Strategy implemented broadly as planned and targets met.

Our targets to increase bus passengers over the county, including growth of 15% on our quality bus corridors, have been achieved in many locations through partnership working with local bus operators.

There has been investment in Quality Bus partnerships which has delivered monitored cost effective benefits to bus passengers i.e over 655 bus stop upgrades and approximately 113km in total of Quality Bus routes. Routes have included bus priority measures at appropriate locations mainly through traffic signal priority. Routes have demonstrated significant growth;

• Preston to Tanterton                          12% increase
• Burnley Mainline                                 27% increase
• Heysham to Lancaster University   73% increase
• Hyndburn Circular                                9% increase.

The Preston to Tanterton and the Hyndburn circular schemes were the first implemented and showed levels of increase in patronage over the 15% target in early years but this has now fallen below the target level. This highlights the need for maintenance and improvement of the infrastructure to ensure patronage gains are retained.

In 2001 the Safer Travel Unit was set up to improve the confidence of passengers waiting for and travelling on buses. The Unit has played an important regional and national role in developing strategies, including education programmes in schools, reporting procedures and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts. It has introduced CCTV to school buses and bus shelters and has established a protocol for preparing film from CCTV as evidence. The unit has worked closely with its main stakeholders: Schools, Bus Operators, Pupils, Parents, the Passenger Transport Units of both Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and the Community Safety Partnerships.The Safer Travel Unit has successfully worked to reduce the number of recorded incidents of anti-social behaviour.

The location of Quality Bus partnerships has changed from the proposals in the LTP to tie in with Bus Operators' priorities in delivering low floor vehicles. The introduction of Quality Bus routes in Lancashire has been developed and improved over time - each subsequent QBP builds upon the lessons learnt through the delivery of the previous route. The process is continually evolving and the partnerships have a positive approach to new methods of implementation. Particular issues that have influenced the development of the partnerships have been:

Development of a detailed consultation procedure to develop Quality Bus routes incorporating the views and opinions of affected parties and meeting the needs of local people. Bus priority measures and bus stops are often very contentious and the issues can take a considerable amount of time to resolve.

Maintaining the roadside infrastructure to a ‘quality’ standard and keeping timetable information up to date occupies resources. These were not provided in the development of the original LTP1 programme.

A Quality Bus Route is never fully complete – it must be continually reviewed and improved to ensure that bus passenger numbers continue to increase and that the customers remain satisfied with the service. The performance of the route needs to be monitored at least annually and meetings have to be held every six months to resolve problems and ensure that the route does not slip into decline. There will always be a resource expenditure on existing Quality Bus Routes, which will limit the time and funding available to develop new routes.

The choice of the Quality Bus Routes included in the LTP1 programme was operator-driven, based on the plans already in place to introduce low floor buses and on the routes where the operator saw the greatest potential for patronage growth. In some cases the priorities of the bus operator have changed during the 5 year plan period. Where the introduction of low floor buses has been postponed, for instance on the Wigan to Skelmersdale route, the infrastructure improvements have been reprogrammed too. Schemes not originally in the LTP have been developed and introduced into the programme. A key scheme is the Preston Orbit route, which received funding through the DfT's KickStart initiative. 

Two Quality Bus partnerships have not produced results on track for the target levels. The Preston City Centre to Preston Hospital route has seen only a 7% rise in patronage. The Ribble Valley Circular, a pilot rural Quality Bus partnership, has maintained patronage but has shown no measurable growth to date.

Skelmersdale Roundabout was introduced with the support of funding from Urban Bus Challenge. The scheme demonstrated the demand for reliable and economic public transport from disadvantaged areas to employment areas.The scheme ran successfully for two years and took people, who in many cases had no alternative but an expensive taxi ride, to their place of employment. Unfortunately, the cost of running the scheme exceeded the revenue it generated. When the initial funding ran out, there was no other source available to meet the cost of continuing the service. Despite the social benefits that the service provided, the County Council, with great regret, had no choice but to withdraw the service.

Strategy implemented broadly as planned. Bus Operators have welcomed the reduction in delays.

Burnley-Nelson-Colne Main Line

Bus lanes on;

• Westway towards Padiham, 400m
• Padiham Road from Tim Bobbin PH towards Burnley, 200m
• Church Street towards Colne, 70m
• St James’ Street restricted to buses only
• Selective Vehicle Detection at 14 junctions.

