This meeting was about whether to agree the updated Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for Surrey. This plan was created in response to new guidance from the Department for Transport about what should be in BSIPs. The report pack included for discussion a draft of the BSIP, a description of what has been achieved since the previous BSIP, a summary of the targets that are to be included in the plan, and a timetable for the plan's adoption. It is important to note that this was a decision meeting for which only the meeting pack is available. It does not tell us anything about what was actually discussed, or whether any decisions were actually made.

The Bus Service Improvement Plan

The updated BSIP included for discussion covers the 2024/25 financial year and sets out aspirations for 2025/26 to 2029/30. For some aspirations, like major housing developments, longer-term deadlines after 2030 were also considered. The report states that:

The full BSIP for Surrey is attached to this report as Annex A, which covers the new structure for LTAs to use.

The report pack explains that The Department for Transport wants to see a greater focus on:

• How operators and stakeholders (including Members) have been involved with the development of the 2024 BSIP update; • Delivery against the original BSIP from 2021, including how initiatives have been funded; • A delivery plan for 2024/25, including how initiatives are being funded; and • Clear ambitions for 2025-2030, including any outline delivery plans and how these initiatives will be funded.

The document included for discussion lists a number of schemes and aspirations, each with a delivery date and funding source.

BSIP Delivery 2023/24

The report lists a number of BSIP ambitions that were delivered during 2023/24, including the introduction of 54 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses, a Surrey LINK Card to give people aged 20 and under access to half price bus fares, and the expansion of Digital Demand Responsive Transport (DDRT).

Proposed Delivery Plan for 2024/25

The report included for discussion a proposed delivery plan for 2024/25. This sets out what schemes and initiatives it is proposed be delivered during the financial year. The largest of these is the proposed expansion of DDRT. This will increase the number of electric minibuses in the fleet from 12 to 28, and expand the service across much of the county. The document includes a map showing the areas in which it is proposed to operate the expanded service. The plan notes that Certain areas of Surrey are not covered by DDRT, for example, central Guildford, Epsom and Redhill. , and that these areas already have excellent local bus services.

Proposed Delivery Plan for 2025/26 to 2029/30

The report also sets out a number of schemes and aspirations with target delivery dates from 2025/26 to 2029/30. The largest of these is the completion of the current bus priority programme for five areas: the East Surrey Bus Priority Programme Area, the Guildford and Woking Bus Priority Programme Area, the Blackwater Valley Bus Priority Programme Area, the Wider Elmbridge Bus Priority Programme Area, and the North West Surrey Bus Priority Programme Area.

The report pack also lists a number of aspirations, for which funding has not yet been identified. One of these is the development of a Surrey-wide flat fare scheme. Another is to make improvements to bus stops, stations and interchanges by identifying priority locations that could become Mobility Hubs, and to develop and implement a standard for bus stop design across the county.

Other proposals included for discussion are raising the age limit for the Surrey LINK card up to 25, providing free travel for care leavers and young carers, and expanding multi-operator ticketing options.

Bus Driver Recruitment and Retention

The report pack states that:

A new requirement for the DfT is for LTAs to reflect how they, in partnership with bus operators and Job Centres will coordinate effort to recruit more drivers.

The report pack includes for discussion a bus driver recruitment and retention plan. This summarises feedback that the council has received from operators, as well as the results of the council having written to all bus and DDRT operators to ask them about their recruitment needs.

The report pack explains that there are a number of things that Job Centres could do to support bus operators with their recruitment needs, including:

• Facilitation of sifting candidates and targeting specific groups, such as the 50+ age group, veterans; • Organising job fairs where the operator can have a desk, and / or deliver a talk in a dedicated part of the fair site; • Organising mentoring circles whereby the employer hosts a group of pre-sifted job seekers at their site, job seekers can meet staff and receive advice with regards to the application process, get a feel for the premises, logistics of travelling to the depot etc. Employers then deliver mock interviews then follow up with a formal interview for suitable candidates; • Organising works trails and work experience; and • Linking with Sector Based Work Academies (SWAP), which comprises an initial group information session (usually delivered by the employer, but it can be via a trainer), work experience and then a guaranteed interview at the end of the process. A SWAP can vary in duration from a few days to 6 weeks. The employer must have 4 live vacancies to be badged as a SWAP (data goes into national employment figures).

