tbt partnership plus july 2013 page 1 of 20 · tbt partnership plus july 2013 page 8 of 20...

TBT Partnership Plus July 2013 of 20


Foreword Transforming Bus Travel

Councillor John McNicholas (ITA Chairman) & Councillor Kath Hartley (ITA Vice-Chair)

The bus is the backbone of the West Midlands public transport network. The Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) strongly supports the role of the bus in delivering growth and sustainability with over one million bus journeys made by our residents each weekday.

The West Midlands is not only home to 2.5 million people but is also an employment area for many commuters outside the region. It is a major retail destination, provides lots of leisure facilities, and is home to major health facilities providing many specialist facilities and treatments. Birmingham Airport is a major international hub and good public transport links to different areas of the conurbation are essential.

Since the ITA embarked on a major partnership programme with National Express West Midlands and other bus operators a lot has been achieved and many significant developments have taken place. Overall customer satisfaction has increased in the areas where the network has been reviewed by partners and customer friendly improvements have been made, but if partnership is the way forward then there is more to be done. We know that where the objectives of the ITA and bus operators come together, joint working will deliver a comprehensive bus network that will help to grow the regional economy and connect people to employment, leisure and health facilities. The ITA recognises the important role of the bus network within the transport system and all partners need to ensure we have a joined up approach to delivering significant improvements, as set out in this document.

We have listened to our customers and stakeholders and they have told us what will help to improve their journeys. This has helped to bring about a comprehensive and far reaching partnership agreement that Centro are fully committed to delivering with National Express West Midlands. The focus on front line staff will help deliver a better service to customers. An emphasis on safety and security will ensure people feel safe on the bus network. Developing the fares and ticketing offer will simplify the way customers pay for their travel. Investing in buses and infrastructure will secure a modern fleet within an enhanced network. The ITA fully endorses this document and looks forward to delivering these customer benefits between 2013 and 2015.


Introduction Transforming Bus Travel

Over the past four years, Centro and National Express West Midlands have been jointly engaged in a journey to transform the region’s bus network. Through two unique partnership agreements, we have been Transforming Bus Travel. The second agreement has been substantially delivered and is replaced, in July 2013 with Partnership Plus, the next phase of our shared vision.

NXWM is clear about their ambitions to grow the business by attracting passengers through partnership and investment.

Centro has followed a partnership strategy with all bus operators, and has embraced partnership with NXWM to improve customer satisfaction and drive passenger growth.

Our aims have been achieved through a series of investments and innovations to deliver passenger benefits, such as improved information, cleaning, ticketing, interchange, easy to understand bus networks, low carbon technology, and new buses.

NXWM and Centro share the same vision and drive, and have come together to make the change that is necessary to truly transform the bus network for the better. This is why the two organisations have come together to implement a new far-reaching partnership through Transforming Bus Travel: Partnership Plus. These commitments will be delivered between 2013 to 2015.

We will work together to jointly implement the improvements set out in this document. It is anticipated that the proposed bus and passenger service improvements will be phased in over the two years. All the improvements and standards are the minimal anticipated and may be exceeded.

This agreement has been entered into by NXWM on a voluntary basis and demonstrates the extent to which network modernisation, performance improvement and improved customer satisfaction can be achieved through a voluntary partnership agreement.


Highlights

Introduction of SPRINT bus rapid transit

Ten new ‘gold’ corridors with significantly improved vehicles, information and bus

priority

300 new buses, of which at least 15 will be hybrid

350 new bus shelters, plus a new bus station in Merry Hill

150 new RTI displays

South Birmingham network review and refreshed VMAs

Swift smartcard for all modes of travel, with full range of ticket types

As far as commercially viable, NXWM average fares rises limited to RPI + 1%

Further action on Safer Travel, taking this industry-leading scheme to a new level

More CCTV on buses, with real time monitoring from police command centre

Expanded on-bus cleaning programme

Golden rules of customer service rolled out to all drivers and staff – and rewards

for excellent service

Working with districts to enhance bus priority and reduce journey times


Commitments Transformation and Innovation through Partnership

A key objective of Transforming Bus Travel is generating the transformational and innovative change that can drive opportunities for modal shift and increased customer satisfaction.

Network design is a key part of the partnership. • To identify and share the benefits from planning the network as one. Centro

can improve its understanding of the costs and benefits of various options and make longer term commitments on the level of service that will be delivered to the public. Operators will be able to optimise their resources.

• Building on the above, achieve improved efficiency for the parties, affordability and legibility and stability for the user.