Lancaster; Heysham to Lancaster University Routes

• Morecambe Road bus lane into Lancaster and Scale Hall junction
• Contraflow bus lane on Parliament Street
• Bus only on Spring Garden Street
• Bus only on Damside Street into bus station
• Chapel Street bus and access only
• Junction of Morecambe Road and Owen Road – bus priority for right turn
• Owen road junction with Slyne Road – short length of bus lane on approach to the signalsMinor bus priority;
• Ashford Road bus only link for new housing development
• Rising bollard at bus gate into Salt Ayre Sports Centre.

Preston; City Centre to Ingol and Royal Preston Hospital

• Bus lanes on Church Street, Fishergate and Fishergate Hill
• Bus-only right hand lane for turning from Ringway into Friargate
• Selective Vehicle Detection at key junctions - now being linked to the Real Time Passenger Information System to provide priority for buses which are behind schedule.

Hyndburn Circular

• Contraflow bus lane on Whalley Road, Accrington.

Chorley to Wigan and Accrington to Bacup Quality Bus Routes

• Selective Vehicle Detection at key junctions.

Walton-le-Dale Park & Ride

• Bus only link road to the site
• New signal controlled junction with Selective Vehicle Detection.

Strategy implemented broadly as planned

There has been investment in Quality Bus partnerships which has delivered monitored cost effective benefits to bus passengers i.e over 655 bus stop upgrades and approximately 113km in total of Quality Bus Routes. Routes have included bus priority measures at appropriate locations mainly through traffic signal priority.

Quality Bus schemes demonstrate the successful partnerships formed with District Councils and bus operators. We work across boundaries with neighbouring and near-by authorities - GMPTE, Merseytravel, Cheshire County Council, Cumbria County Council, Halton Borough Council and Warrington Borough Council. Lancashire has worked in partnership with District Councils to provide three major new interchanges in Lancaster, Burnley and Chorley.

The North and South Lancashire Local Transport Partnerships identified local needs and introduced appropriate solutions. West Lancashire Community Rail Partnership was formed in 2000 and has worked to enhance and refurbish services in West Lancashire including integration with the bus network.

NoWcard Concessionary Bus Pass, a pilot smart card project undertaken in partnership with Cumbria County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council.

The County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Elevate have jointly identified a scheme for bus based Rapid Transit in East Lancashire. A major scheme bid for the rejuvenation of the Blackpool to Fleetwood Tramway has been prepared in partnership with Blackpool Borough Council.

Delivered largely as planned.

There has been a substantial integration of conventional bus services with health and community transport and the voluntary sector. We have supported a network of Community Transport operations. Together with our own Demand Responsive and Dial-a-Ride services, often operated by Community Transport providers, we offer travel to most residents of Lancashire who are unable to use conventional transport. We also support the Communicars schemes using volunteer drivers spread across the County. Our annual budget to support Community Transport and Communicars exceeds £800,000. Community Transport schemes are complemented by rural services which have been integrated with the programme of Village Resource Centres wherever possible.

Demand Responsive Transport; Carnforth Connect from Carnforth bus/rail interchange, Garstang Super 8, Bowland Transit from Clitheroe bus/rail interchange and Pendle Wayfarer.

Dial-a-Ride services; Ribble Valley Rider, Rossendale County Rider and Kirkham Link.

Dial-a-Ride to Healthcare services; Wyldefyre (Fylde & Wyre), Transport to Health (West Lancashire) and Red Rose Runner (South Ribble & Chorley).

Key conventional bus services in rural areas; Fylde Villager, Wyre Villager and services to hospitals and healthcare.

The Wyre Ferry links rural Over Wyre via Knott End to Fleetwood and connecting bus and tram services.

Strategy implemented broadly as planned with positive outcomes.

The total number of passengers on Lancashire's bus network has grown by 6% between 2003/04 and 2005/06 exceeding the target of 4% growth set for this period.

The target increase in the number of bus passenger journeys on Quality Bus Networks of over 15% by 2006 has been delivered on most of the Quality Bus Partnership routes.

The number of people using Lancashire's railway stations has grown by 27% over the five year LTP period exceeding a target of 10% growth for this period.

A target was set to increase the number of community transport journeys to 18% by 2006, an increase of 21.5% has been achieved.

The percentage of users satisfied with public transport information grew from 59% in 2000 to 61% in 2003.

