UPDATE 2nd June 2008
The revised Regional Transport Strategy
has been submitted to the Transport Minister for approval.
Please click on the following link
to view the document:
http://www.tactran.gov.uk/documents/TACTRANRTS-April2008.pdf
UPDATE 14th February 2008.
The TACTRAN Stakeholder Workshop 6.2.08
On 6th Feb 2008, The Quality Hotel hosted a TACTRAN Stakeholder Workshop. The appointed CT representatives
from Angus, Stirling, Dundee and Perth and Kinross, joined 30 other Stakeholders for the event. This event
formed the first meeting of the TACTRAN Bus and Community Transport/Demand Responsive Forum. It was noted that Community Transport
was no longer represented as a sub-group on the modal map of the forum, but has been moved up to join:
¨ Regional Walking
and Cycling Forum
¨ Regional Freight
Forum
¨ Regional Rail Forum
¨ Regional Buses
Forum
Regional Transport Strategy
An update on the Regional Transport Strategies was provided by Eric Guthrie, stating that ministers have
advised RTP’s to review the strategy documents submitted in 2007, develop delivery plans (in place of the ‘Interventions’)
and re-submit in June 2008. Sub-strategies such as those on Travel Information,
Park & Ride and Bus,CT & DRT should be ready in April.
Draft strategies will be prepared by the end of February. A Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA) will be produced to assess the strategy during March, with the draft final strategy and accompanying SEA
and Equalities Impact Assessment produced by the end of March.
A further meeting
will take place early April where the terms of reference and membership of the Bus, CT and Demand Responsive Transport Forum
will be agreed and provision of Advisors to the Board.
Confirmation was given that funding is to go to the local authorities and not the Regional Transport
Partnerships. RTP delivery plans must therefore be strategic and add value to what local authorities can achieve alone. They must also fit within the Scottish Government’s strategic objectives, the
concordat with local government and the forthcoming Council Outcome Agreements.
The RTP’s have successfully convinced Parliament of their value however there are boundary issues
to overcome. TACTRAN are currently working with SESTRAN on park and ride issues below the Tay.
Presentations were given by:
MVA Consultancy: The TACTRAN Regional Travel information Strategy and Regional Bus Information Strategy
Colin Buchanan: TACTRAN Park and Ride Strategy (Initial Consultation)
Steer Davies Gleave: Introduction to the TACTRAN Bus Strategy and Community & Demand Responsive Action
Plan.
Stakeholders were split into discussion groups to discuss draft objectives and solutions:
Draft objectives: Economy
Ι To ensure that key employment, education and tourism locations are linked to the public
transport network by a service that meets the needs of the local workforce.
Ι To achieve improvements in the efficiency and reliability of the region’s bus,
community and demand responsive transport network.
Ι Potential solutions:
■ Enhance network coverage, service frequencies
and hours of operation
■ Potential for the joined-up provision / co-ordination
of CT / DRT
■ Bus priority measures
Draft objectives: Accessibility, equity and social inclusion
Ι To enhance network coverage and ensure that everyone across the region has access to
a key regional centre / destination either by bus or community or demand responsive transport.
Ι To remove physical and financial barriers to accessing bus, community and demand responsive
transport services and infrastructure.
Ι To ensure a level of information provision across the whole bus, community and demand
responsive transport network that promotes its use and does not hinder accessibility.
Ι Potential solutions
■ Enhance network coverage, service frequencies
and hours of operation on key routes and to key destinations
■ Measures for overcoming physical, hearing and
visual barriers to travelling by bus, community or demand responsive transport
■ Multi-tickets providing discounts on journeys
■ Salary Sacrifice Scheme for season tickets
■ Co-ordinated approach to marketing and publicity
Draft objectives: Environment
Ι To enhance the environmental standards of the public transport fleet and contribute
to reductions in harmful emissions.
Ι Potential solutions
■ Set minimum vehicle standards e.g. EURO IV/V
emissions
■ Demand management / travel behaviour change
programme to encourage mode shift
■ Information / publicity measures to encourage
mode shift
■ High quality services and facilities to provide
a realistic alternative to the car
Draft objectives: Health and well-being
Ι To increase physical activity and improve access to leisure opportunities across the
region by bus and / or community and demand responsive transport.
Ι Potential solutions
■ New / increased frequency of services to fill
gaps in the network
■ Increase penetration / frequency of services
to key leisure and open space destinations from across the region
■ CT / DRT services providing access to leisure
opportunities for specific groups of people e.g. tourists, elderly, young people.
■ Improved walking links to bus stops
Draft objective: Safety and security
Ι To provide improved provisions for the safety of passengers when travelling on the
bus, community and demand responsive transport network.
Ι Potential solutions
■ Increased CCTV coverage on vehicles and at
key interchanges
■ Driver training
■ Lighting
■ Staff at key interchanges
■ Enhanced evening and night time services
Draft objectives: Integration
Ι To increase connectivity between services and between different modes of transport.
Ι To strengthen the links between land use planning and provision of public transport.
Ι Potential solutions
■ Real time information
■ Provision of cycle parking / lockers at key
interchanges
■ Improved pedestrian links to bus stops and
interchanges
■ Park and Ride provision
■ Improved waiting facilities at interchanges
■ Timetable enhancements to better integrate
services
■ Developer contributions for new transport services
/ infrastructure as part of new developments
Further comments
were invited by 11 February.