• To ensure networks satisfy a balanced range of objectives including profit generation, passenger growth and enhanced accessibility, with agreed minimum service level coverage and frequency.

• Assist in the preparation of persuasive bids for external funding.

Deliverables 1 SPRINT bus rapid transit

To introduce SPRINT (bus rapid transit) on at least one route by 2016. This will feature the highest levels of customer experience.

2 Route-based partnership Develop a route-based partnership for one key 'gold' corridor, providing a transformation in vehicles, service quality and journey times in year one. This will act as a pilot for further projects.

3 Gold corridors Agree ten further 'gold' corridors to be enhanced through similar improvements to infrastructure, vehicles and quality.

4 South West Birmingham network review Review to take place in October 2013. This will aim to increase patronage as well as deliver quality improvements through a VMA.

5 Access to employment Twice a year Centro will undertake modelling work to assess access to key employment sites and identify possible interventions jointly with NXWM to improve access to employment.

6 Review and update expiring VMAs This includes North Walsall (May 2013), East Birmingham and North Solihull (Feb 2014), Wolverhampton (July 2014) and Coventry (Feb 2015); as well as a new VMA for Solihull during 2013. These will commit NXWM, Centro and districts to locally-specific improvement measures. Commit to locally agreed improvement measures that improve customer satisfaction and increase patronage.

7 Flagship garage Establish Bordesley garage as a demonstration of the very best of public transport. Enhancements to the customer experience will include NXWM's Master Driver programme, enhanced vehicle presentation, and a joint zero tolerance approach to


ASB and crime. 8 Punctuality and reliability

Highway congestion is not the only thing that affects punctuality and reliability. There will be a continued focus on the causes of delay minutes and clear identification of measures to remove bus delay minutes this will be trialled on the three corridors identified as part of the national bus reliability study, through Passenger Focus.


Commitments Customer Information

Customer information is key to ensuring that regular customers and new customers understand where, how and when they can travel. Our joint aspiration is to provide integrated world-class information that allows our passengers to make informed journey choices.

This includes providing effective passenger information at stops, interchanges, on bus, and through technology anywhere on the move or at home. We will jointly ensure that travel information is accessible for everyone and in language that is easy to understand.

Deliverables 9 Enhance and develop mobile apps

Our existing apps will be developed to include bespoke personal journeys and improved disruption management. This will make use of the ITKB incident management facility.

10 Agree and implement a network disruption strategy This strategy includes short term goals and long term aims, with a road map to delivering these to the public. The strategy will include all types of information outputs such as posters at stop, information on electronic displays, web alerts and social media.

11 Social media strategy Review social media strategy and deliver a consistent and coordinated customer experience across channels.

12 Bespoke passenger information We will jointly agree a marketing and communications plan to include production of information specifically for bespoke markets, including key trip attractors such as tourism, hospitals and local destinations, by December 2013. Costs will be shared as part of the overall marketing plan.

13 Customer information Improve printed customer information (better, clearer, cheaper, prettier, more informative and intuitive) including consideration of how to promote high frequency corridors and develop the Centro Coventry map to the next level.

14 Real time, electronic and printed information Enhance RTI and printed information to help guide customers to fastest services and frequencies.

15 Information at interchanges Improve information for passengers at multi-modal interchanges, particularly railway stations, to ensure that passengers have better information to make onward journeys by bus.

16 Improve access to timetables This includes formats such as wallet-sized and online PDFs.

17 New real time information Roll out 150 more RTI screens in appropriate locations in accordance with the agreed customer benefit criteria

18 Colour-coded information Develop the use of tube style colour coded maps for integrated information.


Commitments Safety & Crime

Passengers continually place a significant importance on feelings of safety and security. The Safer Travel Partnership has worked well over the last six years, reducing bus crime by 67%. Initial research has shown that fear of crime is driven not by actual crime, but low level nuisance and anti social behaviour. It is therefore essential that to improve passenger perception, we co-ordinate efforts to reduce antisocial behaviour, whilst maintaining an appropriate consideration to sustaining the low crime levels.

Deliverables 19 Zero tolerance pilot scheme

Implement a zero tolerance pilot scheme in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner. The ITA is working with the office of the PCC to develop a Local Transport Policing Plan. Included within this are a number of activities which address crime and anti social behaviour. Specifically included within this is a commitment to ongoing research, which will need to be carried out and led by Centro and NXWM.

20 Graffiti and etching database Jointly procure and implement a regional online graffiti and etching database to enable evidence based resource deployment. This will be jointly funded and implemented by NXWM and Centro to allow better antisocial behaviour case management.

