West of England Partnership Joint Transport Executive Committee 21 January 2011 Agenda item 9 Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN) Purpose 1. To provide an update on the successful progress in delivering the Greater Bristol Bus Network and the end of financial year projection. 2. To inform members of change requests approved at Programme Board level and to seek approval for a number of new change requests recommended by the Board. Background 3. Since funding was approved in May 2008 all four authorities and First have been working to deliver GBBN. The scheme comprises 10 corridors with bus priority measures and improvements involving over 70 million investment. For more information on the background of GBBN including a map of the 10 corridors see Appendix 1. 4. At the meeting of the Joint Transport Executive Committee (JTEC) on 24 April 2009 members approved a modification to the GBBN project management arrangements whereby decisions under 100,000 could be agreed by the Programme Board subject to the cost being within the overall GBBN scheme budget, the decision not substantially changing the scheme elements and periodic reports being provided to the Committee. Changes to the scheme with a value over 100,000 continue to require the approval of the Committee. 5. Updates on progress with delivery of the programme were provided on 1 October 2009 and 18 March 2010. The first meeting approved the delegation to the Programme Board of authority to agree changes to the bus lane length of up to 20% subject to these decisions being reported to this Committee. 6. This report provides the requested six monthly update on scheme delivery, the changes approved by the Programme Board, and requests approval for changes to the scheme with a value over 100,000. Progress to Date 7. To enable monitoring of the programme the GBBN project has been divided into a number of discreet task orders. To date 33 infrastructure task orders have been completed and a further 21 are in progress. This equates to 85% of all the grantfunded infrastructure task orders being completed or in progress, reflecting the significant steps that have again been made towards delivering the programme 1
to date. Appendix 2 shows the infrastructure task orders to be completed by the end of January 2011 and those that are in progress. 8. Save for the installation of the Real Time Information (RTI) equipment, the A367 corridor is now substantially complete, as are all of the Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) infrastructure task orders. Completion of all the North Somerset Council (NSC) infrastructure task orders is expected during early Summer 2011, followed closely by all of the South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) grant funded infrastructure task orders during late Summer 2011. The Bristol City Council (BCC) infrastructure task orders (which includes the RTI equipment) are then expected to be complete during early Spring 2012. Available Funds, Approved Budgets and Current Estimates 9. The majority of task orders are being delivered on or under budget due to cost savings and good risk management and these savings are being returned to the change budget. However there remains a risk of cost increases on a number of schemes, particularly those proceeding through consultation and those just starting on site. A reasonable contingency is therefore still being held in reserve in order to ensure that any additional costs arising can be contained within the overall budget. Overall therefore the GBBN project is expected to be within the total approved budget. 10. The budget is regularly reviewed to ensure that spending is on track to meet DfT targets. The current predicted grant spend this financial year is 13.00 million compared with 16.95 million reported to DfT in Q4 2009/10. The current spend is 3.95 million lower since the figure reported includes a change budget allowance of some 2.30 million. In addition there has been some deferment of spend, particularly in relation to the 2.30 million A4 Callington Road to Stockwood Road scheme due to protracted land acquisition negotiations, the 1.90 million A432 Staple Hill to Lodge Causeway scheme due to protracted consultation, the 1.26m Lysander Road (Pegasus Road to Retail Park) scheme due to a need to re-design the scheme to take on board DfT comments and the 6.10 million A4174 Coldharbour Lane to M32 scheme (and associated 1.30 million Coldharbour