RESOLVED to appoint Councillor John Hartshorne as Chair for the 2014-15 municipal year.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Stan Heptinstall MBE as Vice-Chair for the 2014-15 municipal year.

Councillor Kevin Greaves

Councillor Toby Neal (other Council business)

Councillor Bill Ottewell (other Council business)

None.

Last meeting held on 11 March 2014 (for confirmation)

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2014 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of Director of Nottingham Express Transit

Andrew Holdstock summarised the report of the Director Nottingham Express Transit (NET) relating to performance for the period February to end of April 2014, making the following points:

(a)  operational performance was very high during the reporting period, with 99.8% of timetabled trips operating and 98.3% departing punctually;

(b)  the current tram fleet is being fitted with communications equipment enabling them to operate on Phase 2 routes, and this means that vehicles are sometimes not available for service. A slightly reduced frequency of service has sometimes operated to minimise disruption to the public;

(c)  new ticket machines and card validators have been operating since April 2014. Anyone travelling without a valid ticket from mid-June 2014 will be liable to a £50 fine;

(d)  smart card technology using the Mango card has been introduced. Cards can be purchased from the NET Travel Centre or on-line;

(e)  there has been a 6% rise in usage between April 2013 and March 2014, and ticket sales in 2014 so far have been impressive;

(f)  the passenger satisfaction survey shows high levels of satisfaction (96%) with the service;

(g)  14 of the new Citadis trams have been delivered. These require a ‘run-in’ of 1,000 kilometres before going into full passenger service, and drivers are receiving additional training to operate them;

(h)  the new footpath and cycle lane near Wilkinson Street is nearly completed.

During discussion, Committee members made a number of points:

(i)  the Committee praised the transition arrangements for the new ticketing system, and welcomed the very positive feedback from the customer satisfaction survey;

(j)  Mr Hewlitt explained that ticketing machines had to comply with Disability Discrimination Act requirements, meaning that they were set at a height suitable for those using wheelchairs;

(k)  Mr Hewlitt confirmed that there had been teething issues with chip-and-pin readers on ticketing machines but that these had now been resolved;

(l)  it was explained that student discounts were available when using smart technology, and that a lot of work went into publicising the tram service at Fresher’s Week and similar student events;

(m)  it was confirmed that problems reading senior citizen concession passes of Nottinghamshire County residents had been identified and resolved

RESOLVED to note the report. 

Tramlink to report

Andy Holdstock introduced a report updating the Committee on progress in introducing off-tram ticketing and on the integration of new trams. Mr Holdstock made the following points:

(a)  the phased introduction of off-tram ticketing had gone very well. Strong and consistent communications on the switch to off-tram ticketing, including using tram ‘ambassadors’ to help citizens understand the changes, had been successful in getting key messages across;

(b)  the Tramlink Independent Appeals Panel had met to discuss penalty fare awareness measures with several minor issues to address before the Fixed Penalty Notice regime was enforced;

(c)  about half of the complaints received in the previous quarter were to do with coin change issues with 50p pieces. The underlying issue is being addressed;

(d)  citizens had also complained about the length of time taken to issue receipts. It was explained that receipt issue was not slower than the norm, but that citizens were more conscious of the time it took while waiting on a tram;

(e)  further marketing and communications work was underway to target specific communities at specific times to continue the recent rise in usage.

During discussion the following points were made:

(f)  while it was not appropriate to discuss in open forum at this time possible future fare concessions and offers, the Committee was assured that intensive work was ongoing to address the historic fall in usage for certain journeys by particular communities and passenger groups;

(g)  it was explained that the decision not to permit Nottingham City Transport passes for tram use was taken at national level;

(h)  NET was in discussion with the Queen’s Medical Centre and mobility scooter suppliers about the possibility of getting a ‘tram-friendly’ designation for particular models of mobility scooters;

(i)  Nottingham was hosting the 9^th International Light Rail Conference and Mr Holdstock agreed to share the Conference’s published outcomes.

RESOLVED to note the update.

Report of the Director of Nottingham Express Transit

Andy Holdstock introduced a report inviting the Committee’s views on widening membership of the Committee, in particular because Line 2 will run through Broxtowe Borough.

In the brief discussion which followed, the Committee agreed to keep current membership arrangements. This was because borough councils did not have responsibility for transport issue, and also the current Nottinghamshire County membership had councillors from Broxtowe, Ashfield and Rushcliffe. However, councillors agreed to invite interested parties to discuss specific agenda items at future meetings where they considered it appropriate.

RESOLVED to retain existing membership arrangements in 2014-15

Subject to sufficient business, to consider meeting at 2.00 pm on the following Tuesdays:

9 September 2014

9 December 2014

10 March 2015

RESOLVED, subject to sufficient business, to meet at 2.00pm on the following Tuesdays:

9 September 2014

9 December 2014

10 March 2015