To receive a verbal update from Mr Shane Hymers, Fastrack Development Manager, Kent County Council.
Minutes:
Mr Shane Hymers, the Fastrack Development Manager (FDM), updated Members on the Fastrack project. He advised that the new service had started on 17 November and its early performance was encouraging with a week-on-week growth in patronage. Current figures stood at nearly 400 passenger journeys per day, with 95% of buses operating on time (defined as no more than 1 minute early or 5 minutes late). A few pinch points, such as the bridge at the Tesco roundabout, had been identified which would necessitate some adjustment to the timetable.
In response to Councillor O C de R Richardson who enquired about electric vehicles, the FDM advised that Volvo BZL buses had been ordered, were being customised for Dover and it was anticipated that they would be on the road in August. He added that
the supporting infrastructure at Dover Priory station was expected to be completed by late March/early April.
Councillor M Bates commented that the no. 61 bus was unable to access the bus-stop within the Tesco site which meant that passengers could not travel from Tesco directly into Dover town centre and vice versa. The FDM advised that installing a bus-stop opposite the Tesco petrol station would require a reconfiguration of the road, and Tesco had been difficult to engage with. Moreover, there were other complications that had to be taken into account such as journey time variability and traffic backlog at the petrol station. Nevertheless, Kent County Council (KCC) officers were continuing with efforts to engage with Tesco. Councillor Bates indicated that he had been assured that Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology would deter unauthorised vehicles from using the Fastrack route and asked whether compliance statistics could be provided. He also mentioned that the timetable publicised the service as connecting to the first and last departures at Dover Priory, running from 7.00am to 7.00pm.
The FDM acknowledged that the bus connections at Tesco were not ideal and that the signage to the Fastrack bus-stop needed improving which officers were in the process of doing. He advised that there had been a 20% reduction between weeks 2 and 3 in unauthorised vehicles using the Fastrack route. The current approach was to issue warning letters rather than fining drivers immediately. He confirmed that officers were working on a revised timetable that would link the timing of buses to the first and last high-speed trains at Dover Priory. It was anticipated that the new timetable would be introduced in February/March. The reason for the delay was due to Stagecoach’s costs being higher than expected which meant that the funding from developer contributions had had to be spit over a year.
In response to Councillor D G Cronk who asked about battery charging and Pencester Road, the FDM advised that three buses would be running at any one time. The pantograph model of bus used for the Fastrack service would take a top-up charge on each circuit of the bus route. The more the batteries were topped up, the longer they lasted. When KCC had bid for grant funding for electrification, provision had been made for two chargers for Dover – one at Dover Priory and the other in the vicinity of Archers Court where the Fastrack service was likely to be extended to under a future phase of the project. When not in use, buses would be stationed at Stagecoach’s depot at Whitfield where there were also plug-in chargers. A good deal of testing had been carried out on the vehicles and having depot chargers would provide additional resilience. He confirmed that the average lifespan of diesel buses was 16 years, but electric buses would be expected to last longer, providing the batteries were well maintained. A battery replacement programme had been built into the cost of the project. He advised that highway works at Pencester Road were on schedule to be completed in February.
The FDM commented that, whilst there had been teething issues, this was to be expected for a large project. The Dover scheme was similar to an existing one in Dartford which had seen development spring up around it and eventually the introduction of a night bus service.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.