Agenda and draft minutes

Resolved to appoint Councillor Angela Kandola as Chair of the Committee for the 2024-25 municipal year.

Resolved to appoint Councillor John Ogle as Chair of the Committee for the 2024-25 municipal year.

Councillor Devontay Okure – unwell

Roger Bacon (Travel Watch East Midlands)

Lorraine Salt-Pulford (Nottingham City Disability Involvement Group)

None.

Minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2024, for confirmation

Subject to recording Councillor John Ogle’s role as Vice-Chair, the Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2024 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of the Head of Operations, Nottingham Trams

Trevor Stocker, Head of Operations at Nottingham Trams, introduced a report on the performance and progress of NET from the beginning of February 2024 to the end of April 2024, highlighting the following:

(a)  the reliability and punctuality of the tram service during this three-month period were 96% and 94%, respectively. These figures continue to reflect and demonstrate a sustained improvement in performance compared to the previous reporting period. Tram availability has remained an underlying theme throughout the period, with plans currently being finalised for the repair of Tram 232, which was involved in a derailment at Bulwell in June 2023. Traffic congestion has also remained an issue, with a variety of road works - particularly tree works around the Gregory Boulevard area - and heavy traffic flows causing delays on the network. Performance has however remained positive and stable;

(b)  on February 6th Tram 213 failed at Moor Bridge. This was due to a driver using a fire extinguisher on one of the motor bogies as a precaution. However, all members of the public were safely able to disembark the tram. Alstom technicians attended the tram after the incident, to ensure it was safe before a recovery to the depot for repairs;

(c)  several serious road traffic collisions caused disruption to the network during the period;

a.  on 4th March an 11-year-old boy collided with a tram at Wilkinson Street as he was travelling on his bike on his way to school. All emergency services attended the scene with the support of NET and Alstom employees. NET has been in communication with the boy’s parents who updated the team that he is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries sustained at the time.

b.  on 5th March, an intoxicated male member of the public crossed behind a moving tram at a road junction and was struck by the tram that was travelling in the opposite direction. He was taken to hospital for an examination as a precaution.

c.  on 21st March a vehicle drove into the swept path of the tram at a T junction in the Beeston area, causing damage to the tram and vehicle. The tram driver also sustained whiplash injuries.

d.  on 24th April a car collided with a tram on Radford Road exiting the supermarket. Police attended the scene, and it was discovered that the driver did not have a license, and the vehicle wasn’t insured. Delays were encountered whilst the police carried out their investigation, and the tram was checked for damage before moving;

(d)  planned track replacement works are taking place at the High School and Royal Centre between 2nd and 15th of July. During the works trams are unable to operate between The Forest and Old Market Square, and a replacement bus service is in place to transport customers between these two stops;

(e)  the zero-tolerance approach to fare evasion has continued, with support from the police. Fare evasion figures have declined and stabilised as this firm approach is embedded into day-to-day operations;

(f)  following the successful roll out of parking enforcement across all NET park and ride sites, patrols have become embedded within network security operations. Enforcement levels have remained stable over the period, with the majority of vehicles being clamped for not using NET services, or for incorrect use of parking bays;

(g)  anti-social behaviour levels have seen a sustained decline, although front-line staff continue to experience abuse and occasionally physical violence when carrying out their duties. Criminal damage on the network again, whilst in decline, continues to impact staff and customers. NET works closely with the police to provide high[1]definition CCTV footage to identify and prosecute where possible;

(h)  new traffic calming measures have been installed at Toton Lane park and ride site to prevent misuse from anti-social driving in the area. This has been joint funded by NET and Broxtowe Borough Council. It is too early to draw firm conclusions from this, but early indications appear to have had a positive impact;

(i)  it has been confirmed that with support from NET, the Pythian Club will be receiving £12,000 funding from SNCF for their outreach service, to help continue to combat anti-social behaviour on the network. It has been agreed that £2,000 will be donated to the Pythian Club to support You vs Tram, and £500 will be donated to the NET Charity of the Year, Nottingham Central Women’s Aid, both funded from the Crown Prosecution Service charity fund for the first quarter of 2024. As a result of a number of staff requests for charity donations and fund-matching, NET has donated over £1,000 to the following charities: Brain Tumour  Charity, Alzheimer’s UK, Our Dementia Choir, Star Strike FC and Phoenix FC .

The following points were made during the discussion which followed:

(j)  the number of passengers carried by the tram is at around 85-87% of pre-Covid levels. The recovery has been slower than buses, in art due to the £2 fare cap on buses;

(k)  there can be a challenge to procure spare parts for the older vehicles, particularly after the Covid pandemic. Eventually the behicles will need to be replaced;

(l)  successful partnership working between city councillors, county councillors and various stakeholders resulted in a speedy resolution following flooding at Wilford Lane after bad storms;

(m)if any tram line extensions are considered then new technology will be looked into such as not using overhead electric wires, or using a different power source, which would require investment. The best option for an extension currently is to Gedling;

(n)  the tram timetable has not been changed since 2014, but user culture has changed away from commuting and towards more night-time economy related travel. A new timetable will soon be proposed to the City Council which will include more evening and early morning trams;

(o)  traffic calming measures at Toton Lane have helped but there is still more to do. An injunction would be the best solution and this would be need to be agreed with Broxtowe Borough Council.

Andy Holdstock, Senior Project Engineer, NET, presented the report regarding correspondence with a member of the public who has written to the Committee expressing dissatisfaction with the number of disabled parking spaces at Hucknall park and ride site and has requested that more spaces are made available.

A Mansfield resident, who holds a disabled blue badge, visited Hucknall park and ride, intending to use the tram. However, at the time he visited, he was unable to find a disabled parking bay that wasn’t occupied. The correspondent considers that the

number of disabled spaces in the car park is insufficient and has complained to the tram operator, Nottingham Trams, requesting that this number is increased. He has stated that, because of his experience, he is unlikely to use the car park in the future.

In response to the complaint, Nottingham Trams have informed the correspondent that Hucknall park and ride site is one of their smallest, with a total of 439 spaces. 18 of these are marked as disabled spaces, 8 of which are located opposite the bus layby, with a further 10 spaces near the bridge, at the north end of the platform. This results in more than 4% of spaces being allocated as disabled bays, a proportion that complies with national car park design guidance.

Resolved to write to the resident, explaining that there are sufficient parking spaces at the Hucknall park and ride site, including a plan showing the location of the disabled spaces.

To agree to meet on Tuesday 14 January at 2.00pm at Loxley House.

The Committee agreed to meet on Tuesday 14 January at 2.00pm at Loxley House