset County Council have announced their funding will be used for bus lanes in Taunton and Bridgwater, as well as bus detectors at 26 junctions. Also "mobility hubs" for Taunton and Somerton.

Apparently this will all be done for £5m so can't involve much in the way of actual engineering

Don't there need to be some buses, for the detectors to work? Somerset isn't known for having lots of those..... Especially in Bridgwater.

 

[Simon75]

Has any area area had an update when there plans are being implemented?

 

[bussnapperwm]

Some of the BSIP funding that Transport for West Midlands was told it had got has gone to brand new "enhanced" subsidised routes (that had replaced some existing subsidised routes) that started this week, according to a tender document that had been issued during the November 2022 tender round

 

[Citistar]

The West of England Combined Authority have scheduled the introduction of their BSIP funded services from 1st April 2022. Operators were invited to bid late Nov / early Dec and are currently awaiting decisions to be approved. I believe funding has now been confirmed by the DfT and the CA (and North Somerset Council) are now getting their Enhanced Partnership process moving again.

 

[baza585]

First Solent and Stagecoach routes in Portsmouth have enhanced early and late services which I believe are funded by Portsmouth City Council BSIP money.

 

[Alex365Dash]

First Solent and Stagecoach routes in Portsmouth have enhanced early and late services which I believe are funded by Portsmouth City Council BSIP money.

As well as last year’s Christmas Day bus services on First Solent and Stagecoach in Portsmouth!

 

[Citistar]

West of England Combined Authority have published their first paper on proposed awards following the allocation of the second highest BSIP award in the country. It appears to recommend the withdrawal of support for around 30 existing supported services, no new fixed route bus services and "Dynamic" DRT covering the cracks.

https://westofengland-ca.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=581&Ver=4

 

[TheManOnThe172]

West of England Combined Authority have published their first paper on proposed awards following the allocation of the second highest BSIP award in the country. It appears to recommend the withdrawal of support for around 30 existing supported services, no new fixed route bus services and "Dynamic" DRT covering the cracks.

https://westofengland-ca.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=581&Ver=4

Does anyone have a clear idea of what they mean when they say that their DRT will operate "with a 1-hour demand frequency"?

Do they mean that bookings will open an hour ahead of travel? That bookings will close an hour ahead of travel? That they will aim to offer people a ride within an hour of their preferred time?

Or could it be that they understand that they are actually going to be provisioning a fleet of oversized taxis, and perhaps only expect to handle a demand of one ride per hour?

 

[Citistar]

Does anyone have a clear idea of what they mean when they say that their DRT will operate "with a 1-hour demand frequency"?

Do they mean that bookings will open an hour ahead of travel? That bookings will close an hour ahead of travel? That they will aim to offer people a ride within an hour of their preferred time?

Or could it be that they understand that they are actually going to be provisioning a fleet of oversized taxis, and perhaps only expect to handle a demand of one ride per hour?

It is all very unclear. Given that just one of the services they're proposing to replace regularly carries in excess of 170 passenger journeys per day, this will require a lot of taxis or minibuses.

 

[TheManOnThe172]

The West of England Combined Authority BSIP sees them running Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) for two years (April 2023-March 2025).

Are they managing to get contractors to supply minibuses on two-year leases? I guess that failed DRT schemes will have left some secondhand vehicles on the market, but are there enough to supply all the BSIP schemes for DRT?

Where new vehicles are required, are local authorities signing up to horribly expensive leases that let them hand the vehicles back after two years (would anyone offer this?) or are they going to have to continue leasing the vehicles after the BSIP subsidy has ended, leaving the prospect of an even bigger post-BSIP mess than is already looking likely?

 

[Bread & cheese]

Reading Buses launching multi-operator day ticket, thanks to BSIP funding.
From: https://media.reading.gov.uk/news/n...-all-bus-day-fares-coming-to-buses-in-reading

New discounted ‘Reading All-Bus’ day travel ticket will allow passengers to use several bus companies including Reading Buses, Thames Valley Buses, Arriva and Thames Travel with the same ticket

PASSENGERS in Reading will soon be able to take advantage of the ‘Reading All-Bus’ – a new ‘multi-operator’ day ticket at an introductory lower price – thanks to the Council’s successful bid for Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding.

Once purchased - for an initially reduced rate of £3.50 on bus (or £3.40 from any of the bus companies' Apps) - the adult day ticket will allow travel on all bus services in the Greater Reading Area for the rest of the day. It launches from Monday 13 March.

