First voluntary deal to protect services

03 May 2007

First has signed a voluntary agreement with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, committing it to not make service changes without the PTE’s permission.
The ‘voluntary quality partnership’ – described as ‘ground breaking’ by the PTE – entails £17M of investment and provides Sheffield passengers with stability in the network. The contract – initially only covering a two-year period – would mean ‘fewer changes to timetables, enabling residents to use buses with greater confidence,’ according to David Brown, passenger services director at the PTE.
Local transport authorities often complain about the unexpected de-registration of bus services and sudden timetable changes, which leave the council and passengers with little time to make alternative arrangements. Under the agreement, any changes would have to get the PTE’s approval. It would also lever in £10M of investment from First over two years, to pay for 40 new, improved vehicles – one-seventh of the 300-strong fleet – and extra CCTV cameras.
This would be supported by £6.9M from the PTE and highways authority for bus-priority measures and passenger information. There is scope for the contract to last ‘much longer if all parties agree to continue’. But this appeared to be dependent on whether the Government pressed ahead with plans to allow large conurbations to contract services.
Bob Hamilton, First’s managing director in South Yorkshire, claimed the deal demonstrated that ‘partnership working is the way forward’. It would ‘ensure the people of Sheffield get the best bus service in the UK’. But a spokesman for SYPTE stressed it would ‘use all available methods for pursuing our bus strategy aims’. The country’s first-ever statutory quality bus partnership will start in July in north Sheffield, while the PTE hoped to establish five quality contracts, which would, as partnerships cannot, control annual fare rises.

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