Mole Valley District Council held two meetings to consult local residents on their opinions on public transport - one on the 18th February in Leatherhead, and a second on the 2nd March in Dorking.
With thanks to Simon Trevaskis we are pleased to be able to present the minutes of those meetings here.
The next stage of the Panel will be to arrange a meeting with the SCC Transport team and also Service Providers to discuss possible improvements.
18th February
Notes of a meeting of the Transport Panel held on
18th February 2009 from 7.00pm to 8.40pm at Park House, Leatherhead
Present: Councillors Tim Hall (Chairman), Rosemary Dickson and David Howell
1. Apologies for Absence
An apology for absence was received from Councillor Paul Elderton
2. Focus Group Discussion
The Chairman, on behalf of the Panel, welcomed those Members of the Public present who had been invited to attend the meeting to discuss their views on the key transportation issues facing Mole Valley.
During the course of the discussion the following points were noted:-
General
• The views of a resident in Mole Valley towards the public transport provision would vary depending on whether they lived near the main bus routes.
• Would it be possible for the Council to speak to the larger employers in the area, regarding their travel needs, as they have a requirement to put together a travel plan for their employees?
• It is important to have regard for current services when making new proposals, as any additional services added to one area could be removed from another to compensate
• The current cost of using public transport in Mole Valley is high and for many residents it is only viable to use for multi-purpose trips.
Buses
• The Leatherhead Town-centre one-way system causes some of the bus routes to only stop at certain stops in one direction because of the extra time it takes to circle the entire one-way system to cover the missed stops.
• There is no public bus transportation after 6.00pm in the North of the District and the weekend service, particularly on Sundays is also limited.
• One problem with the limited evening and weekend services is it can be difficult to get to Epsom Hospital during these times. There are also problems travelling to St Helier Hospital, with the journey involving numerous changes.
• Some bus journeys are re-routed to cover school transportation, which means that some of the stops on the regular route can be missed during these times.
• The No. 465 bus is able to provide a good service across the North of Mole Valley, because it is heavily subsidized by Transport for Surrey.
• There is the possibility that the No. 465 bus could be re-routed through Fetcham. This will be decided following an upcoming meeting between Transport for Surrey and the Fetcham Residents Association.
• Being able to walk to their main bus stop is a problem for many residents across the North of the District and it would be useful to run a Hoppa bus service in Ashtead, Bookham, Fetcham and Leatherhead.
• Currently the yellow school buses are only used for school runs and are left, unused at the bus depot during the day. Would it be a possibility to uses these buses as Hoppa buses?
• If a Hoppa bus service were to be organised, the pricing would have to be carefully considered, as it would mean getting two tickets, if the service was being used to access the main public transport routes.
• It would be useful to have a bus service which ran from Bookham to Effingham Junction railway station, to take advantage of the fast commuter trains which run from this station.
• The bus timetable can be difficult to use and may prevent many people from using the service.
• There is the possibility that four real-time bus displays will be installed at four stops in the area, which will help make people aware when services will arrive.
• On the current timetable several of the bus stops are known by local landmarks that are no longer there. Unless you have been a resident in the area for a number of years it can be confusing to use..
• The public’s awareness of the transport options available is currently low. If more money was spent advertising the services available then the volume of passengers would increase.
• The bus pass system for older residents is very popular. Could it be extended to include people with low incomes, the unemployed and young people as these are groups who would benefit from concessionary fares.
• Would it be possible to extend the bus pass system to cover train travel as well?
Trains
• The Sunday train service from Guildford does not start until 8.20am; this can make it difficult for those people who need to get to work on a Sunday.
• The trains which run from Bookham to London are normally a stopping service, which have long journey times.
• Staffing at the District’s train stations is generally poor. This means that there are a lot of people using the train service without purchasing a ticket. It can also make it difficult for the people who want to buy a ticket.
• The figures provided by Transport for Surrey for the usage of both Dorking North and Dorking Deepdene stations are incorrect, as these figures indicate that the two stations are rarely used. This figure was currently being challenged by Dorking DNA.
• Due to accessibility problems at both Dorking North and Dorking Deepdene stations, users who are unable to access their intended train service from these stations are able to take a taxi ride to the nearest accessible station (either Box Hill & Westhumble or Reigate stations) and reclaim the cost of the fare from the rail companies.
• There is not a direct train service below Horsham and the final train service to Horsham is at 8.00pm on weekdays and at 6.00pm on weekends.
Other Work/Studies/Surveys
• The Bookham Residents Association is currently in the process of compiling its Village Plan, which will look at transport in the village as part of its work. There will be a questionnaire covering all parts of the Village Plan sent to every house in the area and it is also intended that surveys will be carried out at the train station to get more detailed views from public transport users. Once this work is completed in the summer it should provide a good study of the public transport needs of Bookham.
• Ashtead Residents Association is undertaking a feasibility study to look into establishing a ‘round the houses’ service in Ashtead. Should the results of the study indicate that the level of demand for this kind of service would be cost effective, then Buses4U may be able to provide a bus to facilitate this service. It is thought that this service would initially be targeted towards commuters and would operate between 6.30am to 9.00am and then in the evening. Should this service prove to be successful it could be extended for community use during the day.