21 Reduction in window etching Reduce window etching by a further 20% The baseline is 9,000 etched windows in the NXWM’s fleet. This will support the NXWM 'war on window etching'.

22 Smartwater and DNA marking to reduce assaults The use of Smartwater will build upon the successful implementation of a DNA spit kit scheme. Its use will be advertised on every bus to deter criminal behaviour, following a high profile media launch. The technology will see the installation of DNA water sprays on a number of buses, which would be triggered by a driver in the event of an assault or other serious incident. The spray would directly link an individual to the event and provide support to any criminal prosecution.

23 Improve and increase bus driver reporting of antisocial behaviour This will help make more use of the Safer Travel Police Team to bring about reductions in ASB and crime. Perceptions will also be monitored through customer satisfaction surveys.

24 Increase CCTV coverage on bus to 100% of the fleet Roll out further connectivity to the Safer Travel Command Centre. Research shows that passenger perceptions of safety and security are a key influence on their decision to use the bus. CCTV can have beneficial effects on customers’ perceptions of this. As well as helping operators address issues of crime, anti-social behaviour and accident claims.

25 Lobby for Centro powers Lobby for increased ASB powers for Centro and implement an appropriate ASB reduction plan.

26 Awareness of offenders To implement a regional online bus working group to share images of offenders.


27 Develop and implement a PSHE education website To provide the Safer Travel Partnership and schools shared and adequate resources.

28 Customer satisfaction for safety & security Improve the level of passenger satisfaction with safety and security on the bus to 75% by autumn 2015.

29 Safety & security strategy Agree approach to improving safety and security on buses with the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, including the development and implementation of the Local Transport Policing Plan.

30 See something, say something Ensure that the See Something, Say Something campaign information is displayed prominently on all buses.

31 Fare dodging Work to increase our efforts to combat fare dodging, including strengthening the legal powers at our disposal.


Commitments Highways

Improvement of bus journey time is essential to both achieve patronage growth and retain existing customers. Improvement takes two forms: reduction of journey time and reduction of variability of journey time. Where the journey time is attractive compared with other modes, predictability of journey time is considered by bus users as more important than journey time itself. Potential customers require both an attractive journey time and one that can be achieved on a consistent basis in order for them to consider transferring from the car to the bus.

Improvements in highways infrastructure will be critical to the achievement of this objective.

Deliverables 32 Joint stakeholder strategy

By December 2013, we will have in place a shared strategy to ensure a co-ordinated approach to engagement with external groups with influence over measures that may affect bus operations and patronage, such as highways investment and transport policies. This will ensure consistent messages are delivered, maximising opportunities to deliver improvements for public transport users. (eg LEPs, town centre managers, BIDS etc).

33 Priority pinch point schemes Keep list of top priority pinch point locations and schemes as a live document. Centro will develop and maintain a spreadsheet of locations where bus passengers suffer delay for each district. This will be in place by September 2013 and formally reviewed on a quarterly basis through the regular VMA monitoring meetings in each network review area. The list will identify problem locations, identified solutions, potential costs and benefits for bus passengers (including journey time savings and numbers of passengers affected) and will be used to bid for funding as opportunities arise.

34 Joint funded parking enforcement officer Illegal and inconsiderate parking can have a substantial impact on bus punctuality but due to limited resources within districts, problems are not always resolved quickly and recur regularly in a number of locations. We will work together to jointly fund a parking enforcement officer in at least one district area in place by April 2014, who will be dedicated to patrolling parking hot-spots on bus routes as identified by Centro and NXWM.

35 Partnership incentives for highway investment Partnership approach to target investment to 'reward' highways improvements by districts. We will use the list of priority pinch point locations, where partners know highway improvements are required to lever improvements on the highway road network to facilitate journey time improvements and offer to provide new vehicle investment in return.

36 Urban traffic management control Maximise the benefits of UTMC moving to Centro House by the end of 2013. During 2013 the West Midlands UTMC Control Centre will be moving to Centro House. This will enable Centro staff and operators to monitor live traffic at junctions and other locations across the network. During 2013 a process will be put into place to enable this system to be used to (i) monitor the network and identify locations where bus journey time reliability is regularly compromised, (ii) monitor the network during times of


disruption and reduce time taken to revert to normal conditions, (iii) improve passenger information during times of disruption.

