ATCO - Transport Professionals

County Council comes out fighting on £4.5 million concessionary bus fare shortfall - Fair Fares petition launched

A campaign backed by councillors, businesses and MPs to persuade the Government to fairly fund the concessionary bus scheme in Norfolk is being launched by Norfolk County Council on today (26 September 2011).

A full meeting of the County Council at County Hall will debate a £4.5 million shortfall in funding for the scheme - which allows pass holders to travel free on buses - and be told how the gap is putting extreme pressure on maintaining rural bus services.

Under the Government's scheme, eligible older and disabled people are entitled to free off-peak travel with about 180,000 passholders in Norfolk.

But the costs of providing the minimum scheme far outstrip resources allocated by the Government, and in light of the shortfall, Norfolk County Council leaders have decided to mount a campaign during the Autumn calling for 'Fair Fares' for Norfolk.

As well as a Fair Fares petition, which will be available online and on many Norfolk buses, the County Council will be linking with Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis who has secured a Westminster Hall debate on rural buses on Tuesday October 11 to help highlight the county's plight.

The petition will be officially launched outside County Hall at 12.30pm today where council leaders and Brandon Lewis will display a giant bus ticket demanding the return of £4.5m of funding to Norfolk taxpayers. A number of buses will provide a backdrop for the occasion.

Norfolk County Council Leader Derrick Murphy said: "We strongly support the principle of the concessionary bus fare scheme, but the Government simply must give us the tools to do the job. It's completely unfair that taxpayers in Norfolk are being saddled with a huge bill for a scheme at a time when funding for rural transport is under such extreme pressure. We need to send a strong message to Westminster that this unfair system simply can't continue."

Graham Plant, Cabinet member for Planning and Transportation, added: "The way the Government has allocated funding for the scheme is costing our taxpayers more than any other council in the region and we are one of the hardest hit areas in the whole country.

"We are investing almost 30% more money into public transport this year compared to last year, but our ability to support the rural bus network is diminishing* due to the pressure from the concessionary fares shortfall. This is an injustice which we have to address and I urge people to join our campaign and force the Government to think again."

Brandon Lewis, MP for Great Yarmouth, said: "I am a passionate supporter of the bus service in Norfolk. In a rural county such as ours, it is a vital lifeline to many hundreds of people in Great Yarmouth and thousands in Norfolk as a whole. However, the current framework the Coalition Government has inherited from the previous government is unsustainable and has the potential create a perverse situation where councils are paying to provide passes to residents who will not have any buses to use them on.

"I am supporting this campaign, as I feel it is essential that ministers, especially Norman Baker MP, understand how serious this situation is. I intend my Westminster Hall debate to act as a catalyst to this process; it will bring Norfolk Buses to the very heart of Parliament. It is important that the campaign is backed by residents. We need to show that Norfolk people value and care about their bus service, so I would encourage everyone to sign the petition."

Support for the campaign has come from MPs such as Norman Lamb and Keith Simpson, the Norfolk Rural Community Council, bus operators such as Norfolk Green, First, Anglian, Konect, Sanders and Simonds as well as the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Blind.

Although Norfolk is the hardest hit council in the region, councils in Eastern England are having to use scarce resources to fund the scheme. The shortfall in Cambridgeshire last year was put at £1.9m, £1m in Suffolk and £1.7m in Hertfordshire.

The Fairs Fare online petition can be accessed via either the county council's website www.norfolk.gov.uk or http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/fair-funding-for-concessionary-fares.html

In addition to signing the online petition, anyone can register approval of the campaign's Facebook page by searching http://www.facebook.com/fairfaresnorfolk

Hard copy petitions are available for download from www.norfolk.gov.uk

Petitions will be available at reception at County Hall, at Norwich and King's Lynn bus stations and in libraries. County councillors and staff will be out gathering names for the petition in the coming weeks.

Ian Mackie, Deputy Leader of Norfolk County Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, said: "Speaking up for Norfolk is a key role for the council and our residents will want us to bring to the Government's attention the seriousness of the situation. We need action now to right a very serious financial wrong going forward.

"We know just how important bus services are in Norfolk for a whole host of reasons, that’s why in early September I announced extra money to support our rural buses and post 16 student travel over the next financial year. However, funding the gap in concessionary fares diminishes our ability to maintain and enhance public transport where it cannot be run commercially.  Without fair fares we are always going to be financially two steps forward and one step back."

Importantly, if as a result of the campaign, the Government fully funded the concessionary scheme, Norfolk County Council will seek to support local transport priorities and could look very seriously at supporting discretionary transport services.

Jon Clemo, Chief Executive of Norfolk Rural Community Council, added: "Good transport links are vital for rural areas and a fair funding deal is essential in supporting the most vulnerable in our communities. Investment needs to take account of Norfolk’s large rural nature.

"Public and community transport, together with other ways of improving service access are key in sustaining vibrant rural communities. We would urge people to get involved in supporting a fair funding deal for Norfolk.”

One operator affected by the shortfall is Norfolk Green, which provides buses throughout West Norfolk and along the North Norfolk coast.

Ben Colson, Managing Director, said: "The shortfall of funding from central government to the County to implement what is a central government social policy is affecting payments to us, which are falling all the time.

"We are getting close to a point where some buses, even full ones, will make a loss and this is something we cannot sustain without being forced, unfairly, to increase fares for other age groups, especially those between 16 and 24 which make up the majority of our fare paying customers. Government has to listen and accept that they have got it wrong, and take urgent steps to put it right.”

The campaign is being supported by the Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Blind, which represents 20,000 blind and partially sighted people in the county.

Chris Maule-Oatway, who is blind and an equipment adviser from the charity, said: “Restoration of full government funding is absolutely vital for all blind bus pass users, particularly those who need the bus to get to work and continue to live independently.  It has placed a huge extra financial burden on us, at least £500 a year, and this is a real slap in the face, especially for those on a low income."

Jonathan Cage, Board Member of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce with responsibility for Planning and Transport issues, said: "Public transport is essential in a rural county such as Norfolk to enable and maintain sustainable economic growth and activity. A significant proportion of the workforce employed in Norwich and our larger market towns live out in rural villages and settlements, commuting into the towns for employment, leisure and essential services.

Mr Cage, Managing Director of Create Consulting Engineers Ltd, added: "A cut of 38% to the concessionary bus fare scheme has resulted in a £4.5m shortfall in the budget which will have an adverse effect on these essential services and will undoubtedly impact on future economic growth in the region.  This is unacceptable. Businesses simply cannot operate without their employees and many of those employees rely on public transport. Cuts in these services could also effect rural businesses which are often the focal point and lifeline for many rural services such as village shops.

*On 12 September the County Council Cabinet announced its intention to reduce the planned £1m reduction in rural transport support to £700,000 over two years, with £500,000 next year (2012-13). The Council has been working with bus operators on ways of making these savings in ways that minimise the impact. These proposals will be published for public consultation as soon as they have been finalised. This is expected to be later this week (26-30 September).