2nd Local Transport Plan Progress Report

6.2.3 Public Transport Improvements

Context

6.2.3.1 All public transport improvements play an essential role in managing congestion, since the provision of a reliable, high quality alternative to the car is a pre-requisite to achieving a change in travel behaviour. In the context of the economic growth of Greater Manchester in recent years, the increase in public transport patronage has been central to keeping congestion under control. We have made significant progress on the bus, rail and Metrolink networks in terms of  measures to improve reliability and punctuality, and steps have been taken that will increase capacity on rail and Metrolink in the next few years.

6.2.3.2 The public transport measures outlined in  this chapter are those which relate most directly to improving its efficiency and capacity. Other public transport measures, such as improvements to passenger facilities, also contribute to congestion reduction by encouraging modal shift but  are covered in the 7 ‘Delivering Accessibility’ and 8 ‘Safer Roads’  chapters.

Bus Improvements

Quality Bus Corridor Programme

6.2.3.3 The Quality Bus Corridor programme includes schemes which aim to reduce the effect of traffic congestion on bus journey times, punctuality and reliability. The programme encompasses 24 key bus routes, covering over 275 km of Greater Manchester’s road network. Some sections of QBC are also Congestion Target routes.

6.2.3.4 The majority of the programme was funded through a 'topslice' from Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Block funding. This accounted for £55 million of the £88 million programme. The remainder involved two ‘major schemes’, the Northern Orbital (a package of schemes in the north east) see Case Study 4 ‘Manchester New Road, Rochdale’ -and SEMMMS (see also SEMMMS Area Appendix).

6.2.3.5 The aims of the QBC programme included:

• reducing bus journey times to make them more competitive with the car;
• reducing the variability of bus journey times to make services more reliable;
• ensuring that bus services provide a real alternative to car use; 
• improving conditions for pedestrians and cyclists to encourage modal shift.

6.2.3.6 £88m has been invested in QBC routes in Greater Manchester, with over 200 improvement schemes either implemented or under construction. In summary these have delivered:

• 121 bus lanes covering over 32 km
• 29 new traffic signal junctions
• 473 “green man” pedestrian crossings within existing signals
• 162 junctions upgraded within the SCOOT Urban Traffic Control system
• 1596 parking and loading spaces
• 213 separate traffic management measures
• 138 cycle lanes covering 23 km
• 241 advance cycle stop lines
• Cycle parking facilities at 27 different locations
• 125 new signalised pedestrian crossings
• 57 un-controlled crossings such as refuge islands.

6.2.3.7 With the planned programme reaching its conclusion, an evaluation was carried out on ten key corridors (which accounted for 80% of the total investment) to understand what has been achieved and what remains to be done to address problem areas.

6.2.3.8 One of the most important indicators is the  impact on patronage. This has been reviewed, using data provided by the two core operators of frequent services on the QBC network, First Group & Stagecoach. In total, patronage on QBC routes has increased by 7.98m journeys between 03/04 and 07/08,representing an 18.6% increase overall, compared to  a much lower increase on the whole bus network. The contribution that QBC patronage makes to total Greater Manchester patronage has grown, reaching 22.37% in 07/08, and journeys on QBC routes have accounted for over 20% of total GM bus patronage since 2006.

6.2.3.9 Bus punctuality has improved on all but one route, where there has been a very small rise in average excess wait time (EWT) since 2005. Although EWT does vary year on year, it has notably decreased between 2005  and 2007.

6.2.3.10 Bus competitiveness has been measured by assessing whether the “gap” between car and bus journey times has reduced or increased. Available data shows that  bus journey times are becoming more competitive with the car.

6.2.3.11 There has been an encouraging reduction in accidents in the areas of major QBC schemes (see 8 ‘Safer Roads’).

6.2.3.12 Overall, the QBC network evaluation has demonstrated that major infrastructure investment has provided real and tangible benefits for Greater Manchester by encouraging a resurgence in patronage levels, which has helped the QBC network to significantly outperform the non-QBC network. The contribution of bus operators to this success has also been illustrated with investment of over £50m in upgrading bus fleets, improving training and enhancing the frequency of their services.