• It may be a good idea to approach the Fetcham and Leatherhead Residents Associations to see if they would be prepared to carry out similar work, so that once completed there would be a set of overarching data for transport in the North of the District.
• Once the Bookham survey is complete it may be a good idea for them to address the other three residents associations in the North of the District to advise them about their experiences and how best to carry out the survey.
Taxi
• Mole Valley District Council has looked into the possibility of Taxi Drivers setting there fares based on a scientific basis, but has not managed to reach an agreement yet.
• The possibility of a subsidized taxi service in out-lying areas to allow residents to connect to main services would be a good idea.
The Chairman thanked the attendees for their informative contributions to the discussion.
3. Next Meeting
The Chairman confirmed to the Panel that a second focus group meeting would be held on 2nd March at Pippbrook, Dorking.
2nd March
Notes of a meeting of the Transport Panel held on
2nd March 2009 from 7.00pm to 8.35pm at Park House, Leatherhead
Present: Councillors Tim Hall (Chairman), Rosemary Dickson, Paul Elderton, David Howell and Tim Loretto
1. Focus Group Discussion
The Chairman, on behalf of the Panel, welcomed those Members of the Public present who had been invited to attend the meeting to discuss their views on the key transportation issues facing Mole Valley.
During the course of the discussion the following points were noted:-
Trains
• As there is not a train service running between Dorking and Horsham in the evenings and at weekends, it would be a good idea to run a replacement bus service to help residents in the South of the District.
• The accessibility problems at Dorking Mainline station should be solved by the end of this year, when a bridge and lift system is installed. However the exact date of the installation is still to be confirmed by Railtrack
• Due to the connection to Gatwick there is a possibility that there will be a third train per hour running between Reading and Redhill.
• At the moment it is not possible to run a direct service between Heathrow and Gatwick because of the lack of an electrified line between Reigate and Shalford.
• The connections between the bus and the train service at Dorking Train Station do not seem to be as coordinated as they could be, which can cause problems if you want to catch a connecting service.
Buses
• The bus service in the rural areas is extremely restricted and it can be difficult to work a 9:00am – 5:00pm shift in Leatherhead as the last bus from Leatherhead to Headley is 5:10pm.
• On certain rural routes the buses are too large for the roads they travel on. It would be easier and more economical if smaller buses were used for these routes.
• None of the bus routes in Mole Valley operate at a profit and all have to be subsidized by Transport for Surrey.
• If you are getting a return journey from the rural villages to Epsom, the return bus service runs 35 minutes after you arrive. The next return service is not for 4 hours because of the infrequency of the service. This is not convenient for residents in these areas who want to go to use the shops in Epsom.
• On Boxhill there is a large population of elderly and low income residents who live in the mobile home parks that need a public transport service, but have very poor transport links.
• When Pfizer Ltd built their offices they had a planning requirement put in place by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council that they had to provide a bus service for its employees from the main towns. Would it be possible to speak to Pfizer Ltd to see if this service could be extended for community use?
• In an ideal world bus routes running from Redhill to Epsom and Dorking to Leatherhead via Box Hill and Headley would be preferable for the residents in these areas.
• When planning a bus route it needs to be aimed for multi use trips – for instance both Community and Tourism uses. At the moment there seems to be a lot of small services, but none of them are coordinated.
• The level of Special Needs transport in the District isn’t as good as it should be. To improve this, the level of communication between the Schools and the Transport department needs to increase.
• The ideal service for Mole Valley would be to run a Hoppa bus service to connect the villages and the towns.
• One possibility would be to have a co-operative service between volunteer drivers and the bus companies for special events and youth events. This system allows the bus company to lend one its buses to a volunteer driver to run a service for an evening.
• All of the out of town superstores such as Tesco in Hookwood are running their own bus services which are taking business away from the town-centres.
• It is extremely difficult to get to the main estates in the south of Dorking after 6pm, with the final bus travelling south from Dorking being at 7.35pm.
• The bus garage is in Horsham, could there be a possibility of the buses returning to the garage to run a last service on its final journey, rather than driving back empty?
• The Dorking to Kingston route is tendered by Transport for London and it is down to them whether the service runs to Horsham.
• The 465 bus in Dorking currently terminates at Waitrose. It would be more useful if it ran until the North Holmwood roundabout where it could turn around for the return route.
• To ensure that the services provided are what people want then all possible conditions must be included in the specification of the franchise, when they are put out to tender. The bus companies are not going to run a night service unless they are being paid to as part of their tender.
General
• It would be a good idea to try to set up a shared taxi service in the District. This would allow residents who live in rural areas and have a lack of public transport facilities to share the cost of a taxi journey with other people from the same area.
• The Dorking DNA has looked into the costs of carrying out a feasibility study regarding potential transport options for the Dorking Health Check Area. It is estimated that this would cost £20,000. It maybe a good idea for this to be opened up to the whole District.
• The possibility of installing electronic bus time displays in Dorking has been looked into, but they will cost £10,000 each and the company who provides them will only service the boards for the first five years.
• The National Trust used to run a service to Polsden Lacey and Box Hill. It may be worthwhile contacting them to see if they would be willing to contribute to a service.
The Chairman thanked the attendees for their informative contributions to the discussion.