The ticket will be particularly beneficial in areas such as Caversham where three bus companies provide services and ticket holders will always be able to use the next bus that arrives. There will also be discounted day tickets for young people and groups.

Note: the initial rate of £3.50/£3.40 undercuts the Reading PlusBus day ticket (£3.70, unless you have a relevant railcard).

 

[TheManOnThe172]

Is there any limit on when transport authorities need to get approval for their BSIP spending plans?

We are now past the point when new service changes from 1st April should have been announced, but here in Derbyshire there is nothing I can find about plans on how they are going to spend the £47m allocated. Local operators (eg Hulleys) seem to be going ahead on the basis of "business as usual", yet there is this big pot of money (admittedly less than half the £105m requested) that appears to need spending over the next 48 months, but with no sign of any action.

The shorter the operative period, the more wasteful the spending is likely to be - if anyone does offer leases on DRT vehicles for less than two years' duration, the cost would presumably be horrendous.

Is Derbyshire at risk of losing the money from this delay? Are there other local authorities equally late in developing plans?

 

[Simon75]

Is there any limit on when transport authorities need to get approval for their BSIP spending plans?

We are now past the point when new service changes from 1st April should have been announced, but here in Derbyshire there is nothing I can find about plans on how they are going to spend the £47m allocated. Local operators (eg Hulleys) seem to be going ahead on the basis of "business as usual", yet there is this big pot of money (admittedly less than half the £105m requested) that appears to need spending over the next 48 months, but with no sign of any action.

The shorter the operative period, the more wasteful the spending is likely to be - if anyone does offer leases on DRT vehicles for less than two years' duration, the cost would presumably be horrendous.

Is Derbyshire at risk of losing the money from this delay? Are there other local authorities equally late in developing plans?

Stoke On Trent, haven't announced anything yet

 

[Llandudno]

Is there any limit on when transport authorities need to get approval for their BSIP spending plans?

We are now past the point when new service changes from 1st April should have been announced, but here in Derbyshire there is nothing I can find about plans on how they are going to spend the £47m allocated. Local operators (eg Hulleys) seem to be going ahead on the basis of "business as usual", yet there is this big pot of money (admittedly less than half the £105m requested) that appears to need spending over the next 48 months, but with no sign of any action.

The shorter the operative period, the more wasteful the spending is likely to be - if anyone does offer leases on DRT vehicles for less than two years' duration, the cost would presumably be horrendous.

Is Derbyshire at risk of losing the money from this delay? Are there other local authorities equally late in developing plans?

Presumably some of the Derbyshire allowance is being used on the introduction of evening services on the Hulley’s operated 55 Route Chesterfield-Alfreton and 170a Chesterfield-Bakewell-Matlock which are due to commence on 26 March?

 

[TheManOnThe172]

Goo

Presumably some of the Derbyshire allowance is being used on the introduction of evening services on the Hulley’s operated 55 Route Chesterfield-Alfreton and 170a Chesterfield-Bakewell-Matlock which are due to commence on 26 March?

I had rather expected that authorities would publish their plans of what they were going to do with the (reduced) amounts awarded before starting to implement - and that they might have wanted to share their plans with their communities. (The intentions for the Bristol area aren't going down well, but at least the West of England Combined Authority have published them).

Perhaps this is the reality for Derbyshire, with minor changes to timetables being implemented without any ceremony. But with £47m to spend in 24 months, I presume that there must be something a bit more dramatic coming later.

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) for rural areas was in the Derbyshire BSIP bid but there is no sign of action yet, and with Hulleys tweaking their timetable rural services from 26 March, it doesn't look like there will be any dramatic cat-out-of-the-bag announcements in the immediate term. Perhaps Derbyshire have looked at the evidence and worked out that rural DRT isn't the answer. But it would be good to know how they are planning to burn innovate their way through close on £2m a month.

 

[station_road]

Derby City council also got some BSIP money, part of it was for a DRT service in Derby starting April 2023. A PIN notice was issued last July with the intention of a tender in November, but I've seen nothing since. Maybe the DfT have said no?

https://bidstats.uk/tenders/2022/W30/779485601

In response to the National Bus Strategy launched by the government in March 2021, Derby City Council submitted a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) which included a proposal to pilot Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) to serve part of the city, which, if successful would be rolled out to other areas of the city. The project is a key deliverable in the Governments ambition to grow bus usage and to deliver better bus services. The project will also contribute towards National and Local Decarbonising Plans to achieve zero emissions fleet vehicles.

The project delivery target for the service commencing is end of March 2023 with a potential extension to the service commencing end of March 2024. This is subject to an agreement from the awarding grant authority, The Department for Transport.

