Cllr Kath Hartley, Putting Passengers First

Transcription

1 Agenda Item No. 7 Meeting: Putting Passengers First Committee Date: 20 October 2014 From: Subject: Lead Member: Director of Operations Service Delivery Dashboard Cllr Kath Hartley, Putting Passengers First Purpose of Report 1. To report a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to the Committee and to set out the approach to bus patronage target setting, following discussions about the target at September s Putting Passengers First Committee (PPFC). Recommendations 2. The Committee is recommended to: a) Note the current performance against KPIs and the activity being undertaken to support improved service performance and b) Note the action to be taken to review the patronage targets for bus. Background 3. PPFC has specific responsibility for Centro matters relating to the operation and service performance of the public transport network in the West Midlands. 4. In the September 2014 meeting, the Committee received a Performance Dashboard including the following KPIs: Public transport patronage by mode Public transport punctuality and reliability by mode Current National Passenger Survey (NPS) satisfaction ratings by mode (the NPS ratings were not included in September as were the subject of a separate report to committee). 5. It was proposed and agreed that the Committee continues to receive a Performance Dashboard at each meeting. 1

2 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/ / / / / / Other KPIs including public transport crime figures and Ring and Ride indicators for example, would be included within subject specific reports on these matters. Service Delivery Dashboard KPIs Public Transport Patronage by mode Bus Patronage 7. In the last 12 months, 276 million bus patronage trips were made in the West Midlands. Current levels of bus patronage are slightly below the 2014/2015 target of million. 8. Each year as part of the business planning process, targets are reviewed to ensure we are measuring performance against a realistic and achievable target, taking into account factors that we are aware of that may impact on services and customers, including operator grants and economic conditions. The following chart shows the trends in annual bus patronage and targets since Bus Patronage against Target Actual Target * 2014/15 reflects latest performance August 2014 as 2015 year end not yet available ** a change in methodology (in 2010) saw bus patronage figures shows a decline from million to 300 million 9. The actual trend over this period has been a decline common across English metropolitan areas, not only the West Midlands. This reflects movements in the key drivers of bus travel (population, income, fares and improvement of alternative travel options). Overall, there has been a slow growth in population (this has speeded up recently), but less employment growth. At the same time, car (and rail) travel, and telecoms services have become more affordable and widely available as a substitute for bus travel. 10. In light of the trends it was felt appropriate to reduce the target to be more realistic and achievable, reflecting the actual trend in travel. Targets were revised in the context of the continuing decline in patronage, further recession 2

3 in the first quarter of 2012 and operators warning of a potential cut in operating miles linked to reduced concessionary payments and the potential impact of the 20% cut in the rate of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) that took effect at the end of Taking all of this information into account, targets were revised from 2012/13 onwards to million in 2014/15. In light of the evidence to hand, it was considered that maintaining current levels of bus patronage was more realistic. 11. Patronage has remained resilient to these changes and has generally stabilised. This reflects a significant recent growth in population, and increasing employment as we see the economy starting to pick up, with the Government growth forecast for 2014 at 2.4%. The efforts of Centro and partners to increase the appeal of bus travel through investment in vehicles and infrastructure has also contributed to bringing current patronage levels in line with targets. A separate presentation to this Committee will provide further information regarding our understanding of bus patronage trends. 12. Despite the positive movement in population and the economy, when considering future bus growth we need to bear in mind factors such as the appeal of alternative modes of travel, the impact of the mobile internet, and the affordability of bus travel 13. Following feedback from this Committee, the 2014/2015 Bus Patronage target will be reconsidered at the Customer Focus Management Board to be held on 15 th October, and a verbal update will be provided at the Committee meeting. Rail and Metro Patronage 14. Rail patronage continues to increase with a 0.2% increase from August 2014 to September Current levels of rail patronage have now reached 49.5 million against a target of million. Patronage in September was helped by increases on the Solihull, Wolverhampton, Stourbridge, Walsall and Cross City North lines. Centro continues to work with London Midland and other industry partners in developing local rail services to meet growing demand. 15. Annual patronage on Midland Metro is currently 4.8 million, compared to the same period last year this is (4.6%) higher when annualised patronage was 4.6 million. Patronage figures that are reported by Centro every financial year include a minor 4% uplift to compensate for the margin of error for ticketless travel. A major barrier to patronage growth is the lack of capacity on the tram vehicles during periods of peak demand, anticipated growth is expected on the Metro as the Birmingham City Centre Extension and Fleet Replacement project will increase the available passenger capacity by more than 33%. 16. Patronage trends for each mode can be seen in Appendix 1 of this report, illustrating patronage by mode over the past 12 months and reporting on performance against target. 3

