Questions on Transport and Advocacy

QUESTIONS ON TRANSPORT AND ADVOCACY

LD Partnership Board - 10.07.2013

LIG REPS TRANSPORT QUESTIONS

Black = general

Orange = Eastleigh and Test Valley

Purple = Winchester, Gosport and Fareham

Green = Havant and East Hampshire

Yellow = New Forest

Blue = Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor

Question / Reply from Passenger Transport Group /
What can be done to provide affordable transport outside of working hours, to allow us to go out safely in the evenings and at weekends? We want more choices about how we get around Hampshire at times that we want. / Most bus services are provided commercially in Hampshire with operators setting their own timetables and fares. The limited budget which the County Council has is used to fund daytime bus services as they meet the widest range of needs. The council also supports a number of community transport services some of which operate in the evenings or which are available on a self-help basis.
What could be done to make travel information more accessible, this includes timetables, signs & announcements and travel planning? / All buses will be fully accessible by 2017. Over 500 buses in the south of Hampshire are currently being fitted with audible and visual announcements as a result of additional funding received from the government.
Information about public or community transport services can also be found on Traveline (http://traveline.info/) or the council’s own website http://hants.gov.uk/communitytransport.
What will transport providers do to make sure that people’s additional transport needs are met? This includes staff training. / The County Council does encourage bus operators to provide staff with appropriate customer service training which should include taking into account the needs of disabled people. The type and level of training provided will be determined by individual operators.
Statement: Transport by bus is none existent after 5.15 pm from Andover (question to go to Andover Transport Forum please) / These seems to be a statement not a question?
How do we enable people to attend activities in the evenings when buses do not run? / Most services are provided commercially in Hampshire with operators setting their own timetables and fares. The limited budget which the County Council has is used to fund daytime services as they meet the widest range of needs. The council also supports a number of community transport services some of which operate in the evenings or which are available on a self-help basis for organisations, or in some cases individuals, to hire to attend evening activities.
How is HCC going to continue to provide transport for service users? / Within the limited budget which it has available the County Council will seek to continue to provide the maximum transport opportunities. However, resources will be targeted towards those areas where there is the greatest need.
What more can Hampshire do to provide transport in evenings/week ends? (question to go to Andover Transport Forum please) / Most services are provided commercially in Hampshire with operators setting their own timetables and fares. The limited budget which the County Council has is used to fund daytime services as they meet the widest range of needs. The council also supports a number of community transport services some of which operate in the evenings or which are available on a self-help basis for organisations, or in some cases individuals, to hire to attend evening activities.
Is there a better way to provide support so that shared transport opportunities can be co-ordinated? / Please can you explain what is meant by this question?
Is there a way to try to get more consistency across the Good Neighbourhood Schemes? / These schemes are independent and make their own decisions about how they will operate. The County Council has together with the Good Neighbour Support Service developed Good Practise Guidelines for these schemes. Specific issues may be raised with the Good Neighbours Support Service which oversees these groups. www.goodneighbours.org.uk
Why do bus routes and timetables have to change over the school holidays? (question to go to Andover Transport Forum please) / A significant amount of buses operate to meet the requirements of the school day. They do not run during the school holidays because they are not funded to do so.
What can we do to harness the good will that already exists particularly in rural communities? (question to go to Andover Transport Forum please) / The County Council offers support to organisations and local communities who want to set up and run their own community transport schemes. Further help is available through an online Self Help Kit: www.hants.gov.uk/transport-self-help-kit. Start up grants are also available. www.hants.gov.uk/grants/environment-grants.htm
When are we going to have talking buses? London Transport buses can manage it, so why not Hampshire (EI, E2 do it in Gosport but sometimes they forget to switch on the system!). / Over 500 buses in the south of Hampshire are currently being fitted with audible and visual announcements as a result of additional funding received from the government.
Buses need to be accessible. Most of them have space for one wheelchair user only. Why? What are the facilities? / All buses will be required to be fully accessible by 2017. The number of wheelchair spaces on new buses will conform to the minimum requirements issued by the Department for Transport to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. When drawing up specifications for new vehicles there is a need for operators to take into account the needs of all their users.
Can aircon be used in the buses if available? Why do some drivers not know how to use aircon? (question to go to local form please) / If there are specific instances where this occurs then this is a matter which should be raised with the individual bus operator. (Note, it may be possible that this is aircon, but just cool blowers on the vehicle.)
How much training to bus drivers(and others) have? (question to go to local form please) / The County Council does encourage bus operators to provide staff with appropriate customer service training which should include taking into account the needs of disabled people. However, the type and level of training provided will be determined by individual operators.
In addition to the normal driving test for passenger carrying vehicles drivers are also required to gain the Drivers Certificate Of Professional Competence and this includes customer awareness training.
Is there any auditing done for evening and week end transport? / The council does have a surveyor who monitors the delivery of local bus services in Hampshire. From time to time the surveyor also carries out onboard surveys.