Part of the strategy implemented very successfully; some elements delayed.

Park & Ride for Preston has been increased with the extension and upgrading of the Portway site together with the new, 800 space, Capitol Centre Park and Ride at Walton-le-Dale . The two sites provide a total of over 1,200 spaces for the City and have proved successful in reducing the number of car journeys into the City Centre. From 1st December 2002 to 2nd February 2004, the number of passengers carried is Port Way  537,419 and Walton-Le-Dale 608,662.

Strategy implemented broadly as planned and outputs exceeded forecasts.

Chorley Interchange links the new bus station to an improved railway station to make business and leisure journeys easier to Preston and Manchester.

We have built rural bus/rail interchanges at Carnforth, Clitheroe and Burscough Bridge. Carnforth Connect bus services are timed to connect at Carnforth with trains serving the south. The Bowland Transit bus runs from Clitheroe Interchange to Settle station on the Leeds-Carlisle line, also calling at Giggleswick station on the Skipton-Carnforth Line. Combined train and bus tickets are available to Carnforth and Clitheroe. The Garstang Super 8 links Garstang to rail services at Poulton. The Silverdale Shuttle runs from the village to the station to meet the most popular trains. The DalesRail service runs from Blackpool to Carlisle via Settle on summer Sundays, with bus links to Dent, Wensleydale and the North Pennines.

We have built Park & Ride sites at Clitheroe and Euxton stations. New cycle paths have been built to Lancaster and Ormskirk stations. Cycle parking has been improved at key transport interchanges such as Clitheroe, Lancaster and Carnforth railway stations.

West Lancashire Community Rail Partnership has resulted in a variety of achievements including the completion of a Transport Needs Assessment to determine the demand for transport from people with a mobility disadvantage. We have made improvements to the stations at Croston, Parbold and Burscough Bridge and extended weekday evening services on the Wigan to Southport line. A booklet shows cycle rides from West Lancashire stations.

Leeds to Morecambe line Community Rail Partnership has continued marketing the City, Country, Coast initiative and made an approved bid to improve services between Leeds and Morecambe.

East Lancashire line improvements include Colne, Rishton, Church and Oswaldtwistle station initiatives with improved passenger facilities and development of passenger waiting shelters using wind and solar power to provide lighting and marketing campaigns based on the Rail Easy theme.

Developments on the Manchester-Blackburn-Clitheroe line include; service improvements to provide an hourly Sunday service; co-ordination with bus services to promote integration of modes eg Clitheroe Combi ticket; extension of the Interchange Customer Service Office to provide improved staff and passenger accommodation and to enable new roles to be developed;  marketing initiatives for the Manchester-Blackburn-Clitheroe line eg extension of the Cheap Evening Returns to stations between Blackburn and Clitheroe; and the Bright Lights, Hot City Nights campaign.

Other station improvements include Chorley booking office and waiting rooms to complement Chorley Interchange; improved security with CCTV at Clitheroe and Chorley stations; refurbishments at Burnley and Ormskirk stations.

Strategy implemented broadly as planned and outputs exceeded forecasts.

The number of passenger journeys from rail stations in Lancashire has increased from 3.72 million to 4.73 million over the 5 year LTP1 period, an increase of 27%.

Impacts of individual schemes have given one year increases of:

• Parbold: 19%  (04/05 to 05/06) increase in patronage following completion of the station refurbishment and extension of booking office opening hours. Now 103,000 passenger journeys per annum.
• Burscough Bridge: 14%  (04/05 to 05/06) increase following opening of the new Interchange in November 2005. Now 155,000 passenger journeys per annum.
• Church & Oswaldtwistle: 13% (04/95 to 05/06) increase following completion of station refurbishment and development of links to Oswaldtwistle Mills
• Clitheroe Interchange: 8% increase (04/05 to 05/06) now 217,000 passengers journeys per annum
• Carnforth: 16% increase 03/04 to 04/05 and 5% increase 04/05 to 05/06; now 158,500 passenger journeys per annum
• Rishton: 3% increase  04/05 to 05/06 but refurbishment not completed.

Implemented broadly as planned.

Lancashire County Council is a major user of taxi services. We have improved awareness of the need for passengers, especially vulnerable users, to feel safe and secure. We have promoted higher standards for passenger safety, driving and personal skills and vehicle maintenance.

