Agenda and minutes

There were no appeals.

There was no exempt information.

There were no late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

There were no declarations of interest.  Councillors Buckley, Lennox and Wilson informed the meeting that they sat on the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors A Hussain, W Kidger and S Lay.

Councillor Z Hussain was in attendance as substitute.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2022.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

To receive an update report from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Director (Transport and Property Services) about on-going activities to advance bus provision across West Yorkshire.

The report of the Head of Democratic Services provided the Board with an update on Advancing Bus Provision within West Yorkshire.  Reference was made to the inquiry into Advancing Bus Service Provision which was undertaken by the Scrutiny Board (City Development) and subsequent recommendation tracking by successor Boards.

The following information was appended to the report.

·  Report of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority into Advancing Bus Provision.

·  Summary of Bus Infrastructure Investment identified within the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.

·  Executive Summary of the West Yorkshire Bus Service Improvement Plan.

The following were in attendance for this item:

-  Councillor Helen Hayden, Executive Member

-  Councillor Peter Carlill, Deputy Chair WYCA Transport Committee

-  Dave Pearson, Director (Transport & Property Services) WYCA

-  Kate Morris, Head of Transport Planning, Leeds City Council

-  Kim Purcell. Arriva

-  Paul Matthews, First Bus

-  Paul Turner, TransDev

-  Darren Rushworth, Unite Regional Officer

-  Andy Dyer, Unite Branch Secretary 

Dave Pearson introduced the report.

The following was highlighted:

·  The pandemic had had a significant impact on bus patronage and a longer-term impact on travel behaviours.  There was a need to recover from this and for services to evolve.

·  Bus services had also been impacted due to economic and employment market issues. 

·  Bus patronage has recovered to 80% of pre-pandemic numbers.

·  Impact of inflation on fuel prices and other measures.

·  Bus services have been supported by Central and Local Government during the pandemic to enable key workers to travel.  There is still some additional funding through the Bus Recovery Grant but this is due to end at the end of this financial year.  Some services would not be viable without this funding.

·  The West Yorkshire region had been successful in securing funding from Government to support the delivery of the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

·  Since the introduction of the Mayor’s Fares initiative there has been an initial growth in passenger numbers of 4 to 5% - although it was noted that it is at yet difficult to determine whether this growth is directly attributable to the fares initiative or a combination of the Mayor’s Fares and other factors such as schools returning after the summer break.

·  There has been extensive public consultation about regional bus services via the Mayor’s Big Bus Chat. The outcomes of this will be discussed by the WYCA Transport Committee later this year.

·  A bus reform programme has been established to manage an assessment of franchising.

·  Partnership between WYCA and the bus operators had been strengthened through the creation of the West Yorkshire Bus Alliance.

·  Additional funding has been secured to support the provision of zero emission buses.  This followed a successful Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) bid. WYCA was working with the bus operators to deliver this.

In relation to highways, it was reported that bus operations are an integral part of the Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy and work is ongoing with WYCA and Bus Operators to provide priority for buses, deliver improvements and encourage bus use.

Representatives  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2022/23 municipal year.

The report of the Head of Democratic Services presented the Board’s Work Schedule for the remainder of the 2022/23 Municipal Year.  Minutes of the last Executive Board meeting were appended to the report.

Members were reminded that there would be a Budget Consultation Working Group meeting on 14 December 2022.

RESOLVED – That the report and work schedule be noted.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Board (Infrastructure, Investment & Inclusive Growth) will take place on 8 December at 10.30am. There will be a pre-meeting for all Scrutiny Board members at 10.15am.

Thursday, 8 December at 10.30 a.m.  There will be a pre-meeting for all Board Members at 10.15 a.m.