Lane Bus Lanes scheme) due to protracted contract negotiations and enabling works. Change Requests 11. Change requests are the process whereby amendments are made to task orders from the initial programme. These require approval at different levels as per the Programme Handbook. The change requests for which approval is now sought are all shown in Appendix 3, these requests concern Real Time Information, bus stops (route 73 and on the A432), further changes to Lysander Road (Pegasus Road to Retail Park) and the signalisation of the Abbeywood Roundabout. Update on Quality Partnership Schemes (QPSs) 12. The first QPS scheduled is due to be made for Corridor 10 (the A367 corridor from Midsomer Norton to Bath) by Bath and North East Somerset Council. First 2
have maintained a strong concern over the inclusion of limits on fares and fare increases and the details and timescales of the fare review mechanism have been modified in the light of these concerns. Discussions are also underway regarding alternative frameworks, which are currently being evaluated by officers and may be further developed and considered for future corridors. 13. The single-member decision to make the first QPS in Bath & North East Somerset is scheduled for January 2011 with the implementation of the first QPS to follow in May 2011. Real Time Passenger Information 14. The RTI contract was finalised in October 2010. Work is well underway on the initial two corridors, corridor 8 and corridor 10 with RTI ready for mid March 2011. 15. Following the award of the contract for RTI and a review of the scope of the project the RTI supplier has offered to upgrade the 346 new at stop displays. This includes the upgrade of the communication technology from analogue radio to digital (GPRS) which offers more reliable communications, better messaging to the displays and an upgrade to text-to-speech audio announcements to the nation RNIB React 3 standard. The existing audible RTI relies on recorded voice files which can be expensive to keep up to date. All this is being offered at no additional cost to the project due to the benefits it also offers ACIS in terms of reduced maintenance costs. 16. In order to be consistent in having one type of audio system and messaging, ACIS have also offered to upgrade the existing 156 RTI displays in Bristol and South Gloucestershire to this level at a reduced cost. This upgrade then allows for existing red LED displays to be upgraded to make them more accessible for people with visual impairments. The upgrading of these facilities and the RNIB React 3 keyfobs results in a requirement of an additional 304,020 ( 96,801 for equipment on GBBN routes and 207,199 for non-gbbn routes) and as such will require JTEC and DfT approval. Marketing and Communications update Newsletter 17. On 5 November a GBBN newsletter was issued as a wrap (the two outside pages) on the Metro newsletter which is distributed in city centres and on public transport across the South West. Please see appendix 4 for a copy of the newsletter. 18. This was chosen as the most appropriate method to update the public on the progress of GBBN as it is widely distributed to thousands of readers, it covered a key segment of public transport users, and because it is also distributed on-street it will have been seen by commuters another key segment. Positive feedback was received from this newsletter and as a result it will be used as part of the corridor launches. 3
Weston-super-Mare to Bristol (corridor 8 launch) 19. Corridor 8 is due to complete early next year. The proposal is to officially launch the corridor on 15 March 2011. Members, partners in the project and the press will be invited to a special launch event which will start in Weston-super-Mare and then come along the corridor on a First bus with commentary on the improvements along the corridor and arrive in Bristol. 