37 Districts and operator exchange programme Get bus employees into the districts' control rooms and decision making processes. Centro will facilitate an 'exchange' programme during 2013, in which district officers will spend some time in the NXWM AVL centre and NXWM controllers will spend some time in districts' control centres to help build relationships and understand how operational decisions are made to help strengthen ties between organisations.

38 Bus priority improvements Improve efficiency of bus priority, and develop evidence base for investment. During 2013/14 Centro will lead a review of bus priority in each district in partnership with highway authorities to identify what measures are in place, recording these within a spreadsheet for each district. The effectiveness of these will be assessed with NXWM and proposals put forward to districts for modifications to improve effectiveness where necessary. Elements of particularly effective bus priority will be noted and used to justify additional bus priority in other problem locations.

39 Every ITA member to adopt a bus route By September 2013, ITA members will each 'adopt' a bus route and be encouraged to provide regular feedback on operational issues, performance and passenger experience, both positive and negative. As well as providing NXWM with feedback to enable performance to be improved this will also help increase awareness amongst ITA members of issues faced by operators on a day-to-day basis and secure additional political backing to help implement highways measures to improve performance.

40 Birmingham Broad Street services Bus services are currently diverted away from Broad Street on Friday and Saturday evenings due to safety concerns and severe congestion. The partners will work together jointly with the highway authority and Broad Street BID to try and see how bus services can use Broad Street safely and without delays at all times.


Commitments Ticketing & Swift

Availability and easy access to smart and integrated ticketing through Swift will provide the double benefit of being attractive to non-users of public transport and encourage current users to travel more often. A key benefit of Swift will be the availability of data on customer usage patterns which can be used to help support the development of new and innovative product types, and incentives to support further patronage growth.

Deliverables

41 Implement a joint Swift pay as you go smartcard This will ensure that all customers using Swift can purchase all products available to cash paying customers.

42 Swift nBus Work jointly to deliver the transition of all paper based nBus tickets on to Swift. This commitment will mirror the approach delivered by NXWM for its own paper based tickets.

43 NXWM products on Swift Provide the capability to allow all NXWM products to be available on Swift.

44 Develop additional joint products through Swift Introduce carnets to provide the opportunity for customers to buy multiple journeys in advance at a discounted price. This may include carnet options for single journeys or day tickets.

45 Expand range of retail outlets for Swift A joint approach to the Payzone retail solution that will provide 250 outlets for buying the full range of Swift products by autumn 2013. For travel information centres managed by either partner the retail process and customer experience will be aligned.

46 Work with rail and tram operators to expand Swift to all modes To support the roll out and success of Swift as a fully integrated solution Centro is engaging all operators and key stakeholders to deliver a multi-modal solution across the region.

47 Discounted travel for education and jobseekers Work jointly to improve access to education and employment, including developing our various discounted travel concessions, and jointly working to enhance the WorkWise ticketing discount scheme. This will promote discounted or free travel for jobseekers, those in further education, and help for those beginning new roles for whom travel costs would otherwise be a barrier.

48 Travel for apprentices Jointly contribute towards discounted bus travel for apprentices, and continue to develop this scheme and identify additional funding sources. This special pass addresses the anomaly that apprentices previously received no concessionary discount on travel, despite earning below the minimum wage and spending many hours a week learning.


Commitments Customer Engagement

NXWM and Centro are committed to raising the level of customer satisfaction amongst bus passengers. We will set out this commitment to passengers through the development of a joint charter that is clear about the service customers can expect to receive. We will work to better understand the views of bus passengers by building on our customer research and proactively engaging with passengers. Initiatives including our passenger champions scheme and the wider roll out of passenger panels will be used to gather customer feedback on the bus travel experience as well as seek customer views regarding new and proposed initiatives.

Deliverables

49 Passenger champions Jointly support, promote and develop the passenger champions scheme. Maximise the benefits of instant feedback on service quality, and make best use of the data generated to guide improvements. Provide regular visits to bus garages, the AVL control rooms and other facilities for the champions.

50 Passenger of the year initiative A public relations campaign to recognise and reward some of our most loyal customers.

51 Further roll-out of passenger panels A Coventry Passenger Panel is due to be launched in 2013 to enable NXWM to capture the views of representative users on operational matters and new initiatives. Following this pilot similar panels will be launched in other areas during 2014 to ensure customers are engaged in corporate decisions and that NXWM, Centro and Highway Authorities can be held to account for decisions affecting bus operations.

52 NXWM golden rules of customer service Ensure the NXWM golden rules of customer service are fully rolled out and embedded into staff training and management objectives. These cover our expected standards of behaviour and aim to increase satisfaction with driver interactions in particular.

