The Community Meeting to discuss issues around public transport provision in the Humberstone and Hamilton Ward. A representative from FIRST Leicester will be attending the meeting to discuss the provision of FIRST bus services in the area, and to receive feedback from residents present at the meeting.
Minutes:
The Chair explained that the purpose of this community meeting was to discuss issues around public transport provision in the Humberstone and Hamilton Ward. She introduced Steve Zancker, Commercial Director, FIRST Leicester who was in attendance to discuss the provision of FIRST services in the area.
Councillor Potter began the discussion by stating that there was a distinct lack of public transport in Humberstone and Hamilton, and that many residential areas were not adequately served by buses. In particular, several members of the public stated that Danbury Gardens suffered from a lack of services, and that many residents had to travel to amenities such as Tesco by taxi.
Steve was asked whether it was FIRST’s policy to terminate services that did not make a profit. Steve explained that as a limited company with shareholders, the company attempts to make a profit, whilst providing quality services to residents. He stated that most of the services were currently profitable.
Steve informed the meeting that from January 2009, the 38 and 38a services would increase in frequency, and that when this came into operation, the timings of the buses would be checked via the star trak system to see if buses could be diverted at off peak times to help people making shopping trips.
In response to several queries from members of the public in relation to services that had been reduced, Steve reported that commercial bus companies were entitled to operate the services that they wished to, and that the provision of additional services was the responsibility of local authorities, should they be deemed necessary. Julian Heubeck, Public Transport Co-ordinator informed the meeting that since deregulation was formed in 1987, bus companies have been able to regulate all of their routes. Local authorities were able to operate non-commercial services providing that there was a social need for this. It was explained that the Council spent roughly £1m each year on such services. Julian stated that when a company made an alteration to a route, the council assessed whether they needed to make a change to their services. It was made clear that the council was unable to run any supporting services in opposition to existing commercial services. Julian was encouraged by Steve’s comments that FIRST would be looking into running bus services on Hamilton Lane.
Several members of the public raised concerns around the projected increase in bus usage due to the relocation of Gateway College to Hamilton. Julian explained that when a large development was introduced to an area, the authority asked the developer to contribute financially towards transportation or to supply bus services themselves. Furthermore, the college would be required to provide travel plans for all of their students. Nick Goffin, Principle of Gateway College was present and stated that he would be entering discussions with bus companies and the City Council in the near future. He explained that he was aware of the additional public transport demand the move to Hamilton would create and stated that the college would run contracted buses if required. He added that it was vital to gain the views of local residents before any action was taken.
In response to a comment around the uncleanness of many buses, Steve accepted that many vehicles were often in a poor state, but explained that each vehicle was cleaned every morning.
A Member of the Public asked whether bus fares would be falling in light of a decrease in the price of petrol. Steve reported that FIRST bought their fuel in extremely large quantities, often months before useage.