It is hoped that the comments of the Stakeholders will play a significant role in developing strategies
and developing delivery.
TACTRAN, what it is and what it means to
Community Transport
BACKGROUND
Money and funding for many Community Transport
Groups across Scotland previously came
from the Scottish Executive in the form of the Rural Community Transport Initiative (RCTI.) The RCTI Scheme is now closed
for applications with the last applications decided in June 2007. Some groups were unsuccessful and for some groups funding
remains in place to March 2008, 2009 and 2010.
CURRENT INFORMATION ( Dec 07)
Instead of the above arrangement, the Scottish Executive are contemplating allocating Regional
Transport Partnerships (RTP’s.) The Regional Transport Partnership for the Tayside And Central region is called TACTRAN. A draft transport strategy for the region was submitted by TACTRAN to the Scottish
Government but has yet to be approved.
The recent Scottish Government Spending Review
has allocated funding for public transport, demand responsive and community transport to local authorities rather than the
RTP’s. These funds are not ring-fenced and will form part of the general
allocation to local authorities. It is unlikely to be clear before December what funds will be allocated by local authorities
towards transport and how these funds will be disbursed.
The funding situation for community transport organisations
is less clear than ever.
WHAT ARE PKCTG DOING?
We have pulled together an informal Forum called
the “Alternative Transport Providers Forum” to enable CT providers from across the region to respond to the draft
strategy and engage with the RTP.
At a meeting
on 10 October TACTRAN Director Eric Guthrie highlighted his proposals for ongoing communication
through a Demand Responsive Transport Forum. TACTRAN has also recently invited
bids for development of a Buses Strategy and CT/DRT
Action Plan to be undertaken by March 2008.
As any further developments are announced, we shall post information
on this website.
If you supply Community Transport and would like to engage with others,
please contact PKCTG
Minutes of 4.9.07 TACTRAN/CT Meeting
Venue:
Committee Room 5. Podium Block, Tayside
House,
Crichton Street, Dundee
The Alternative Transport Providers Forum Meeting
Present:
Jan
Goodall (Chairman)
Dundee Accessible Transport Action Group (DATAG)
Sue
Sadler
PKCTG
Norman
Jarvie
PKCTG
Duncan
Hearsum
Order of Malta Dial A Journey, Stirling
Brian
Masson
Angus Transport Forum
Edith
Hamilton
Dundee Accessible Transport Action Group (DATAG)
Tom
Patullo
(DATAG)
Sandra
Robertson
WRVS Territory
Manager Forth Valley
Kelvin
Reay
P&K Volunteer Group and Rural Outreach Scheme (PKVGROS)
Ann
Munro
PKVGROS
Morna
Calcott
PKVGROS
Frank
Muggridge
Strathcare
Sandra
Clements
WRVS
Dick
Laing
Perth Access Cars
Morag
Maich
Dundee Community Transport
Frances
Scott (late)
Angus Transport Forum and Angus Access Panel
Neill
Aitken
On Behalf of Comrie Hospital Cars
Rosemary
Rankin
WRVS Territory
Manager
James
Fyfe
Craigvinean Surgery
Hospital Cars
Angela
Prescott
RDW PKCTG
Present for the TACTRAN/CT Meeting:
As above plus:
Eric
Guthrie Director
of TACTRAN
Iain
Johnstone Community Transport Association
Neil
Gellatly Dundee
City Council
David
Brown Stirling Council
Apologies:
Peter
Stirling
Disability Information Service in Perthshire
Raine
Du Puy
Perth and Kinross Access Group
Jim
Gibb
Blairgowrie Freedom Coach Association
Ashley
Kennedy
Alyth Youth Partnership
Alistair
Stewart
Strathcare
Richard
McDermid
Capability Scotland
Isobel
Watson
Pitlochry Senior Citizens
Donald
Isles
Pitlochry Senior Citizens
Liz
Lines
Aberfeldy Hospital
Cars
Welcome, Introductions and Apologies
Jan
Goodall welcomed all present and those attending gave their name and organisations. Each part of the TACTRAN Region had representation.
The Alternative Transport Providers Forum Meeting
Discussions
took place making reference to the following:
¨ Draft Aims and Objectives
¨ Setting up the Organisation
¨ Interaction with TACTRAN and Status
The
Alternative Transport Providers Forum had come together to discuss the aim of being the voice of Community Transport to TACTRAN. The Forum aims to ensure that Community Transport, in particular funding, is not overlooked
by the RTP’s budget.
It
was agreed that the Forum would continue to operate on an informal basis.
A
series of questions were identified to ask the TACTRAN Director Eric Guthrie in the second part of the meeting.
The
following comments were noted:
¨ Different RTP’s are engaging differently.
¨ There was concern expressed - how the representation to TACTRAN or
this Forum would be sustained.
¨ That there may be advantages for the Forum of being part of a broader
region wide group, if the Forum does not limit their interests to TACTRAN.
¨ There is widespread concern regarding the future for those whose
funding ends in March 2008.
¨ Concern regarding the CTA’s current funding crisis and the
lack of a contingency plan.
