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Delivering Through Partnerships. Stephen Rhodes Passenger Services Director EMTA General Meeting 10 th November 2011. “ Any Good Partnership is greater than the sum of its parts” BUSES......TRAINS......TRAMS. The UK bus environment. 1985 deregulation Transport Act 2000
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Delivering Through Partnerships Stephen Rhodes Passenger Services Director EMTA General Meeting 10th November 2011
“ Any Good Partnership is greater than the sum of its parts” BUSES......TRAINS......TRAMS
The UK bus environment • 1985 deregulation • Transport Act 2000 • Local Transport Act 2008 • Commercial operators’ role • Centro’s role • Highway Authority’s role
Commercial Network • 92% of our bus network is commercial • Network carries over 305 million passengers per annum • Largest operator has approximately 80% share • Second largest has 10% share • Remaining 32 operators have 10% share
Tendered Network • 8% subsidised network costs £8.5m per annum • Centro Access Standards • Operate 400 contracts with operators • Approximately 40 routes contracted
Challenges • Employment patterns have changed significantly • Development growth • Shopping patterns and times have evolved • Changing conurbation • Rise in car ownership • Increasing congestion • Major developments in and outside of the area
Transforming Bus Travel • Network Modernisation • a wholesale review of where services operate to and from, leading to a new network that is more relevant to today’s travel patterns Total Quality • a shift in culture from all involved in service delivery to a greater focus on the passengers and their needs – alongside quality improvements and product differentiation. Supported by • effective bus priorities • effective marketing and selling • complementary services that meet our social inclusion aims
TBT Partnerships • Patronage increases on partnership routes • Positive passenger feedback • “ …what I like most is the improved reliability…” • “…the in service cleaning does make a real difference…” • “…the timetable is working and the buses are noticeably cleaner…”
Voluntary Multilateral Agreement (VMA) • Local Transport Act (2008) • Highway investment • New Vehicle Investment • Real time Information • City Centre Infrastructure • Cleaning and Quality • Joint monitoring
TBT – Recent Achievements Wolverhampton Interchange
The Local Rail Environment • Centro a co-signatory of the West Midlands rail franchise until September 2007 • No contractual relationship since this time other than for ticketing, procurement of incremental subsidised service enhancements, etc • The West Midlands is also served by 3 other franchised train operators
Delivery Through Partnership • Centro can only deliver its objectives for rail through effective partnership with train operators • On 20 September 2011 we signed our first partnership agreement with London Midland • The partnership agreement vision is “to truly understand our passengers and deliver to their expectations through effective partnership in planning and delivery”
Partnership Successes • Joint working on developing train services to meet the needs of the West Midlands • Integrated passenger information • Joint attendance at public meetings • Joint marketing • Building on Direct Sales approach to ticketing • Secure Stations Accreditation • Joint working on smartcard
The Future • Aspirations to take over the management of local rail stations • Seeking to make the case for a devolved, locally specified, locally managed franchise for the West Midlands region, possibly with Centro as the franchising authority • Delivery through partnership would continue to be the norm for longer-distance operators
Midland Metro • Line 1 - Wolverhampton – Birmingham operated on a long term concession agreement for Centro • Partnership working is still important – added benefit by working together and it doesn’t always cost more!
Summary • Partnership working provides a means by which Centro, Local Authorities and Operators can; • understand each others challenges • establish clear commitments • work together for mutual benefit • deliver excellent customer service • ensure a sustainable network • Influence each other • “Better than the sum of parts”