Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from GM Mayor Andy Burnham, Councillors Mark Aldred, Mohammed Ayub, Damian Bailey, Roger Jones, Kevin Peel and Aasim Rashid.

1. That it be noted that the GM Mayor and Leader of Manchester City Council had jointly written to the Secretary of State for Transport regarding the position surrounding Avanti West Coast train services between Manchester and London that are set to be reduced to a one train per hour service from 14 August 2022.
2. That the significant concern and dissatisfaction of the Committee in relation to the recently announced reductions in timetable with no clear indication of resolution date by Avanti West Coast for Manchester to London train services be recorded.
3. That further consideration be provided by Avanti West Coast to the urgent reinstatement of initial timetable frequency for Manchester to London train services.
4. That the future approach to engagement and communication between Avanti West Coast with key stakeholders including TfGM, GMCA and GM Transport Committee be improved considering the unacceptable lack of consultation on the proposed reduction in services.
5. That the Committee be advised of the proposal by Avanti West Coast to arrange regular contingency meeting with colleagues at TfGM to advise of the progress regarding timetable changes.
6. That a response be co-ordinated by Matthew Warman, Regional Growth Manager Avanti West Coast, addressing the concerns and issues raised by the Committee and in particular how the impact of the reduction in Manchester to London services affect the profitability of Avanti West Coast.

To receive declarations of interest in any item for discussion at the meeting. A blank form for declaring interests has been circulated with the agenda; please ensure that this is returned to the Governance & Scrutiny Officer 48 Hours before the meeting.

That Councillor Phil Burke declared a personal interest as an employee of Metrolink.

To appoint one member to the GM Green City Region Partnership.

That Councillor Mike McCusker be appointed to the Green City Region Partnership.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the meeting held 17 June 2022

That the minutes of the GM Transport Committee meeting held 17 June 2022 be approved as a correct record.

Report of Julie Connor, Assistant Director, Governance and Scrutiny, GMCA

1. That it be agreed that the preferred option for effective oversight of the active travel agenda by 10 votes to 6, be the establishment of an additional sub-committee providing three sub-committees of equal size namely Active Travel, Bus Services and Metrolink & Rail.
2. That it be agreed that a review of the established Active Travel sub-committee be considered at the next Annual General meeting of the Committee.
3. That it be agreed that as appropriate appoint 11 members to each Sub Committee, ensuring each Local Authority is represented, and political balance is maintained (8 Labour, 2 Conservative, 1 Liberal Democrat).

To appoint 11 members to each Sub Committee, ensuring each

Local Authority is represented, and political balance is maintained

(8 Labour, 2 Conservative, 1 Liberal Democrat)

BUS SERVICES

METROLINK & RAIL

ACTIVE TRAVEL

2. That it be agreed that Chairs / Vice Chairs of the Active Travel sub-committee be deferred and be confirmed ahead of the first meeting.
3. That it be approved that Councillor Mark Aldred be appointed as Chair and Councillor Warren Bray be appointed as Vice Chair for the Bus Services Sub Committee.
4. That it be approved that Councillor Doreen Dickinson be appointed as Chair and Councillor Dzidra Noor be appointed as Vice Chair for the Metrolink & Rail Sub Committee.

Verbal update from Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester.

1.    That the GM Transport Commissioners update be noted.

2.    That separate funding schemes be explored to enable greater consideration and development of capital funding cases for the extension of the Metrolink network to Stockport and further details be brought to the Committee in due course.

3.    That it be noted that the Good Employment Charter was enshrined in the bus franchising process.

4.    That it be noted that there was no proposal to withdraw cash payments for public transport in GM.

5.    That it be advised that one of the vast benefits of bus franchising is the ability to hold bus operators to account.

6.    That it be noted that tackling crime and Anti-social behaviour and increasing visibility across the public transport network was a priority to increase customer confidence.

7.    That it be advised that an overall pricing strategy for both bus and Metrolink services with a unified cap would be developed and the proposals would be presented to the Committee for further consideration as appropriate. 

8.    That the Committee express in writing to the GM Mayor those measures, for example the real living wage which they consider fundamental in the procurement and commissioning of transport services.

9.    That it be noted that intensive discussions are underway with bus operators to reach agreement ahead of the introduction of £2 and £1 fares in September 2022.

10.That the report presented to the meeting of the GMCA on Friday 29 July which requested approval for delegated authority to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM, in consultation with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to allocate Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding to reduce bus fares to a maximum of £2 single fares (£1 for children), with a maximum £5 day ticket (£2.50 for children), from 1 September 2022, subject to agreement with Government and bus operators be shared with the Committee.

Report of Richard Nickson, Cycling and Walking Programme Director, TfGM

1. That the Active Travel update be noted.
2. That regular Active Travel progress updates by district be reported to the Committee and the Active Travel sub-committee as appropriate.
3. That regular Active Travel progress updates be shared with Executive Members with transport portfolio responsibility in each of the districts for cascading to all Members.
4. That it be agreed that greater visibility of individual schemes be embedded in future updates along with further surveying of how schemes relate to the wider Bee Network including integration with public transport.
5. That the status and delivery performance of the Mayor’s Challenge Fund (MCF) and Active Travel Fund (ATF) capital programmes as at the end of Quarter 1 2022/23, and the intention to explore MCF funding reapportionment across GM be noted.
6. That the approach to reallocating ATF2 funding, following a series of scheme withdrawals from the programme be noted.
7. That the emergence and role of Active Travel England, and the timescales for submitting a GM bid to the 4^th round of the national Active Travel Fund be noted.
8. That the planned submission of an Active Travel self-assessment form to Active Travel England, on behalf of Greater Manchester be noted.
9. That the progress made with the continued roll-out of the GM Cycle Hire scheme across the Regional Centre, and the revised timeframes for the full public launch be noted.
10. That an update and evaluation of the phase one the cycle hire scheme be presented to the Committee at a future date.

Report of Stephen Rhodes, Customer Director & Interim Head of Bus Services, TfGM

1.    That the actions being taken in respect of the proposed service changes set out in Appendix 1 of the report be noted.

2.    That recognising the approach which TfGM has taken to stabilise the Greater Manchester bus network in advance of the end of Government financial support in October 2022, it be acknowledged that greater and earlier engagement with GMTC Members and the Bus Services sub-committee be undertaken for future potential changes on this scale.

3.    That it be noted that extensive engagement is underway with Derbyshire County Council regarding cross boundary services and the offer by Councillor David Meller (Stockport) to further assist once operator submissions are received to progress the process with respect of service 358 be acknowledged.  

4.    That a briefing paper be prepared for all GMTC Members at the earliest convenience upon completion of the tendering exercise, to inform Members of the proposed TfGM response to commercial services changes notified by operators effective form 30^th October 2022.

5.    That an extra-ordinary meeting of the Bus Services Committee be convened if required upon request of Members, to further discuss the bus operators proposals and proposed level of intervention for services affected by commercial changes.

6.    That Members be assured that the report provides a comprehensive listing of services operators formally listed with DfT for implementation from October 2022 and that future updates would provide detail of all boroughs affected to enable ward members in districts to receive information of cross borough services.

7.    That further information be provided by TfGM to Councillor McCusker regarding bus services 10 and 51. 

8.    That delegated authority to the Chief Executive GMCA and TfGM in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chairs of GMTC to deal with the actions being taken in respect of the proposed service changes set out in Appendix 1 be approved.

To note the work programme of the Full Committee.

That the work programme of the Committee be noted.

To approve dates of the Full Committee for the forthcoming year

Friday 14 October 2022

Friday 9 December 2022

Friday 17 February 2023

Friday 17 March 2023