Funding

The report pack explains that, in addition to the £9.3m of its own funding that it had already allocated towards delivering its BSIP ambitions, in August 2023 Surrey County Council was awarded £7.8m of extra government funding to support revenue activities in LTAs that did not receive any original BSIP funding.

This funding, previously known as BSIP+ funding, has since been renamed as BSIP Phase 2 funding. The report pack includes for discussion a table that sets out how Surrey County Council has allocated this funding to different schemes and initiatives. This shows how much money was allocated during 2023/24, and how much money has been allocated for 2024/25. The largest allocation is for the expansion of DDRT. £1.7m of BSIP Phase 2 funding has been allocated to this for 2024/25, in addition to the £2.45m being provided from Surrey County Council's budget.

The report pack states that:

The funding requirement for full delivery of the BSIP being presented to Government is around £45m of capital and £30m of revenue. Where projects are already started, such as the bus priority areas, the funding stated would support additional measures to further improve the scheme outcomes.

Performance Monitoring

The report pack explains that:

At the end of October 2023, the County Council submitted our performance summary against our BSIP targets to the DfT.

It included for discussion the October 2023 Bus Service Improvement Plan Target Summary, which is also available on the council website.

The summary sets out a number of targets relating to average journey speed, reliability, passenger numbers, average passenger satisfaction and network coverage and accessibility. The pack states that:

The reporting requirements have been changed for this BSIP update. The DfT are no longer requiring LTAs to report twice a year at the end of May and October. Instead, LTAs need to report at the end of October 2024 after which more detail will be provided on when performance needs to be submitted to Government. On this basis, SCC will now report at the end of October so that we can continue to demonstrate our progress against our BSIP targets. We have scope to revise our targets for 2025 and beyond as part of this update process.

Consultation

The report pack explains that:

The very short timeline set by Government for LTAs to revise their BSIP has meant that a public consultation was not possible. However, our established governance arrangements have ensured that we have consulted key stakeholders. These arrangements will continue to be used for the decision-making process and influencing priorities for the BSIP.

The governance arrangements were set out in the Bus Back Better: Enhanced Partnership for Surrey Cabinet report of 25 October 2022. These state that the decision-making body for delivery against the BSIP is the Enhanced Partnership (EP) Board. The EP Board is made up of representatives from Surrey County Council, Metrobus, Stagecoach, three ‘Small and Medium Enterprise’ bus operators, and Transport for London.

The pack notes that:

Alongside the EP Board, the NBS requires LTAs to have a body representing stakeholders across the area. This is sometimes called a Bus Forum. In Surrey, this is our Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG), chaired by an external representative and administered by the County Council. The SRG comprises 56 representatives covering bus users; disability groups; county, borough and district councillors; borough and district officers; town and parish councils; and others.

Next Steps

The report pack recommends that the Cabinet Member:

1. Agree the updated Bus Service Improvement Plan for Surrey.
2. Note the approach taken with operators, Members and stakeholders in developing the Bus Service Improvement Plan update.
3. Agree the approach for the Enhanced Partnership Board to sign off the updated Bus Service Improvement Plan to be submitted to the Department for Transport.
4. Agree the approach for revising the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme between the County Council and the bus operators.

If these recommendations are approved, the report pack explains that the next steps are:

• EP Board members sign off the BSIP by exchange of emails. • The BSIP will be submitted to the DfT on or before 12 June 2024. • Starting in June, the EP Plan and Scheme will be reviewed to account for what has been agreed and implemented since 2021. • A 28 day Operator Standstill Period will be held during August. • A 2-3 week statutory consultation period will take place in September. • A new EP Plan and Scheme will be agreed at a meeting of the EP Board in October 2024. • A BSIP Summary Target report will be published by the end of October 2024.

Passenger Charter

The report pack included for discussion A Passenger Charter for Surrey, which was developed with input from bus operators and members of the Stakeholder Reference Group. The charter is not legally binding but sets out what passengers can expect from bus services in Surrey, and all of the county's bus operators are signed up to it.

The Charter contains commitments to customers in seven areas: reliability, network coverage and frequency, value, the journey, inclusivity, information and customer feedback.