Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the Chair who had submitted his apologies it was agreed that Councillor Sheppard would chair the meeting.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting of the Transportation Advisory Group that had been held on 30 September 2021.

Agreed: - That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 September 2021 be approved as a true record.

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 30 September 2021.

Andrew Moss, Interim Head of Transport Infrastructure, attended the meeting to provide a progress report and to make a presentation. It was noted that the presentation provided an update on the areas that had been discussed at the previous meeting of the group.

The presentation provided information on:

·       the Current government position.

·       Public Transport, including:

·       Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) TfN/NPR

·       Budget and Spending Review

·       Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP)

·       Bus Recovery

·       Enhanced Partnership (EP)

·       Funding update

·       Roads, including:

·       Roads management -Traffic Management Act, Pavement Parking and Key Route Networks

·       Funding - City Regions Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS)

·       Road schemes - the Parkway Widening and Greasbrough Coach Road

·       Active Travel, including

·       TCF - Sheffield Road, Maltby Bus Corridor, Doncaster Road and Manvers Way

·       ATF - Broom Road Active Travel Scheme and the tranche three bid.

·       Clean Air Zone programme, including:

·       That the submission of the full business case was expected to be made in February 2022.

·       Liaison activity with government.

·       The good levels of support shown for the three proposed Rotherham schemes.

Members requested that in future presentations that acronyms should not be used as their use made following the presentation and understanding the information difficult.

Members discussed issues raised in the presentation and related to the work of the RMBC Transportation Unit including:

·       The blind corner on the Greasborough Coach Road and whether mitigating measures would be included as part of other works being carried out in the area.

·       What technological solutions were available to support improvements to road safety in areas where there were road safety concerns.

·       The latest position around funding streams.

Councillor Sheppard thanked Andrew Moss for attending the meeting and providing the update.

Agreed:  - That the update be noted.

The Transportation Advisory Group noted the questions and answers on transport matters that had been submitted in advance of meeting that had been included in the agenda pack.

Nathan Broadhead of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) attended the meeting to provide an update on transportation issues across Rotherham and the wider South Yorkshire area.

Nathan Broadhead reminded members that in addition to submitting questions on transport matters in advance of meetings of the Transportation Advisory Group members could email questions on transport matters to communications@sypte.co.uk where enquiries would receive a prompt response.

In the update information was provided on:

·       How staff shortages were still presenting a major issue in relation to the reliable operation of bus services and in timetable planning.

·       How the SYMCA had been working with transportation providers in order to support them to mitigate the impact of staff shortages. It was noted however that despite this work that some problems still remained with regard to the reliable operation of services.

·       How passenger numbers, compared to pre-pandemic levels varied across the South Yorkshire area with higher numbers of passengers using services in Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley than was being seen in Sheffield.

·       How strike action continued to impact of the operation of Stagecoach services. It was noted that Community Transport Services were able to assist residents who were being negatively impacted by strike action.

Nathan Broadhead advised that he had raised the issue of representatives of the rail operators not attending Transportation Advisory Group meetings with the rail operators. Nathan Heath advised that a full update on rail services would be provided at the next meeting of the group and invited members to contact him to advise with suggestions on the information that they would like to see included in the update.

Members asked whether there were any plans to show bus occupancy numbers on digital displays. Nathan Heath confirmed that this was an area that was being looked into.

Members asked for further information on the price rises for the Community Transport door-to-door service that had been raised as a concern by residents which meant that some journeys were costing nearly the same as by a private hire vehicle. Nathan Heath advised that there had been no increase in the charges for the service but noted that there were other providers of similar services who may have increased their prices. Nathan Heath noted that the Community Transport door-to-door service was charged at a rate of £2.50 per journey plus a rate per mile travelled, and as such the majority of journeys would be cheaper than by a private hire vehicle.

Agreed: -

1.    That the update be noted.

2.    That an update on rail services be provided at the next meeting of the Transportation Advisory Group and that members advise Nathan Broadhead of any areas that they would particularly like to receive information on.

(1)       First Group

(2)       Stagecoach

(3)       Rotherham Community Transport

First Group

Paul Hopkinson provided an update on First Group services including:

·       The challenges being faced regarding improving service reliability due to the shortage of drivers and other factors.

·       The impact on the provision of services due to the shortage of drivers, however the situation regarding driver shortages in Doncaster had improved.

·       How there would be no further timetable changes in Rotherham until April 2022.

·       How passenger numbers, including the number of pensioners, using services had increased.

Stagecoach

John Young provided an update on Stagecoach services including:

·       The impact of strike action on the provision of services.

·       The challenges being faced regarding improving service reliability due to the shortage of drivers and other factors.

·       How timetables had been amended to reflect driver shortages and to ensure greater reliability of services.

·       That prior to the strike action that passenger levels were at 67% of pre-pandemic levels.

·       The changes to services serving the Rawmarsh Hill area and the impact of the changes on passengers. It was noted that discussions were continuing with RMBC on the matter.

·       The work that had been carried out and was continuing with the SYMCA regarding bus improvement plans.

There were no representatives of the rail operators present at the meeting.

Agreed: - That the Minutes of the meetings of the Doncaster Sheffield Airport Consultative Committee included in the agenda pack be noted.

There was no further business for consideration.

The next meeting of the Transportation Advisory Group will take place on Wednesday 9 March 2022 at 10am as a Microsoft Teams Meeting.

Agreed: - That the next meeting of the Transportation Advisory Group be held on Wednesday 9 March 2022 at 10am as a Microsoft Teams meeting.