53 Joint customer charter NXWM and Centro will launch a joint customer charter during 2013.

54 Continue the passenger focus bus passenger survey Centro and NXWM have been leading the field in joint partnership working with Passenger Focus and have been funding the largest number of surveys of any region. Partners will continue to use the outputs of the survey to drive improvements and the partnership objectives.


Commitments Employees

Our employees are at the heart of the customer experience and we recognise the important role that customer-facing staff play in the success of partnership objectives. We will continue to invest in training and developing these employees, introducing a range of initiatives to maximise their engagement. Central to this aim will be a strong focus on recognising and rewarding high performers; celebrating the commitments of staff in providing high quality service. We will also work together to jointly develop front line services that better meet the needs of customers. This aim will drive the work to be undertaken around travel information centres, where the key focus is on creating the desired customer experience and a consistently high standard at every shop regardless of who operates it.

Deliverables

55 NXWM awards scheme New NXWM values awards to recognise top performing teams and individuals. The inaugural awards took place in March 2013 and a special commendation went to the Coventry cleaners for their repeated 100% audit scores and general excellent performance.

56 Use of telematics to identify best and worst drivers Every good driver will receive a commendation from their manager, and every bad one will receive help to improve. Telematics scores will be used as a criteria for the awards scheme.

57 Launch and develop the master driver initiative This aims to provide enhanced career progression for our drivers, and at the same time improve quality and service.

58 Vulnerable road user driver training NXWM will ensure that bus drivers are trained in recognising and protecting the needs of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

59 On-bus vinyls A softer approach to encourage good passenger behaviour. These will be rolled out during the partnership, starting with new and upgraded vehicles.

60 Front line improvements Ongoing programme of facility upgrades and staff engagement. Every year NXWM undertake an employee survey, and then develop action plans to address issues raised. Actions include repainted rest areas, new toilets, and staff focus groups to provide more rapid feedback.

61 Consistent joint approach to travel shops Deliver consistent customer-focused frontline service through a joint approach to NXWM and Centro owned travel shops.

62 Driver awards scheme Continue and develop the joint quarterly driver awards scheme. Centro and NXWM have been nominating and awarding excellence in customer care and driving standards for over a year now. The awards will be expanded to recognise excellence from front line staff at both organisations and will be rewarded with a quarterly £1,000 prize (or equivalent) funded jointly by both organisations.


63 Develop the passenger champion process Including targets for levels of feedback on front line staff. Use the information to inform the driver awards nominations


Commitments Marketing & Branding

A key objective of this partnership agreement is to deliver increased bus patronage, both from existing users and through modal shift. Marketing is therefore a key part of the agreement covering a range of aspects, including promotion, advertising, and public relations.

Marketing involves raising awareness of the bus as a mode of choice, promoting it, influencing passenger behaviour, and encouraging modal shift. It also assists in capturing and retaining the hearts and minds of current and prospective passengers and encouraging smarter travel choices. By working together, Centro and NXWM can maximise the impact of campaigns through the progression of joint initiatives. Deliverables 64 Annual joint strategic marketing plan

A joint innovative and dynamic marketing communications strategy with NXWM will be central to the successful delivery of TBT. This strategy will build on comprehensive geo-demographic and behavioural profiling to understand key customer segments along selected bus routes. This will inform an integrated media, public relations and marketing campaign plan in order to ensure full and sustained engagement with new and existing bus passengers across the network. Including joint marketing for new partnership initiatives. The campaign will include: 1. High visibility creative branding and messaging along targeted NXWM bus routes to position and differentiate “bus” in the minds of the consumer. 2. Targeted communications using local messaging to excite and encourage the take up of bus, including promotion of Swift smartcard ticketing products.

65 Joint demographic profiling and customer insight Centro has collaborated with marketing analytics firm Experian Marketing services to profile residents across the region who have a high propensity to switch to using the bus. This profiling will allow us to work together to target particular locations when delivering marketing activity.

66 Joined up approach to corporate sales Joined up approach to corporate sales through events, sustainable travel, and customer engagement. We will work together to co-ordinate activities to engage with businesses, schools and other customers to promote bus use, including maximising potential of LSTF funded corridors.

67 Colour-code route branding We will continue to work together to develop and introduce colour-coded corridor/route branding, ensuring that this is aligned with the roll out of “Interconnect” passenger information and wayfinding products across the West Midlands in order to deliver an enhanced, integrated and seamless experience for customers. This will involve initial market research to inform best practice and a joined-up approach to the delivery of corridor/route branding and its use in related information, mapping and marketing products.