20. Following this a promotional campaign will be implemented with the aim of increasing patronage along the corridor. Activities will include targeted door drop to residents along the route, advertising on parking tickets, and road shows to key destinations and employers along the route. Launch timetable 21. Please see appendix 5 for the proposed promotional timetable for the corridor launches. At the September 2010 JTEC a proposed corridor completion, Quality Bus Partnership and Promotional timetable was included. The promotional implementation plan in appendix 5 varies slightly from this original timetable as follows: Corridor 8 Weston-super-Mare to Bristol brought forward to March at the request of North Somerset Corridor 3 Bath to Bristol delayed by one month this is to enable a slow drip, drip effect of corridors being launched one after the other in each authority area on the lead up to the big bang launch Corridor 9 Portishead to Bristol delayed from October 2011 to March 2012 this will result in every area having a corridor launched as part of the Big Bang promotional activity at the end of the programme completion. Branding of GBBN bus stops 22. All local authority officers are currently working together to agree a common standard for branding the GBBN bus stops, this includes how the information is displayed and where the Travel+ branding is applied. Please see appendix 6 for a couple of example pages from the draft branding guidelines. Environmental Impact Assessment 23 The promotion of modal shift from car to bus will be facilitated through GBBN, improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions. Risk 24 The measures outlined in this report are either intended to reduce revenue risk to the authorities or be revenue neutral. 4
Resources (financial and personnel) 25 Funding for initiatives summarised in this report is provided through award settlements from the Department for Transport, and there are no specific implications arising from the recommendations in this report. Equalities Implications 26 There are no specific implications arising from this report. Recommendation That the Joint Executive Committee: (a) Notes the progress made to date (b) Approves or ratifies the change requests set out in Appendix 3 Author: Chris Sane, South Gloucestershire Council chris.sane@southglos.gov.uk Appendices Appendix 1 Background Appendix 2 Progress to Date Appendix 3 Change Requests Appendix 4 GBBN Newsletter (Metro newspaper wrap) Appendix 5 Proposed Promotional Plan Timeline Appendix 6 Bus Stop Examples 5
Appendix 1 Background The 78.8 million investment in the Greater Bristol Bus Network comprises 42.3m of grant funding from DfT, an increased contribution of 22.5m from First, and, subject to JTEC approval, an increased developer contribution of 5.9 million and an increased local authority contribution of 8.1 million. The programme introduces the ten showcase bus corridors shown in Figure 1, these to provide new bus priority measures, improved bus shelters, real-time information (which tells you when the bus is due) and new buses. Figure 1 The 10 GBBN Corridors 6
Appendix 2 Progress to date Table 1 Infrastructure task orders to be complete by end January 2011 Corridor Corridor Name Task Name 1 M32 M32 Junction 2 to Houlton Street 2 A4018 A4018/Lysander Road Roundabout 3 A4 Bus Stops - A4 B&NES 3 A4 A4 Hicks Gate 3 A4 A4 Twerton Fork 3 A4 Bus Stops - A4 Hicks Gate to Callington Road 3 A4 Bus Stops - A4 Callington Road to City Centre 4 Route 73 Bus Stops - Route 73 Filton Avenue 4 Route 73 Filton Avenue/Lockleaze Road 4 Route 73 Aztec West Roundabout 4 Route 73 New Road Bus Link 4 Route 73 Great Stoke Way Southbound Bus Lane 4 Route 73 Filton Avenue Northbound Bus Lane 4 Route 73 Northfield NF8/NF3 Junctions 4 Route 73 Northfield East-West Link 6 A37 Bus Stops - A37 B&NES 6 A37 A37 Staunton Lane Signals 6 A37 A37 Haverstock Road to Three Lamps 7 A4174 A4174 Westbound to B4058 Frenchay 7 A4174 A4174/M32 Junction 1 Roundabout Works 7 A4174 Abbey Wood Roundabout Signalisation 7 A4174 A4174 Abbey Wood Eastbound Bus Gate 8 A370 A370 Plimsoll Bridge 8 A370 B3440 Locking Road/New Bristol Road 8 A370 M5 J21 Westbound Approach 8 A370 A370 Congresbury Bus Lane 9 A369 A369 Beggar Bush Lane HOV Lane 9 A369 A369 Bridge Road Signals 10 A367 Bus Stops - A367 B&NES 10 A367 A367 Odd Down 10 A367 A367 Midford Road to Red Lion 10 A367 A367 Bear Flat Table 2 Infrastructure task orders in progress at end January 2011 Corridor Corridor Name Task Name 2 A4018 Bus Stops - A4018 Henbury to Whiteladies Road 2 A4018 Bus Stops - The Mall 2 A4018 Bus Stops - A4018 South Gloucestershire 2 A4018 Lysander Road (Retail Park to Merlin Road) 3 A4 Callington Lane to Stockwood Road 3 A4 Totterdown Bridge to Three Lamps 4 Route 73 Bus Stops Route 73 South Gloucestershire 5 A432 Bus Stops - A432 Staple Hill to Royate Hill 5 A432 Bus Stops A432 Muller Road to City Centre 5 A432 A432 Staple Hill to Lodge Causeway 7