The only changes I have seen recently in Derby have been some new bus shelters with a garden on top of them, and some new information screens and kiosks in Derby Bus Station, but the press release for those says they were funded by the "Transforming Cities" fund rather than BSIP.

https://www.derby.gov.uk/news/2023/february/bus-station-improvements-begin-next-week/

Beginning on Monday 27 February 2023, 10 new information kiosks will be installed within the bus station, giving passengers the ability to plan their journeys with ease, using up to date, real-time information. The kiosks will replace the current static paper displays with larger and clearer displays

 

[Bread & cheese]

Reading Borough Council is proposing to create six new bus lanes, using BSIP funding.

Have your say on proposals to make travelling by bus in Reading quicker and more reliable | Reading Borough Council News

Next phase of the Council’s two-year, £26 million-pound investment to improve Reading’s bus service and bus infrastructure Ambition to make travelling by bus in Reading faster with fewer delays Six new bus lanes earmarked at key locations

media.reading.gov.uk

READING COUNCIL is inviting people to have their say on proposals for six new bus lanes in the borough, as part of its ambition to make travelling by bus in Reading quicker and more reliable.

The proposed enhancement to Reading’s bus infrastructure is the next phase of Reading’s £26 million bus investment which aims to attract new bus passengers to even faster, more reliable and better-integrated bus services in Reading.

The plans for bus lane enhancements follows on from the launch of a new value for money bus ticket – the ‘Reading All-Bus,’ earlier this month, which allows passengers to use several bus companies including Reading Buses, Thames Valley Buses, Arriva and Thames Travel with the same ticket in the Greater Reading area.

As well as speeding up bus services, the new bus lanes will provide a safer shared space out of the general traffic for cyclists and provide quicker access for taxis and emergency vehicles.

The proposed bus lanes include:

A329 Oxford Road - Outbound bus lane between Zinzan Street and George Street
A329 Oxford Road - Outbound bus lane between Pangbourne Street and Norcot Junction
A4 Bath Road - Outbound bus lane from Circuit Lane to Granville Road
A327 Southampton Street - Inbound bus lane from Pell Street to The Oracle roundabout
A4 London Road - Inbound bus lane between Sidmouth Street and London Street
A4 London Road - Inbound bus lane between Liverpool Road and Cemetery Junction
The Council is seeking views on the initial scheme proposals before any decisions are taken on whether to proceed and more detail plans are produced.

The consultation is open from today, Friday 19 May for 4 weeks ending on Friday 16 June.

 

[Deerfold]

In West Yorkshire there's a meeting this week to approve some of the BSIP improvements.

Agenda:

WYCA - Modern Gov

westyorkshire.moderngov.co.uk

Briefing Paper:

https://westyorkshire.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s31272/Item%208%20-%20BSIP%20update%20-%20Transport%20Committee%20-%20May%2025.pdf

• £6,228,434 to deliver Enhanced Bus Services and further network improvements from September 2023 onwards.
• £11,728,590 to continue the delivery of Mayor’s Fares up to March 2024.

Table 2 – Enhanced Bus Service schemes

Bradford Transdev
Keighley - K3 10min; K7 12min;
£1 Keighley Zone flat fare

The K3 is currently every half hour - I suspect the plan is to withdraw the similar half-hourly K2.

The K7 is currently every 20 minutes.
It's dropped over the last 20 years from every 12 to every 15 to every 20 minutes. There was a proposal from Transdev to link it to the Keighey-Skipton bus service about 5 years ago.

The Keighley Zone area was renamed to Keighley Local last weekend and the day tickets increased by 16% from £2.60/day when bought in packs of 10.

Mayor's Fares are the maximum £2 fare and £4.50 Day ticket within West Yorkshire.

Leeds /Bradford

Transdev Aireline - Shipley to Leeds frequency increased to 20 mins.
Option to route some journeys through Wrose/Idle

The Aireline (60) is currently every 30 minutes Keighley - Shipley - Leeds - if it's not going to be every 20 minutes along the whole route, it'll worsen to 20/40 between Keighley and Shipley.

Calderdale/ Kirklees

First WestYorkshire
Halifax- Huddersfield- new express service X3.
501/503 every 7/8 mins
New connections to Elland station
and between hospitals
New 538 service Halifax- Elland
(station)- Brighouse

The 503 currently runs every 15 minutes during the day. The 501 runs less than half of the 2 journeys a hour in the evening and runs via Huddersfield Infirmary (they both pass the main Halifax Hospital). At the moment the only normal bus service between the two hospitals during the day is the hourly 343 which takes a much longer route.

