Bus Services After The Spending Review

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Bus services after the Spending Review

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2011-08-11
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215561171

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Bus services after the Spending Review by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

The Transport Committee reports that extensive cuts to rural, evening and weekend bus services are damaging the ability of many people - especially the old, young or disabled - to participate in employment, education or voluntary work and to access vital services such as healthcare and retail facilities. In a review of England's bus services (outside London) after the Spending Review, the Committee warns that even deeper cuts in bus services are likely in 2012-13, as local authorities struggle to deal with budgetary reductions, and calls for the concessionary travel scheme to be preserved so that the elderly and disabled continue to enjoy free bus travel. The Committee also concludes that the concessionary fares scheme was 'discriminatory' because it did not apply to most community transport providers - usually independent charities that provide transport such as dial-a-ride bus services. It calls on the Department for Transport to monitor the extent of service cutbacks made this year and to review service provision again after BSOG (Bus Service Operator Grant) grant cuts take effect in 2012 - 13 so that it can analyse and draw conclusions about the wider costs and benefits of its policy changes to the country as a whole. The Local Government Association should identify and disseminate information about good and bad practice in the delivery of cost effective, flexible services including community transport and/or area-based transport integration. And local authorities and commercial operators must consult more widely where services are being changed

Transport and accessibility to public services

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee
Publisher : Stationery Office
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2013-06-24
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215059093

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Transport and accessibility to public services by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee Pdf

This report looks at progress on improving accessibility since 2003 and ways of improving accessibility. Problems with transport provision and the location of services can reinforce social exclusion by preventing people from accessing key local services and undermines government policies to tackle worklessness, increase participation in education, reduce crime and narrow health inequalities. Insufficient progress has been made since the 2003 Social Exclusion Unit's Making the Connections report, many findings of which are relevant today. There is evidence that accessibility is worsening, driven by tight budgets in central and local government. Accessibility statistics show travel times to key services steadily increasing over time, particularly for access to hospitals. The Department for Transport needs to focus more closely on improving accessibility as well as on supporting the economy. Existing transport funding could be better coordinated and directed to 'accessibility'-focused initiatives, which will have a swifter impact on people's well-being than large infrastructure projects. The social value of transport and accessibility needs to be explicitly considered in policy-making and in the planning system and should no longer be seen as a second-order criterion.The Committee believes it will take time for any improvements to make a noticeable difference. Their recommendations focus on improving how government operates rather than funding. Central government cannot abdicate its role in coordinating action across departmental silos and helping local authorities and service providers to share best practice. Accessibility planning, introduced by Making the Connections, has had limited success and needs to be re-energised.

Competition in the Local Bus Market

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2012-09-13
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 021504830X

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Competition in the Local Bus Market by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

In this report the Committee concludes that the Local Transport Act 2008 gives local authorities a range of tools to work with bus operators to improve local bus services and does not need updating. However, the Government and bus industry need to show more leadership to raise the standard of bus services with the introduction of multi-operator smartcards, service stability and passenger information. While some bus services are good, too often passengers are dissatisfied with the reliability of the service, the level of fares and the need to buy another ticket if the trip involves two bus companies. More competition among bus operators may improve services in some areas but many routes simply cannot sustain more than one operator. It is worrying that the Traffic Commissioners who are responsible for bus safety and punctuality monitoring appear to have insufficient resources to carry out these crucial roles as effectively as they would wish. Outside London, the quality of bus services depends on partnerships between local authorities and the bus operators. In a minority of areas, such as where local authorities take on responsibility for local rail services, bus franchising may be an appropriate option. These would require additional subsidy and sustained political commitment

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Access to Transport For Disabled People - Volume I: HC 116

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2013-09-17
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215062302

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House of Commons - Transport Committee: Access to Transport For Disabled People - Volume I: HC 116 by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

In the UK some 11.5m people already live with a recognised disability and more than a fifth of them experience some difficulty when using transport networks. So it's essential that the Department for Transport delivers an ambitious Accessibility Action Plan. Changes made ahead of the 2012 Paralympic Games delivered access for disabled people to significantly more parts of the public transport network for the first time and highlighted the immense value of such improvements for all. Yet a year later, there is a risk that some of the momentum from London 2012 is being lost because further key accessibility improvements planned have been watered-down or abandoned. The Committee's recommendations include: imposing penalties on bus operators who claim to offer accessible routes but then fail to provide accessible buses; the phased introduction of audio-visual information systems on all buses over the next ten years; phasing out the need for disabled travellers having to book organised assistance in advance; financial incentives to encourage investment in fully accessible vehicles by taxi and private care hire vehicle operators; and a change to EU rules so that in future airlines are required to allow carers to travel free of charge when the airline judges a disabled person incapable of travelling independently. The Cabinet Office should convene a working group of ministers and officials to improve cross-government working on accessibility in order to secure the full benefits to be gained from widening disabled people's access to employment and training, healthcare and wider participation in all parts of society

Counting the costs

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 64 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2012-02-23
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215041917

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Counting the costs by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