Corridor Corridor Name Task Name 5 A432 A432 Coombe Road to Robertson Road 5 A432 Bus Stops - A432 South Gloucestershire 6 A37 Bus Stops - A37 Airport Road to City Centre 7 A4174 A4174 Coldharbour Lane to M32 7 A4174 Coldharbour Lane Bus Lanes 8 A370 Bus Stops - A370 North Somerset 9 A369 Bus Stops - A369 Bower Ashton to City Centre 9 A369 Bus Stops - A369 North Somerset 9 A369 St Georges Hill/Portbury High Street HOV Lane 10 A367 A367 Wellsway Lower All - Real Time Passenger Information 8
Appendix 3 Change requests for approval Since the last report the Board have approved all of the changes set out in the tables below. Approval is now being sought from JTEC for the change requests set out in Tables 1 and 2. The change requests set out in Table 3 have all been approved by the Board in accordance with the Programme Handbook and are for information only. Table 1 Changes to Grant-Funded Task Orders PN- CRN Partner Task Name Cost Impact (Value) Time Impact (Months) Change Budget (Value) Local Contribution Change (Value) 2-023 BCC Real Time Passenger Information 304,020 0-304,020 0 0 Abbey Wood Roundabout 4-066 SGC Signalisation 54,823 0-54,823 0 0 Bus Stops Route 73 South 4-015 SGC Gloucestershire 240,000 0-240,000 0 0 4-029 SGC Lysander Road (Pegasus Road to Retail Park) - 626,800 0 626,800 0 0 Bus Stops A432 South 4-048 SGC Gloucestershire 360,000 0-360,000 0 0 Developer Contribution Change (Value) CRN 2-023 relates to the upgrading of the existing RTI units to the higher standards of the 346 new RTI displays for the GBBN in terms of reliability, messaging and upgrading the audio facility. This improved audible RTI will be to the national RNIB 'React 3' standard, and also to upgrade the older red LEDs to amber LEDs, which are more accessible for people with visual impairments such as colour blindness. Change requests 4-015 and 4-048 relate to the need to provide electrical supplies to bus shelters on Corridors 4 and 5 in South Gloucestershire that will have Real Time Information equipment supplied by ACIS, and to replace some existing parish shelters that are unable to accept RTI equipment in their present form. Since the MSBC was submitted in 2007, quotations for electrical supplies at some location have been found to be substantially more expensive than originally estimated for. Change Request 4-029 relates to Lysander Road (Pegasus Road to Retail Park). In a report to the Committee on 21st July 2010, a major change in bus length was reported and a substantial saving of 740,000 in the cost of the scheme was demonstrated. Due to the scale of the change required, DfT support for this change was required. Early engagement with the DfT and a review of benefits confirmed that the suggested alteration to the length of bus lane would not deliver the benefits as per the previous scheme. Engagement with Cribbs Causeway landowners and management has resulted in agreement on a further amended scheme which delivers these benefits. This amended scheme continues to show a reduced but substantial cost saving of 626,800. Subject to further consultation and land transfer, it is recommended that this latter scheme, which is no longer a major change due to the restoration of the bus lane length within tolerance, is now taken forward. CRN 4-066 includes for additional support work required to enable bus priority to be established at the Abbey Wood roundabout junction. Taking account of 9
previous change requests for this task, the total value of change requests for TN4025 stands at 381,823. Table 2 Changes Approved by the Programme Board PN- CRN Partner Task Name Cost Impact (Value) Time Impact (Months) Change Budget (Value) Local Contribution Change (Value) 1-020 B&NES A4 Twerton Fork 31,112 0-31,112 0 0 2-039 BCC Real Time Passenger Information 81,805 0-81,805 0 0 3-009 NSC B3440 Locking Road/New Bristol Road 11,994 0-11,994 0 0 3-010 NSC A370 Congresbury Bus Lane 52,848 0-52,848 0 0 Filton Avenue A4174 Junction 4-063 SGC Works 42,388 0-42,388 0 0 A4174 Westbound to B4058 4-065 SGC Frenchay 34,671 0-34,671 0 0 4-067 SGC Aztec West Roundabout 1,690 0-1,690 0 0 4-068 SGC Coldharbour Lane Bus Lanes 9,390 0-9,390 0 0 Developer Contribution Change (Value) For information only, the change requests listed in Table 3 above have been approved by the Board since the last report. 10
Appendix 4 Travel + Metro Wrap (November 2010) 11
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Appendix 5 Proposed Promotional Plan Timeline 15
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Appendix 6 Bus Stop Examples 17