New Metroshuttle Service

6.2.3.13 The free Metroshuttle bus services in the Regional Centre have made it easier for people coming into the Regional Centre by public transport to access their destination easily, and have contributed to public transport's growing modal share (see 14 ‘LTP2 Indicators’). The services now carry over 2.28m passenger journeys per year. The third Metroshuttle route,  introduced in September 2005, providing a route between Piccadilly Rail Station and Salford Central Rail Station, has helped to meet demand. Additional waiting facilities were provided at Piccadilly to enable efficient boarding and avoid excessive queueing.

Other measures to improve bus punctuality and reliability

6.2.3.14 Improving bus service punctuality and reliability is a key part of our strategy to tackle the effects of congestion, both directly by reducing delays to bus passengers, and indirectly by encouraging modal shift away from single occupancy vehicle use. The GMPTE Tracking Survey ranks improving reliability as the top priority.

6.2.3.15 Highway Authorities have  worked with operators on Punctuality Improvement Plans (PIPs) to identify 'hotspots' (and other issues of operator concern) where highway issues affect bus performance  and to make plans for future improvements. These are voluntary agreements where the operator agrees to service improvements, such as low floor vehicles and the highway authorities improve infrastructure on highway. First have introduced PIPs for most routes in the north of the area, whereas Stagecoach have concentrated on developing them for 'problem' routes.

6.2.3.16 Working with First , Wigan, Tameside and Bolton implemented a number of junction improvements to improve conditions for buses. Similarly Stockport made improvements to the 378 route as part of the Kickstart scheme with Stagecoach (see Accessibility Chapter) and also reviewed the Stockport-Marple route.

6.2.3.17 GMPTE have reviewed timetables for subsidised services  and revised them to take account of local conditions.

6.2.3.18 A new Punctuality & Reliability Monitoring System (PRMS) was introduced in April 2008, following a successful pilot scheme. This will give us a robust (planned, repeatable) process to capture performance data across the network, and will create the baseline from which we can monitor trends in performance. The bus operators have been fundamental to the development of this process, and they are receiving monthly information.

6.2.3.19 The GMPTE  Traffic Manager provides operational engineering and traffic management expertise and information necessary to support the bus network, both to the ten local authorities and the bus operators.

Improved Passenger Facilities

6.2.3.20 Improvements to passenger facilities have been undertaken in a number of cases to address factors which were inhibiting use of public transport on potentially busy corridors where modal shift to public transport could help address congestion. These include schemes at:

• Metroshuttle Waiting Facilities at Piccadilly.
• Eccles Travelshop.
• Bolton Moor Lane Bus Station.
• Oldham West Street Bus Station.
• Middleton Bus Station

6.2.3.21 We also continued with a programme of installing bus shelters. Since this programme began in 2004, we have installed 651 shelters. Of these 355 were provided on key routes as part of the QBC programme, and the remaining 296 were at locations with either no or inadequate shelters.

6.2.3.22  Improvements to passenger information at bus stops are dealt with in 7 ‘Delivering Accessibility’

 

Rail Improvements

Reliability and Punctuality

6.2.3.23  Improvements in public transport reliability and punctuality are identified by GMPTE's Tracking Survey as the main improvement necessary to attract additional users and encourage modal shift from car.

6.2.3.24 We have worked with operators to review the timetable and make small changes which have provided a more robust timetable with the flexibility to recover from delays in the Piccadilly area, and to minimise knock-on disruptions. This approach has been extended across other services in the region. Quality Improvement Initiatives have already seen improvements on key routes by a collective approach to problem solving such as late running owing to temporary speed restrictions. Track improvements led to removal of speed restrictions which improved performance.

6.2.3.25 The national measure of punctuality and reliability is the Passenger Performance Measure (PPM). The moving annual average for Liverpool and Manchester area has improved by 2%, (2006/2007 88.1%) (2007/2008 90.3%).

Interchange Improvements

6.2.3.26 Interchange improvements are dealt with more fully in the Accessibility chapter, but those with a direct impact on congestion, for example service capacity/patronage and passenger journey times, are included here. The Greater Manchester Railplan identified the need to make value for money improvements to some interchanges in order to relieve congestion on the network or improve patronage of local stations where we believe them to be underused. Examples of such improvements include:

• The construction of a third platform on the south side of Manchester Airport station, which is due for completion at the end of 2008. (see  5.3 ‘Land Use’ ). This will improve punctuality and reliability of trains operating to/from Manchester Airport and will enable longer trains to be operated to reduce crowding beyond Manchester (e.g to Stalybridge/Leeds and Bolton/Preston). As well as improving access to Manchester Airport, it will reduce crowding and improve service performance across the North west and parts of adjacent regions. The £15millon project is jointly funded by GMPTE, Network Rail and Northern Way.
• The funding of interim glazing for the roof canopy on the Metrolink platform at Altrincham prior to the station's eventual redevelopment, in response to the concerns of local stakeholders. This should improve waiting comfort at the station.
• The first of a series of planned improvements to Stalybridge station were made.  Transpennine Express have funded the raising of the platforms to make it easier to get on and off trains. This complements their introduction of a new fleet of 100mph-capability diesel trains on the line.
•  A new gate  at Davenport has has made it quicker to get to the Manchester-bound platform when the ticket office is closed. Passengers previously had to use three sets of steps and cross the footbridge to reach the  platform. 

Community Rail Partnerships

6.2.3.27 We are encouraging more people to use rail services through the use of Community Rail Partnerships and station adoption.

6.2.3.28 We work with the following Community Rail Partnerships: Crewe-Manchester, Mid Cheshire, Hope Valley and High Peak, South Pennines, West of Lancashire and East Lancashire. Rail operators, local authorities and GMPTE fund 15 station adoption groups in the Greater Manchester area, which help improve station maintenance to encourage their use.

Park and Ride

6.2.3.29 The provision of appropriate Park and Ride Facilities should lead to a reduction in congestion if former car users transfer to public transport. Permanent (year round) park and ride in Greater Manchester is currently based on rail and Metrolink, which are able to provide journey times competitive with the car without being dependent on park and ride as the sole source of revenue.

6.2.3.30 The expanded future role of park and ride is currently being considered, informed by the evaluation of the Regional Centre Christmas Park & Ride study. Particular attention is being paid to possible provision along segregated public transport modes (rail, Metrolink and segregated busways) and to sites in the outer parts of the conurbation.

6.2.3.31  As part of the overall redevelopment of the area in 2006, a new  car park was opened at Whitefield to enable car users to transfer to Metrolink.  This popular facility created park and ride capacity for 127 cars and included the provision of disabled parking. An access road and bus turn-round (replacing the town's old bus station) was incorporated into the scheme to enable passenger drop off and pick up adjacent to the platform. CCTV camera coverage contributes to safety and security of vehicles and users alike. The scheme led to an increase in patronage at Whitefield of around 10%, measured in ticket sales, between 2006 and 2008.

6.2.3.32 The BLUC bicycle locker scheme can expand station catchment areas thereby helping to boost patronage on rail lines and reduce congestion on routes to stations. The system was expanded further with an additional 20 lockers installed on the Altrincham and Bury Metrolink lines, bringing the total number of lockers in the scheme to 156.

Metrolink Improvements

6.2.3.33 Improvements to Metrolink services aim to increase patronage and to encourage modal shift from car, so reducing congestion on key radial routes to and from Manchester city centre.

Bury-Altrincham Line upgrade

6.2.3.34 We made substantial progress on the approved £102 million scheme to upgrade the Altrincham and Bury Metrolink lines.  Nearly 20 miles of track was replaced,giving a much improved quality of ride for passengers and reducing noise. In addition, stops were improved, as described in 7 ‘Delivering Accessibility’

Service Improvements

6.2.3.35 The main issues to address were the lack of capacity in peak times, and the reliability of the service, which had been identified in LTP2 as the main constraints on further patronage increases.

6.2.3.36 New timetables were introduced in November 2007. Extra capacity at busy periods in response to peak spreading has been provided by operating double trams  an hour later during the morning peak, and extending the evening peak service to 8pm

6.2.3.37 Stagecoach took over the Metrolink franchise in July 2007. At the same time, a Performance Payment Regime (PPR) was introduced, with financial penalties and rewards based on performance. These are based on punctuality and reliability as well as quality standards for infrastructure maintenance. Service reliability has improved as a result from 97% to 99% of services run. Other main areas of improvement over this period include cleanliness of waiting areas, embankments and platforms, and maintenance of ticket machines, shelters, subways and footbridges, and CCTV.

6.2.3.38 In addition to the track renewals major scheme, a number of other improvements have been put in place to improve the quality and reliability of the service. An Automated Public Address system on the trams has brought major improvement in the quality and consistency of stop announcements, and additional park and ride capacity was provided.