Agenda for Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transit Advisory Committee on Tuesday, 13th March, 2018, 2.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ground Floor Committee Room - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Zena West  Email: zena.west@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

15.

Change of Membership

To note the appointment of Councillor Raine as a substitute member

Minutes:

RESOLVED to note that Councillor Nick Raine is now a substitute member of the Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transit Advisory Committee.

16.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Councillor Jim Creamer – personal

Councillor John Doddy

Councillor Kevin Rostance (Councillor Eric Kerry attending as substitute)

 

Roger Bacon – Travelwatch East Midlands

Gary Smerdon-White – Chief Executive, the Big Wheel, Ridewise, and Travelright

17.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None.

18.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 142 KB

Minutes of the meeting held 12 September 2017 (for confirmation)

Minutes:

The minutes were agreed as a correct record, and signed by the Chair. The Committee discussed matters arising from the minutes as follows:

 

(a)  numbers of passengers using the Queen’s Medical Centre have increased significantly since the installation of the tram stop bridge, which has made the stop more accessible;

 

(b)  patronage numbers are reported annually to the Department for Transport, then released publicly in June. At this stage they are commercially sensitive, so the minutes did not mention specific figures;

 

(c)  the possibility of an alarm to warn of pantograph failure was investigated as per the minutes, but was deemed impractical. A camera has now been fitted to the sanding shed, pointed at the pantograph, which can identify any wearing.

19.

NET Operational Performance and Progress Update pdf icon PDF 20 KB

Report of Keolis Nottingham Trams

Minutes:

Mike Mabey, Head of Operations at Nottingham Trams, presented an update on NET’s operational performance and progress, as detailed in the report included with the agenda. There then followed a number of questions and comments from the Committee, and some further information was provided:

 

(a)  an increase in third party issues (such as the closure of the Broadmarsh car park and large scale gas repair works in Bobbersmill etc.) has led to issues with the tram and increased congestion;

 

(b)  work is ongoing with local police in Chilwell regarding ballast being thrown into gardens. An operation will take place over the coming months;

 

(c)  there is a mix of uniformed and plain clothes ticket inspectors on the Revenue team, to try to lessen the issue of people leaving the tram when a ticket inspector gets on;

 

(d)  one of the medical emergencies on the tram arose from a citizen travelling to Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) when they felt unwell, and being unable to get all the way there before their condition worsened. The other medical incidents were mostly from passengers feeling faint. Work is ongoing with EMAS (East Midlands Ambulance Service) to identify any patterns or causes;

 

 (e)  when a traffic incident occurs involving the tram that is the fault of other road users, insurers work to recover any associated damage and repair costs;

 

(f)  disruption to tram services is reviewed weekly, as part of NET’s key performance indicators;

 

(g)  even with disruptions and often difficult circumstances, the service is generally very reliable, and it is important that the positive message continues to go out;

 

(h)  whilst complaints are often made about the service by Twitter and Facebook, often our customers affected by delays will defend the service, such as during the incident with the van, when social media users commented that NET were not at fault, and were doing everything in their power to make sure customers were safe;

 

(i)  some new tram stop posters have been designed, advising customers which bus services to use in case of disruption;

 

(j)  anti-social behaviour on the trams is monitored and reviewed weekly. Meetings take place regularly with the local Police, Youth Offending teams, Hate Crime Officers from the Council, and local schools. British Transport Police only have jurisdiction over the railway, and will only assist where the tram service intersects with the railway service;

 

(k)  cars sometimes become stuck on bridges or tram only sections, as the concrete apron runs out and the car becomes stuck on the rails or in deep gravel. Often drivers will panic and try to drive over the bridge when they realise they have taken a wrong turn, rather than stay still and await rescue, which is the better and quicker option, and will result in less damage to their car.

 

RESOLVED to thank Mike Mabey for the update, and note the contents of the report.

20.

NET Safety Issues pdf icon PDF 13 KB

Report of Keolis Nottingham Trams

Minutes:

Mike Mabey, Head of Operations at Nottingham Trams, presented an update on NET safety issues, as detailed in the report included with the agenda. There then followed a number of questions and comments from the Committee, and some further information was provided:

 

(a)  UK Tram Group is the governing body of the UK tram industry. It is independent, and funded by tram operating companies. Urgent safety notices can be issued. The formation of a safety standards body will give increased power to enforce safety standards across the industry;

 

(b)  the need to have strong windows which will not eject passengers in the event of a higher speed incident such as the incident which occurred in Croydon, must be balanced with the requirement for ease of escape through windows in the event of an incident;

 

(c)  most transport systems do not operate regular shift patterns, so this is standard across the industry.

 

RESOLVED to thank Mike Mabey for the update and note the contents of the report.

21.

NET Customer Satisfaction and Non-User Awareness Survey Results pdf icon PDF 18 KB

Report of Tramlink Nottingham

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Stephanie Moss-Pearce, Tramlink Nottingham Marketing Manager, gave a presentation to the Committee on the NET customer satisfaction survey and the non-user awareness survey results, attached with the first distribution of the minutes. There then followed a number of questions and comments from the Committee, and Stephanie Moss-Pearce, Mike Mabey (Head of Operations at Nottingham Trams) and Constantina Samara (Nottingham Trams Customer Services Manager) provided additional information:

 

(a)  whilst the figure of 93% satisfied with ease of getting on and off the tram may seem unusual given it is level all the way through  and one of the most accessible transport systems, this figure may arise from issues with high passenger numbers rather than accessibility;

 

(b)  ticketing offers for new customers run alongside money-saving campaigns for existing customers;

 

(c)  the survey was conducted by an external independent company, rather than in-house, so there is confidence in the impartiality of the results;

 

(d)  secure bike lockers are provided at the terminus tram stops. Efforts are ongoing to encourage greater use of cycle facilities and greater uptake of cycle and ride.

 

RESOLVED to thank Stephanie Moss-Pearce and Constantina Samara for their update, and to note the information contained within the presentation.

22.

Provision of Off-Route Cycle Facility, High Road / Chilwell Road, Beeston

Presentation from Pedals

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Hugh McClintock, from Pedals, gave a presentation on a desired cycle route in Chilwell, utilising the side roads as Chilwell High Road does not have space for cycle lanes alongside the tram lines. The proposed route would use Barrydale Avenue, travel across housing on the Barton’s site, and a redevelopment of the Myford site. However, a detailed proposal put forward to Broxtowe Borough Council was not approved as part of the redevelopment plans. Councillors were asked to lend their support to increased pressure for a cycle route on the Myford site. Councillor Eric Kerry indicated he would offer his support in any attempts to make improvements to cycling along the tram route through his division and wider. He agreed to receive the Pedals information and discuss with planning, but as he was not on the Planning Committee, and the matter has already been approved, there may not be much more that can be done. He also stated that the proposal to use West End as an alternative route includes a very narrow and dangerous corner at the junction with Hall Croft.

 

RESOLVED to note the information from Hugh McClintock’s presentation.

23.

Forward Plan / Future Agenda Items pdf icon PDF 214 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Eric Kerry requested an update at the June meeting on whether traffic signals at Central College can be re-phased to reduce congestion at this junction.

 

RESOLVED to note the forward plan.