Where have all the bus passengers gone?

The report, commissioned by the Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG), of which West Yorkshire Passenger Executive Metro is a member, says a policy change is desperately needed to stem the fall in bus patronage that exists outside London.

The study by economic consultants NERA says passenger numbers will continue to fall, fares will rise and service levels will decline by about 20 per cent over the next decade if the policy of "managed decline" continues.

Major bus operators in Bradford, including First and Keighley & District Travel, responded to the report's suggestion that the average age of vehicles was increasing and service levels dropping by pointing to heavy investment in new vehicles and staff training.

But they said bus services were being hampered by crippling delays on the district's traffic-choked roads - delays which create a need for extra resources to run services, fare increases and ultimately loss of passengers.

Transport bosses in Bradford have pinpointed "punctuality" as the single most important factor in the fight to retain existing passengers and attract new ones.

Metro is piloting a so-called Quality Partnership' with local authorities and bus operators to make sure more buses run on time, especially during the day time when punctuality levels are much lower than in the evenings and night.

The partnership will examine where changes need to be made to the road system or timetable to eradicate the delays which prove so off-putting to passengers.

Using state-of-the-art satellite tracking devices, now fitted to all buses, transport chiefs will identify exactly where on their journey buses are being held up by traffic.

This data, compiled over a three-month period, will then allow highway engineers to introduce targeted measures to give buses a smoother passage through bottle-necks.

Buses could be given priority at traffic lights through use of vehicle location technology while extensive bus priority lanes enforced by CCTV cameras could be set up in the worst traffic black spots - measures fully supported by bus operators in Bradford.

Councillor Chris Greaves, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority spokesman for Bradford, said: "At the moment, fares are going up which causes people to stop using the services which means fares have to go up again. We need to make that vicious circle into a virtuous circle by getting use of the buses back so fares don't have to increase.

"We are using new technology to work out which buses are running late and where on the route they are losing time. It might then be a case of changing the road system in certain places, asking schools to change the school day so it ties in better or simply re-timing the bus to reality by amending the timetable."

The Quality Partnership is being piloted in Kirklees and the model will be applied to Bradford and other local authority areas if it proves successful. The partnership will also encourage bus companies to link up better in terms of timing and ticketing to tackle what Coun Greaves described as a transport system that has become disjointed.

Metro is also considering reviewing its rules governing which buses should be subsidised to give a greater level of support to some rural services.

The number of bus journeys a year in West Yorkshire has fallen from 298 million to 195.7 million in the last 20 years, while fares have risen by ten per cent in real terms in the last five years.

Publication of the report follows last week's official Government figures which showed bus passenger numbers rising in London but falling in nearly every other English area.

Bus operations are privatised in London but still regulated, while outside the capital all services are deregulated.

Failure of the West Yorkshire quality partnership could lead to the introduction of the "last resort" Quality Contracts between Metro and the bus companies.

Whereas the partnership will revolve around persuasion, the contract system would involve a greater level of enforced regulation along similar lines to the London model.

Metro has made high frequency and reliable bus services, covering the entire county, an integral part of its new 20-year transport plan to ease congestion on the county's roads.

The report also said competition is "generally rather weak" in the six Passenger Transport Executive areas, including West Yorkshire, and added that the age of buses in PTE areas is increasing.

But First bus company's operations director in Bradford, Khadim Hussain, said his company spent more than £10 million investing in 144 new buses for Bradford during the big bus route reorganisation of 2000 when the Overground system was introduced.

A further 20 new buses were introduced to Bradford by the company this year and at least 50 more will be brought into the fleet next year.

Mr Hussain said greater bus priority was needed to allow services to operate more efficiently and he urged the authorities to find ways of isolating buses from the traffic congestion gripping parts of the district, particularly the Aire Valley.

Mr Hussain said: "We are working with Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire PTE to make sure there are bus priorities which minimise delays and to identify areas where there have been specific traffic-related issues.

"If we are to increase passenger levels the local authority has got to actively promote bus services.

"Congestion is preventing smooth operations. One area that has been talked about a lot is the stretch from Bingley to Saltaire and Shipley. The knock-on effect of the situation there creates problems for buses operating in other parts of Bradford."

Mr Hussain said the introduction of the My Next Bus scheme, which is available by text message and alerts passengers to the time of the next service, had made buses more convenient and accessible.

Meanwhile, Keighley & District Travel has replaced all 15 of the buses it operates in Keighley town centre.

"We have invested heavily in new vehicles and services over the last five years," said Daniel Maguire, the company's marketing manager.

"But we take up the point about the need for more bus priority. We are regularly having to revise services and provide more vehicles just to do what we are already doing because of congestion.

"This means operating costs continue increasing while the service stays the same. Some of this cost increase can be absorbed by us but ultimately it's the customer who pays more."

He said he disagreed with the report's grim prediction that bus travel would continue to decline and pointed to his company's shuttle service between Keighley and Bradford as an example of how bus services could be successful.

"Passenger numbers are up 5 per cent year on year along that route, which bucks the West Yorkshire trend. It shows what can happen with investment in new vehicles and services," he said.

Metro this week announced the launch of a Free Town Bus in Huddersfield connecting 13 key town centre locations with a free service every 10 minutes. Green councillors are campaigning for a similar scheme in Bradford city centre.

e-mail: will.kilner@bradford.newsquest.co.uk