Do the people/staff who deliver 'transport' (bus & trains) have access to disability training surely this should be a formal requirement of employment – including Taxi drivers – could it not be part of their registration process? (local forum please and Jenny Dixon) / Bus and train operators may provide a range of disability training as part of their driver training programme. How this training is provided will be a matter for individual companies.
Whether training is or could be provided to taxi drivers is a matter for local district councils and their individual Taxi Licensing operators who are responsible for the operation of taxis in their local area.
Currently it is impossible for friends who are wheelchair users to go out together, using buses due to capacity limitations – 1 wheelchair per bus – Is it possible for Bus Companies to increase capacity? / All buses will be required to be fully accessible by 2017. The number of wheelchair spaces on new buses will conform to the minimum requirements issued by the Department for Transport to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. When drawing up specifications for new vehicles there is a need for operators to take into account the needs of all users. If more than one wheelchair user wishes to travel, Dial a Ride may be a better option providing that the service is available at the time you wish to travel.
Would the Board be able to find out why rural services are so poor in East Hampshire, Liphook especially has a poor service which is very isolating, restricting independence as there is a reliance on Taxi's which is very expensive? (question to go to local form please) / Most services are provided commercially in Hampshire with operators setting their own timetables and fares. The limited budget which the County Council has is used to fund daytime services as they meet the widest range of needs. The council also supports a number of community transport services which can also be available on a self-help basis.
How can the accessing of taxi services be done smarter? / A list of local taxi companies operating accessible taxis are listed on the following website www.hants.gov.uk/public-transport/taxi.htm
How can the information be more accessible and widely available? / HCC and the train and bus operators provide information in many ways and formats. Information about public or community transport services can also be found on Traveline (http://traveline.info/) or the council’s own website http://hants.gov.uk/communitytransport.
Timetables are very complicated. Can we make them simpler to understand? / Every effort is made by the council and the operators to make timetables as clear and easy to understand as possible. However, these do include much information and therefore this can be difficult.
Traveline may be a simpler way for people to access travel information as it tailors the information to individual needs (http://traveline.info/)
Drivers don’t strap me in properly (taxis) / If this occurs then you should raise this with the taxi company. If you are being transported on a contract which is being paid for by the council then you should make your social worker or the transport department at the council aware of this.
Issues at Aldershot day services where the provider went bust. Sorted for this week only. / We are aware of the issues which occurred at Aldershot Day Services. We have been working with Adult Services to provide a longer term solution for the transport to the centre. Unfortunately, we can sometimes be faced with a situation where a commercial operator ceases operating without prior warning.
More HCC transport is better than taxies and cheaper / Within the limited budget which it has available the County Council will seek to continue to provide the maximum transport opportunities. However, resources will be targeted towards those areas where there is the greatest need.
Basingstoke is quite central and good. Dial A Ride is good but you need to call weekly and sometimes you cannot get a space. / The Dial-a-ride booking system in Basingstoke has been designed in order to give everyone a fair opportunity to make journeys. This means that journeys can only be booked a certain number of days in advance of the travel time and that bookings are allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Parity: staff on train has been rude in the past and not helping at putting ramp up. / Specific instances of difficult staff should be taken up with the train company, with specific details of the date, time, service and nature of the problem so that the company have the opportunity to investigate this fully.
Disability train card is expensive if you don’t use it a lot / Comment noted. This is an issue which you should raise with National Rail.
Self advocacy groups: bus drivers are rude sometimes. / Specific instances of difficult staff should be taken up with the bus company, with specific details of the date, time, service and nature of the problem so that the company have the opportunity to investigate this fully.
Eligibility on Hampshire buses for support workers OK but if going across border to Surrey, carer has to pay / The companion pass issued under the Concessionary Travel scheme is a discretionary concession issued by Hampshire County Council. Most councils do not offer or recognise this concession. That is the reason why journeys starting in Hampshire are free with the concession but why journeys back into Hampshire require a fare to be paid by the support worker, because they fall outside the Hampshire scheme.
Sam said that she needs the euro cab ramp (not the small ramp). / Comment noted although we are not sure what this relates to.
Some good and bad taxi drivers and some grumpy ones / This is an issue for individual taxi companies. Any issue with specific drivers should be raised with the taxi operator. If you are being transported on a contract which is being paid for by the council then you should make your social worker or the transport department at the council aware of this.
Seat belt extension for taxis is not compulsory so if people want to travel, they need to take their own extension if the taxi firm is not aware / Comment noted.
Community transport and networks around the county & dial a ride – some scope for improvement / Within the limited budget which it has available the County Council will seek to continue to provide the maximum transport opportunities. However, resources will be targeted towards those areas where there is the greatest need.
Alison Froude is doing some work on transport / Comment noted.
Border issues with dial a ride (they will respond to queries) / Comment noted.