4 Public Transport Reliability by mode 17. The service reliability across all modes is good with all modes seeing performance consistently over 96% of services operating. Bus reliability monitoring across the network shows performance in July at 96.3% however where a number of initiatives are being progressed via partnership working through Transforming Bus Travel we are seeing increased reliability with some areas seeing 99% service reliability. 18. Metro and Rail reliability both continue to operate well with sustained performance, with both services showing exceptional levels of reliability. Metro reliability in September was 99.5% and Rail was 98.6% 19. The number of services that operate to time (punctuality) shows more variance than reliability, particularly for Rail services. Rail punctuality has been affected in the past by extreme winter weather conditions, train crew availability and infrastructure related issues. A detailed analysis of delay incidents has revealed an equal split between incidents attributable to infrastructure and Train Operating Companies (TOCs) and whilst the number of infrastructure related issues is on the decline, the extent of the delay caused per incident seems to be the issue. Network Rail has commissioned an independent review to look at the performance issues and make recommendations as to how these can be addressed. 20. We are now seeing higher levels of Rail service punctuality with 88.4% of services operating to time in September The latest bus results (July 2014) has seen improvements with 77.9% of services punctual compared to 75.4% a year ago. 21. Reliability and Punctuality trends for each mode can be seen in Appendix 1 of this report. Customer Satisfaction 22. Passenger Focus is the statutory body set up by Government to act as a passenger champion for public transport passengers, receiving funding from the Government to undertake two key passenger satisfaction surveys the rail NPS which is undertaken during the spring and autumn of each year, and the Bus Passenger Survey, which is undertaken annually in the autumn of each year. 23. Centro, other Transport Authorities and some bus operators, including National Express West Midlands, currently provide additional funding to Passenger Focus to undertake additional surveys to provide more detailed levels of information, for example to allow us to compare levels of satisfaction across different bus network review areas. Centro also currently funds an additional Spring Wave of surveys on bus in the West Midlands. 24. Overall results are highlighted below and trends for each mode can be seen in Appendix 1 of this report. 4

5 25. Customer satisfaction with the bus journey overall continues to rise, between Spring 2013 and 2014 opinion has risen 4% to stand at 88% currently. For Rail Nationally the percentage of passengers satisfied with their journey overall was 82% (unchanged on Spring 2013). By comparison overall satisfaction in the West Midlands was 85% (up 2% on the previous year). For metro, the percentage of passengers satisfied with their journey overall was 91%. 26. Further updates will be submitted to the Committee on a six monthly basis when updated information is published by Passenger Focus. Financial Implications 27. There are no direct financial implications arising from this report. Legal Implications 28. There are no direct legal implications arising from this report. Stephen Rhodes Director of Operations Centro Media Contact: Contact Officers: Steve Swingler, Media Manager Tel: (0121) steveswingler@centro.org.uk Sarah Jones, Head of Customer Services Tel: (0121) sarahjones@centro.org.uk Michelle McAnoy, Research & Intelligence Manager Tel: (0121) michellemcanoy@centro.org.uk Background Papers: 5

6 Appendix 1 : Performance Dashboard : September 2014 Patronage 6

7 7 Reliability and Punctuality Jun-13 Jul-13 Aug-13 Sep-13 Oct-13 Nov-13 Dec-13 Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 % Reliable Service Reliability Bus Metro Rail Jun-13 Jul-13 Aug-13 Sep-13 Oct-13 Nov-13 Dec-13 Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 % Punctual Service Punctuality Bus Rail

8 Customer Satisfaction Bus Rail Spring Autumn Autumn Spring Autumn Spring Autumn Autumn % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Very Satisfied Fairly Satisfied Very Satisfied Fairly Satisfied Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied Fairly dissatisfied Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Metro Autumn % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Very Satisfied Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Fairly Satisfied Fairly dissatisfied 8

9 Glossary KPIs NPS PPFC Key Performance Indicators National Passenger Survey Putting Passengers First Committee 9