I suspect they're planning to introduce 501s during the day. Hopefully they'll have enough drivers - the 503 was every 8 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes on a Sunday but the frequency was dropped due to shortage of drivers with other local routes having been dropped entirely.

 

[Llandudno]

Crikey have First recruited lots of new drivers?

Tried to catch the 503 back from Halifax to Huddersfield after football a few months ago and three consecutive buses were cancelled!

 

[higthomas]

Reading Borough Council is proposing to create six new bus lanes, using BSIP funding.

Have your say on proposals to make travelling by bus in Reading quicker and more reliable | Reading Borough Council News

Next phase of the Council’s two-year, £26 million-pound investment to improve Reading’s bus service and bus infrastructure Ambition to make travelling by bus in Reading faster with fewer delays Six new bus lanes earmarked at key locations

media.reading.gov.uk

Sounds like a really good use of the funding as opposed to temporarily subsidising bus routes (or even worse DRT), which will sadly get worse again once the magic money tree dies.

 

[TheManOnThe172]

I've just seen that the £160m going to local authorities as part of the £300m bus subsidy announced last week will be branded "BSIP Plus".

RouteOne reports that

the BSIP Plus money is intended to help improve bus services while allowing LTAs 'to make local decisions on protecting services.'

Most of the money has gone to areas that didn't get anything under the main BSIP scheme.

Am I being too cynical in smelling a rat in this extension of the BSIP "brand"?

Perhaps the branding is just a sop to try and mend the hurt of areas that got nothing under the main BSIP programme. But at £160m over two years, this is such a small amount compared to the £1.2bn of the main BSIP (down from the initial claim of £3bn) there is clearly political danger in inviting parallels between the two pots of money.

Or perhaps this is the first step in a bit of nimble footwork that will end up with some of the original BSIP money being diverted to subsidising continuing services.

My local authority, Derbyshire, has so far announced BSIP spending that will only account for a fraction of the £47m they have been allocated. And with just 22 months left until the end of the spending window, that leaves the risk either that they scramble to set up something spectacularly bad value (like DRT schemes, which are bad enough in rural areas, but would be particularly bad value if the contract period were under two years), or that they leave a substantial amount unspent. Are there other authorities that are also seriously under-announced so far?

My suspicion is that we will see a future move to fudge the distinction between BSIP (innovation and improvement but NOT continuation spending allowed) and "BSIP Plus" (no innovation, but OK to spend on improvement OR continuation).

 

[Hullian111]

Perhaps the branding is just a sop to try and mend the hurt of areas that got nothing under the main BSIP programme. But at £160m over two years, this is such a small amount compared to the £1.2bn of the main BSIP (down from the initial claim of £3bn) there is clearly political danger in inviting parallels between the two pots of money.

Or perhaps this is the first step in a bit of nimble footwork that will end up with some of the original BSIP money being diverted to subsidising continuing services.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council got £1.1 million from this fund, which they originally applied for in their BSIP a couple years back to fund their long-espoused Park and Ride plan in Beverley:

8.2 BEVERLEY PARK AND RIDE
8.2.1 Accompanying significant new housing development off the A1079 to the south of Beverley, East Riding of
Yorkshire Council aspires to introduce a new Park and Ride service from an adjoining site into the centre of
Beverley with bus priority measures in place. Planning permission included parking for 500 cars and a terminal
building, and a £4.7 million Section 106 Agreement is in places which includes the cost of building out the Park and
Ride site. At present bus operators do not view, or have concerns about, the provision of a regular park and ride
service into Beverley town centre and rail station as a viable commercial proposition and are unwilling to commit
to its operation without appropriate subsidy.
8.2.2 If funding becomes available a Project Board would be established along Prince 2 Management principles, and with
appropriate representation, to develop a business case and project plan to deliver a regular service operating at least
every fifteen minutes using ultra-low or zero-emission vehicles. Dependent upon power supplies, the opportunity
exists to install vehicle-charging facilities at the proposed park and ride site and to base electric buses on site.

Hmm. Thinking about it after originally hyping the news up, the money isn't going to cover it, is it? If there is money left over, though, it might be a case of, say, East Yorkshire having to fund the buses themselves for the site. And to be honest, having watched Hull P&R buses carrying fresh air from Priory Park whenever I went up there, I‘m not sure if there’ll be sufficient ridership for a P&R site south of Beverley among newbuild estates.

This’ll absolutely be subsidy money, I agree. And don’t get me started on the paltry £750,000+ for Hull…