While this report welcomes the additional investment in road and rail infrastructure projects announced in the Autumn Statement, it expresses concern that the regions are not as well provided for as London and the south east. There are also real concerns about how those projects were chosen. Ministers need to provide much more information about how the department's funding of the Regional Growth and Growing Places Funds has been used. While the presentation of financial information is in a clearer, simpler format than previous years, the key performance indicators fail to show whether the DfT's policies are effective and, overall, the DfT's 2010-11 annual report gives a very thin account of the department's performance during the year. The Department must publish much more information about changes made to its budget within any given year. MPs noted that the DfT underspent on its budget in 2010-11 by more than the budget cuts made during the year. They recommend that the new rail schemes announced in the autumn statement be regarded as additional to those which the Government will agree to fund as part of planning for the 2014-19 rail spending period. Finally, the Committee repeats its call for the Department to publish a national transport strategy to explain what the Government aims to achieve by spending money on transport and how its policies support these aims.

HC 287 - Government Motoring Agencies - the User Perspective

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2014-10-07
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780215075895

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HC 287 - Government Motoring Agencies - the User Perspective by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

The Government's motoring agencies are undergoing reorganisation and are introducing digital services; both changes have potential to bring welcome improvements. The Government has a mixed approach to organisational change in the agencies with different emphasis on efficiency savings, restructuring, and private sector involvement across the agencies. It needs to do more to explain the future direction for all the motoring agencies and how it will create a more unified service. The agencies could do more to recognise and respond to the needs of business users. There are a number of specific areas that require action by the Government and its motoring agencies: the driver Certificate of Professional Competence may not be delivering all the benefits expected of it and the Government should negotiate changes at a European level; the agencies need to have effective assisted digital strategies in place to help those who cannot or are unwilling to use the internet to access services; the agencies need to work with the Government Digital Service and others to address the problem of misleading copycat websites; the DVLA needs to do more to explain how it is required to share personal data with private parking companies and the safeguards that are in place to protect such data; the DVLA needs to adjust it's fees to ensure costs are covered and do more to explain it's calculations; and data sharing needs to be effective, if revenue collection, action on safety and work by enforcement agencies are to be effective, and new services need to be planned with data sharing in mind

HC 428 - Security on the Railway

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2014-09-05
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780215075826

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HC 428 - Security on the Railway by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

Crime on Britain's railways decreased year-on-year over the past decade. That trend shows the effectiveness of the specialist rail policing provided by the British Transport Police (BTP). The Committee were impressed by the BTP's commitment to tackling crime while minimising delays for the travelling public. Despite the welcome decline in overall crime, we identified areas where the BTP could improve its performance. The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) is the body with responsibility for setting the BTP challenging but achievable targets to tackle crime on the railway. The BTPA must fulfil its remit and avoid any perception that it is too close to the people whom it should be holding to account. The Committee concluded that the BTP model of developing specialist policing skills and securing funding from transport providers might usefully be applied to other transport modes, such as aviation. Such an approach could minimise delays, maximise security and reduce the cost of policing to taxpayers. In the course of the inquiry, the Committee heard that vulnerable children and young people are often found in and around railway stations and were surprised to learn that the BTP currently has no targets in relation to child protection. The Department for Transport, the BTPA, the BTP and the charity sector should work together to tackle this emerging issue by examining the available data and reviewing current practice.

HC 1140 - Local Transport Expenditure: Who Decides?

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2014-06-03
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780215072863

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HC 1140 - Local Transport Expenditure: Who Decides? by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

Transport infrastructure in some parts of the UK may get left behind under the new system to be used from next year (2015) to share out central government money for local major transport schemes. The Government has again changed the system for distributing money to local areas for major transport projects, with much more emphasis now on competition for funding. This will not necessarily help regions get a fairer share of transport funding and could make the situation worse. The Government's focus on using competition to bring in private sector funding for projects could disadvantage the regions, where there tends to be less private sector money available compared with London. Those Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) which are well organised and resourced will have an advantage in bidding for funds. Other areas may lose out as a result. In addition, with greater reliance on competitive bidding for funds, there will see more money wasted on failed bids. Strategically significant schemes such as access to ports must not get overlooked. The changes are set against a backdrop where far less money is spent on transport projects outside London than in the capital. Transport infrastructure spending is £2,500 per head in London compared with £5 per head in the north east. This inequality must change. The Committee calls for the new funding arrangements to be reviewed by the end of the next Parliament to ensure that they are efficient and effective in providing funding for the most urgent transport priorities.

Sessional Returns

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 442 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2012-09-14
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0215048385

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Sessional Returns by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons Pdf

On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

Paratransit

Author : Corinne Mulley,John D. Nelson
Publisher : Emerald Group Publishing
Page : 464 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2016-10-07
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 9781786352255

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Paratransit by Corinne Mulley,John D. Nelson Pdf

Recent technological advances have made feasible new and improved approaches for organizing and delivering local passenger transportation. This book draws on a selection of papers presented at the International Paratransit Conference in Monterey in October 2014 to capture these exciting developments.

