Agenda and minutes

Councillor Kevin Greaves

Councillor Richard Jackson

Chris Deas

Phil Hewitt

Chris Roy

None.

Last meeting held on 9 September 2014 (for confirmation)

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2014 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of Director of Nottingham Express Transit

Lea Harrison, from Tramlink Nottingham, presented the report, updating the Committee on NET Line One performance to 26 November 2014, highlighting the following:

(a)  average reliability rates between August and end October 2014 was 99.7%, with 97.1% punctuality achieved;

(b)  Off Tram Ticketing arrangements continued to perform well, with further enhancements to Citycard services, allowing Mango top-up, Kangaroo and NET seasons and Citycard Pay As You Go, expected in early 2015;

(c)  a refresher campaign on Line One, reminding customers of the need to buy a ticket or validate their smartcard before boarding the tram, has been launched;

(d)  a new radio system, vehicle location system and Passenger Information displays have been rolled out on Line one, while the Wilkinson Street depot upgrade is almost complete;

(e)  all 22 new Citadis trams have now arrived in Nottingham;

(f)  timetable enhancements introduced at the end of August 2014 are proving popular, with increased patronage over the period. Event Link services, taking fans between Station Street and the City Ground on matchdays, also continues to prove popular.

The Committee raised and considered the following points:

(g)  Mr Harrison confirmed that intelligent revenue protection will grow as the tram network expanded, targeting periods and locations where heightened fare avoidance is an issue;

(h)  a Committee member asked whether there were statistics available on numbers of pensioners fined because they did not understand the Off Tram ticketing system, could not see notice boards, read the small print on tickets and notices or suffered from dementia. In response, Mr Harrison advised that the number of fines to date for concessionary customers was very small relative to the total;

(i)  Mr Harrison advised that Off Tram ticketing helped provide more accurate patronage statistics, and that patronage is on target to reach previous levels. He undertook to provide the current and recent annual patronage statistics that had been submitted to the Department for Transport and have been reported to previous meetings of the Committee to its June 2015 meeting;

(j)  all new trams will be tested on Line One first, and there should be a seamless introduction of Lines Two and Three to the system. The Committee will receive updates on Lines Two and Three implementation throughout 2015;

(k)  when Lines Two and Three are operational, there will an inevitable period of bedding in of traffic flow and road signal sequencing issues on the main routes affected;

(l)  there is a lot of information about the roll-out of Lines Two and Three available for cyclists. There was consensus that the greater challenge lay in ensuring other road users, particularly car drivers, ‘got the message’ about safety for themselves and other road users with the introduction of trams;

(m)  Mr Harrison confirmed that the Event Link services will be under review in 2015 for possible use for 20:20 cricket events and the Robin Hood Marathon.

RESOLVED to note the report.

Report of Director of Nottingham Express Transit

Andrew Holdstock, Senior Project Engineer, Nottingham City Council, presented a report informing the Committee of a letter received from a member of the public (Correspondent A) about a fall and injury she experienced while travelling on the tram. The report highlighted the following:

(a)  Correspondent A, who is 80 years old, boarded the tram at The Forest. The tram started to move before she sat down, causing her to fall against a pole. She sustained a gash requiring several stitches;

(b)  Correspondent A makes the assertion that the incident could have been avoided if a hand rail had been positioned nearby, and asks Nottingham Tramlink Ltd (NTL) to address the issue;

(c)  the response from NTL Customer Services confirmed that all trams are compliant with Health and Safety regulations and that Correspondent A’s views will be considered by the Senior Management Team.

During discussion, the Committee raised several issues:

(d)  Mr Harrison confirmed that such incidents were very rare, and that drivers received full and regular training, including on driving technique and giving due consideration to customers;

(e)  both older and newer trams fully complied with Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations, and it would be difficult to design totally fall-proof carriages. Drivers also had rear-view mirrors available;

(f)  the Committee agreed that it is very important to fully log all such incidents, to consider them at senior management level and to take forward learning throughout NTL where appropriate. This applied not just to incidents involving the elderly, but to those involving all customers.

Resolved to respond to Correspondent A with the following:

The Committee has considered the circumstances of the case in depth and, while sympathetic to Correspondent A, is assured that all trams are fully compliant with Health and Safety regulations. Furthermore, drivers receive comprehensive and ongoing training on safety and giving due consideration to customers and their performance is regularly reviewed.