68 Joint funded marketing Commit to a 50-50 funding arrangement for £280,000 of joint marketing over the two years (£140,000 for each organisation).


Commitments Vehicles

Over the past two years through partnership the West Midlands has seen a significant increase in the level of investment which has significantly transformed the bus network and customer offer across the region.

NXWM are committing to an increase in that investment and will aim to ensure that the vehicle investment in the region through partnership continues to deliver an enhanced customer experience. Following major investment into green hybrid buses and more Euro 4 and 5 buses, the new vehicles will bring about modernisation in areas where the network has been reviewed during TBT2.

Deliverables 69 New vehicles

300 more brand new buses for the NXWM bus fleet. NXWM are committed to building on the successful programme of modernising its bus fleet in the West Midlands through TBT2. These 300 new buses will be delivered into the fleet between June 2013 and June 2015.

70 On-bus audio visual displays A further 50 buses will be installed with on-vehicle displays within the NXWM bus fleet. Following the introduction of on-board announcements customers have responded positively overall and has been particularly welcomed by disability groups across the region. A further expansion of this system will therefore take place to support national and regional objectives.

71 Hybrid technology vehicles At least 15 new hybrid buses, subject to additional Green Bus Fund rounds.

72 Wheelchair accessibility Ensure that partners are agreed on the level of wheelchair accessibility for new buses.

73 Vehicle refurbishment Agree a partnership standard of presentation on older vehicles across the fleet for refurbishment by Summer 2013.

74 Bus naming and promotion Agree a naming process for buses on key strategic corridors following the successful process undertaken in Wolverhampton.

75 Expand the on-bus cleaning programme at key locations Through TBT2 we have jointly trialled on-bus in-service cleaning at key locations. This has proved successful and has resulted in several tonnes of rubbish being disposed of providing customers with cleaner buses and cleaner journeys. Through this new agreement, the programme will be maintained and rolled out to a further three locations.


Commitments Bus Stations & Infrastructure

The wait for the bus is a key part of the bus journey experience. Without clean, safe, comfortable waiting facilities passengers will be less inclined to travel by bus.

Centro strives to deliver a world-class public transport system in the West Midlands and will continue to invest in bus waiting facilities to achieve this, ensuring that the facilities provided meet the needs of passengers, helping to drive up satisfaction and patronage.

Deliverables 76 Shelter infrastructure

350 brand new bus shelters to be installed across the strategic corridor network. Centro has dramatically improved the waiting environment with a massive programme of shelter modernisation through TBT. During this agreement a further 350 locations will be provided with more modern waiting facilities allowing for the installation of lighting and Real Time Information.

77 Coventry & Wolverhampton city centre infrastructure New infrastructure, shelters and information provision for Wolverhampton and Coventry City Centres. We will work jointly to agree an exemplar design and to create innovative passenger facilities in Wolverhampton and Coventry following the design principles of the world class information systems recently rolled out in Birmingham.

78 Merry Hill bus station Build a brand new bus station at Merry Hill.

79 Refurbish Dudley bus station This will include significant improvements to the customer environment.

80 Agreed specification design for shelters between partners Centro and NXWM to jointly agree on a shelter design specification for the roll out of future shelters.


Commitments Cost Control

It is important that a partnership between multiple organisations recognises the objectives of each other and also recognises the constraints, whilst seeking opportunities to develop and grow the partnership. Therefore the partnership is committed to making the deliverables SMART and understanding what can be delivered by when. The tough economic climate has impacted on consumer spending, operators’ costs through oil prices, reduced local authority spending and government reductions in BSOG.

Therefore the partnership will look at all opportunities to deliver more for less, through an agreed approach of reviewing costs. This will be managed through the governance arrangements but will specifically target some key efficiencies as set out below.

Deliverables 81 Shelter and pole cleaning

Reduce costs on bus stop and shelter cleaning by 20% but maintain standards of cleaning across the network. Investigative work has shown that by identifying sites where there appears to be unnecessary cleaning will reduce the overall cost and can redirect resource to places that do need extra attention.

82 Fare increases NXWM will aim to restrict average fares increases to no more than RPI plus 1% in any single year during 2013, 2014 and 2015; within the constraints of commercial viability (eg significant external cost pressures such as BSOG changes).

83 Bus station departure charges Centro will aim to restrict average increase in annual departure charges from bus stations to no more than RPI +1% in any single year during 2013, 2014 and 2015, within the constraints of external cost pressures.

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