Through the new Passenger Transport Unit, we provide transport to school for pupils with Special Education Needs. Where pupils with special needs, for example physical, learning or behavioural difficulties, are entitled to transport to school, a taxi is often the most appropriate form of transport, owing to either the individual journey or the need for attention. We spend £7 million annually on taxi contracts plus a further £3.5 million on passenger assistants. Where suitable pupils share a route to school, they will share the taxi as a taxi-bus. Currently, 2,941 pupils are transported under 896 contracts. We provide 302 wheelchair spaces and 833 passenger assistants.

We need to carry our pupils as safely as we can and we frequently review the Conditions of Contract to keep pace with new transport regulations and Health and Safety requirements. We have forged stronger links with the Taxi Licensing and Enforcement Officers, holding regular meetings to address current issues and exchange information. We have introduced more intensive checking of vehicles through joint inspections by County Council, District Council and VOSA staff. Higher standards on County Council contracts will lead to higher standards for the general public too.

We provide adult services to Day Centres using taxis at an annual cost of £1.5 million, together with 16-seater Travelcare buses costing £7 million. All contracts are tendered. We also use taxis under contract to make weekly deliveries from Area Education Offices to individual schools.

We have promoted better driving skills and higher levels of service for taxi drivers in partnership with the Safer Travel Unit and Accrington and Rossendale College. The Lancashire Road Safety Project has worked with Licensing Officers and taxi drivers to persuade passengers to wear safety belts. In Lancaster, we have responded to requests from taxi operators for greater access to the city centre via bus lanes. In Fylde, the Borough Council has established the Fylde Quality Taxi Partnership as a model to provide better local taxi services.

Implemented broadly as planned within resources available.

The new bus stations in Lancaster (opened March 2001), Burnley (opened August 2002) and Chorley (opened March 03) (Category A) have been very successful at increasing access to the public transport network and are significant points of interchange between transport services. The new bus stations in Lancaster and Burnley replaced outdated facilities on the same site. The new interchange for Chorley was on a new site adjacent to the railway station and improvements to the rail element completed the scheme in 2004.

Ormskirk, Preston and Rawtenstall schemes featured in original LTP propsals. However, the resources available for LTP1 were insufficient to support all the schemes. Schemes were therefore prioritised and these three schemes, along with proposals for Nelson, Cleveleys and Accrington form part of LTP2.

Following the success of the Burnley & Chorley interchange schemes there has been a demand for similar new interchanges in each major centre in Lancashire. Again, there is a limit to resources and funding to ensure simultaneous progression of all the schemes, hence the revised priority in LTP2.

Strategy implemented broadly as planned

Information at bus stops has now increased to 55%.

Timetable leaflets have been made clearer and easier to read.

Website development to provide transport information via the internet www.transportforlancashire.com.

Promotion of Traveline call centre to enhance the provision of public transport information.

Real Time on principal routes in Preston and Preston-Leyland.

Rural Real Time on Carnforth Connect and Silverdale Shuttle.

Now over 1500 bus stops are included in the national SMS bus enquiry service. This provides timetable information for the next three buses from a specific stop to a mobile phone.

NoWcard Concessionary Bus Pass, a pilot smart card project undertaken in partnership with Cumbria County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council. At present, the scheme is limited to concessionary pass holders who are over 60 or have a sensory, mobility or learning disability. Each NoWcard has a small microchip, which holds details of the concessionary fare discount. All bus operators based within Lancashire and Cumbria have now been equipped with on-bus smart card readers and compatible ticket machines. The ticket machine can read the NoWcard, check its validity and ensure that the correct fare is charged.

The aim of the project is to;

• Improve service delivery for entitled persons;
• Improve the reimbursement arrangements for bus operators;
• Provide accurate management data for the district councils responsible for concessionary travel.

Ticket schemes;

• Ribble Valley Day Ranger is one ticket which can be used all day to a large number of destinations throughout Ribble Valley. The ticket is great value for money and encourages the use of the bus network. Currently 14 operators participate in the scheme.
• Clitheroe Combi promotes cross mode travel between trains and buses on rail services to Clitheroe and on Bowland Transit bus services.

The LTP1 target for bus stop information was that 60% of all stops would have timetable information by March 2006. However due to software development problems this is slightly behind programme and currently 55% have this information.

Integrated ticketing has not come into effect at this stage due to the reluctance of some operators and competition issues.