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Flight Time Limitations: Follow Up - HC 641

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 56 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2013-09-11
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215062248

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House of Commons - Transport Committee: Flight Time Limitations: Follow Up - HC 641 by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

Flight time limitations regulate the number of hours that pilots and crew work in order to prevent fatigue. Fatigue contributes 15-20% of fatal aviation incidents caused by human error. In July 2013, Member States of the European Union voted strongly in support of a draft proposal on flight time limitations by the European Commission. Overall, the Commission's draft regulation represents an improvement but concerns remain. Particularly about the apparent reluctance of the Commission when developing these regulations to set a lower limit for the flight duty period at night in accordance with the scientific evidence on this matter. It is disappointing that the UK Government has not pressed for a lower limit. It is also disappointing that a consensus has not been reached on the draft regulations with crew and pilot representatives. It is recommended that the European Scrutiny Committee requests the UK Government to press the Commission to ensure an effective monitoring regime is put in place to examine whether the 11 hour limit is at least as safe as the current regime and that they request the European Commission provide an assessment of the regulation two years after its implementation. The Committee also concluded that: the potential under-reporting of pilot fatigue must be properly recognised if it is to be effectively tackled; information should be regularly published on the use of Commander's discretion to extend their crew's flight duty period if unforeseen circumstances arise; and scientists must have a more central role in the development and assessment of flight time limitation proposals

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Ready and waiting? Transport Preparations for Winter Weather - HC 681

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2014-01-03
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215065999

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House of Commons - Transport Committee: Ready and waiting? Transport Preparations for Winter Weather - HC 681 by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

The last few years have seen a number of periods when severe weather has led to widespread travel disruption, exposing a lack of preparedness across all modes of transport in terms of infrastructure, resources, and looking after the interests of passengers. Pro-active decision-making by rail and aviation operators to reduce or cancel services ahead of a major event has reduced disruption. However there is scope for further improvement. The Highways Agency should review the barriers to providing comprehensive realtime information to drivers. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) should ensure that train operating companies develop more robust procedures to identify how long a period of disruption is likely to last and to communicate this clearly to passengers. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) should set out how it will evaluate the impact of the new airport licence conditions on passenger welfare, by Spring 2015. The CAA must also ensure that best practice on the provision of information and on passenger welfare is shared across all UK airports. The availability of salt for gritting roads has improved with the establishment of the strategic salt reserve. More, though, should be done to keep pavements clear of ice and snow. However, winter weather is about more than just snow, as illustrated by the 'St Jude' storm across southern England and the more recent storm stranding thousands at Gatwick. The transport sector must continue to work closely with the Met Office and other forecasters. Finally, embedding a culture of continuous review and improvement must remain a priority.

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Local Authority Parking Enforcement - HC 118

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2013-10-23
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215062868

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House of Commons - Transport Committee: Local Authority Parking Enforcement - HC 118 by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

The use of parking charges and fines specifically to raise revenue by local authorities is neither acceptable nor legal. Annual parking accounts would allow the public to see how much local revenue is derived from the enforcement of fines, and what proportion of this come from on or off street parking charges. It's right that parking charges be determined locally, but hard to justify fines that substantially exceed penalties for more serious offences like speeding. DfT's statutory guidance should stipulate that local authorities implement a 'grace period' of 5 minutes after the expiry of paid-for time on any paid parking before enforcement officers issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). The Guidance should be clarified and updated, particularly in relation to rules for loading and unloading. A 25% penalty charge discount should also be introduced for motorists who pay within 7 days of losing any appeal to a parking tribunal. Local authorities currently offer a 50% discount if motorists pay their penalty charge within 14 days, but this is not available to motorists who appeal to a tribunal. Motorists should also not have to appeal against PCNs where tribunal adjudicators have repeatedly identified a problem such as poor signage. Adjudicators should also be given powers to allow appeals where local authorities fail to follow statutory guidance concerning the use cameras. While businesses cannot be completely exempt from parking restrictions, local authorities must also ensure that the need to restrict parking and manage congestion does not stifle the ability of businesses to trade and help grow the economy

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Access to Ports - HC 266

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 102 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2013-11-26
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 021506464X

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House of Commons - Transport Committee: Access to Ports - HC 266 by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee Pdf

In this report looking at policy for improving road and rail access to ports, the Transport Committee urges the Department for Transport (DfT) to become a keener advocate for UK ports. The Government should contribute to significant improvements to strategic networks which also deliver wider benefits - rather than simply expect port operators to pick up the entire bill for measures required to mitigate increased traffic due to port expansion. If the Government chooses to apply European Commission state aid rules in this area more strictly than other EU countries it should explain why it does so. Policy in this area should be applied consistently across the country. While some ports have contributed towards transport schemes to improve access, others have not and the differences in approach have not been explained or justified. Ports should also continue to contribute to local transport infrastructure improvements, following discussions with relevant local bodies. The Department for Transport should demonstrate whether port master plans have had any impact, highlighting good examples of such plans and of how they have influenced decision makers. Finally, the Government should devise a more effective successor to the Waterborne Freight Grant, to stimulate coastal shipping.

Quality of Life and Public Management

Author : John Whitelegg
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780415509558

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Quality of Life and Public Management by John Whitelegg Pdf

First Published in 2013. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.