Next week, West Yorkshire's Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) members are being asked to support the introduction of England's first Quality Contract framework for the county's bus services.

A report to next Friday's ITA meeting will recommend that councillors approve the introduction of a Bus Quality Contract Scheme, which the report says is the best way to provide significant customer benefits including integrated ticketing, higher service standards, a more stable network and pricing structure and better local accountability for service standards.

"Around 180 million bus journeys are made in West Yorkshire each year which represents around 90% of all public transport use, so we very much value our relationships with local bus operators," said Metro Chairman Cllr James Lewis. "If approved, this new framework will be an opportunity for us to develop the strong partnerships we already have with them, based upon aligned incentives and with risks and rewards shared between partners.

Flourish

The recent partnership offer made by ABOWY, the Association of Bus Operators of West Yorkshire, was a strong one said Cllr Lewis but it did not offer a common integrated ticketing system which, he said, was at the heart of successful public transport systems in London and many European city regions. Examples in Denmark and Sweden show that partnerships under the contractual framework we are proposing can flourish, he said.

ABOWY's offer also failed to address significant concerns about value for money raised by a recent Competition Commission investigation and did not provide sufficient certainty about its delivery, Cllr Lewis added.

"When any of my ITA colleagues and I attend a public meeting on transport it is clear that people across West Yorkshire are not happy with some bus services and this has been reflected by a steady drop in passenger numbers over the past 10 to 15 years," continued Cllr Lewis. "Because councillors are listening to what the public are telling them, Metro's work towards the Quality Contract framework has at each stage received cross-party backing on the ITA.

Vital

"No matter what party they represent, my colleagues recognise that buses are vital to West Yorkshire's economy and wellbeing and that the current de-regulated framework, which has led to fragmentation, a lack of long term planning, instability inadequate rewards for some operators and excessive profits for others, is not working.

"Annually Metro already spends £23m subsidising local bus services that otherwise would not run because the operators don't consider them profitable, approaching £50m on the county's concessionary fares scheme and another £1m or so supporting bus services through bus stations and other infrastructure," continued Cllr Lewis. "And based upon the Competition Commission' recent report that says the national cost of this competition deficit is as high as £300m, Metro has calculated that in West Yorkshire this could equate to as much as £25m lost as a result of higher fares and poorer services."

Accountable

Cllr Lewis said his ITA colleagues understood the potential risks involved in developing and implementing a bus quality contract scheme, but considered those risks necessary in order to develop the integrated, stable, attractive and accountable public transport system that West Yorkshire needs.

"I can understand why the bus operators could perceive the change as a threat," he said. "But with declining patronage numbers and passengers saying that they have nowhere to voice any dissatisfaction they may have with services, they cannot want to continue with the current framework which is failing everyone."

Read the ITA report (pdf 1.26mb - opens in new window).

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