Agenda and draft minutes

Cllr Stagg welcomed those present and introduced the meeting.  Apologies for lateness had been received from Cllr Phil Jordon.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2021 are attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2021 were approved as a correct record.

Report attached.

Conrad Haigh, Solent Transport Manager, introduced the report.  He explained that the Solent Future Transport Zone (FTZ) was generally ahead of others in the country and that the programme overall had been highly successful to date, despite it being more resource intensive than originally predicted.

In response to questions the joint committee was advised that Solent Transport had under proposal outlined in option two, sufficient resource capacity to deliver the aims of delivering a regional strategy originally agreed in 2020 and that the delivery of the FTZ was also key priority.  The second recommendation in the report which sought approval of 'Option 2 - Do More'' would enable the Solent Transport to fully deliver against the agreed aims in this years business plan.

In respect of recommendation 2, Cllr Heron proposed that it be slightly amended to clarify that additional staff resource, to deliver the business plan would not require any further funding from the local authorities.

This amendment was agreed by the joint committee.

RESOLVED that:

1. the Joint Committee ENDORSED the proposed business plan, and

recommended LTA partners support and assist Solent Transport in its delivery;

2. the Joint Committee ENDORSED the proposed Solent Transport Core Staff

Activity Option 2 (“do more”- paragraph 69) allowing additional Solent

Transport activity and stated goals to be met without requiring additional local authority funding; and

3. Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth City

Council and Southampton City Council ratify this Business Plan through their

own decision making processes.

Report attached.

The joint committee considered the report which presented the Solent Transport final outturn position for 2021/22, the forecast outturn position compared to the approved original budget for 2021/22 and the forecast reserves position.

The report also included a financial update for the Future Transport Zone (FTZ) £28.5m Capital Programme funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and financially administered by Southampton City Council (SCC).

The joint committee noted the much improved financial position when compared against the previous year and the level of additional reserves of £138k at 2020/21 year end. The committee believed this to be a very healthy financial position, particularly with a forecast increase in additional reserves of a further £62k at 2022/23 year end.

RESOLVED that the joint committee:

1.    NOTED the 2021/22 revenue budget final outturn position;

2.    APPROVED the ringfencing and carry forward of the 2021/22 SRTM commissions surplus to support the funding of the SRTM upgrade;

3.    APPROVED the 2022/23 revenue budget; and

4.    NOTED the forecast reserves balance as at 31st March 2023.

Report attached.

Richard Pemberton, Principal Transport Planner, introduced the report which informed the joint committee in respect of the current exercise to procure a consultant for continued operation of the Solent Sub-Regional Transport Model (SRTM) and to seek decisions regarding delegation of authority to Hampshire County Council to award a contract and financial risk management.

The committee discussed the potential financial risk to Hampshire County Council by the proposal, however this was anticipated to be minimal as 74% of the risk of spend would be shared by the other local authority partners.

RESOLVED that the joint committee:

1.    NOTED the intention of HCC’s Director for Economy, Transport and Environment to award a contract for a consultant to operate SRTM on Solent Transport’s behalf; and

2.    ENDORSED the steps set out in Paragraphs 16 and 17 relating to financial risk mitigation.

Report attached.

Tim Forrester, Future Transport Zone Programme Manager, introduced the report.

He advised the joint committee that the project was entering the critical delivery phase and that despite recruitment difficulties the team was in a strong place to deliver. 

Nationally, the Solent FTZ was well ahead of others and led the way in policy development.

RESOLVED that the joint committee NOTED the report.

Report attached.

The joint committee considered the report which detailed the proposed bike share budget allocations for each participating local authority.

The joint committee was advised that Bike Share was one of the seven 'Theme 1' FTZ projects and that procurement had nearly concluded.  It was expected that the contract would be awarded in the coming weeks.  Going forward it was anticipated that the Bike Share would be expanded to more local transport authority partners in the Solent area after the initial launch and delivered within the agreed timescales.

RESOLVED that the joint committee APPROVED the forecast officer time funding allocations requested by LTA partners.

Following a request from the committee made at the previous meeting the committee received a presentation on the E-Scooter Trial. 

The presentation was a condensed summary of a longer report commissioned by Solent Transport and undertaken by Steer.

The committee was advised that whilst a safety comparison against cycling had been difficult, however the number of reported serious incidents had been comparatively low.  One of the recommendations arising from the report was that further work was required in order to allow an improved safety comparison with cycling.

98.5% of scooters had been correctly parked following use, which was significantly higher than other trials across the country.

The committee discussed usage trends, along with the use and potential provision of safety helmets for users.  In response the committee was informed that there was a pattern of people using the scooters for regular commuting, although the take up of the monthly pricing packages had been low. 

In response to the usage of helmets, this was encouraged by VOI and at their rider training events helmets had been given away. A reminder for users to bring a helmet could be added to the 'Breeze' app, but there were concerns in respect of insurance liability for providing helmets for re-use by users.

RESOLVED that the joint committee NOTED the update.

Presentation.

The joint committee received a presentation for information from Steve Longman, Maas Lead, which updated on the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Platform.

He explained that MaaS was a very important element of the FTZ, as it would give users the ability to plan, book and pay for journeys on different types of public transport all from one app.  The project was at least a year ahead of other FTZ's and a full launch was proposed by September 2022. 

Key risks were reputational and third-party integration with transport operators.  After rollout, there was the potential to market the platform to other local transport authorities.

The joint committee commended the app.

RESOLVED that the joint committee NOTED the update.

Paper attached.

Richard Pemberton, Principal Transport Planner, introduced the information report which updated the joint committee on the Dynamic Demand Responsive Transit pilot project (DDRT).

DDRT had some similarities to 'Dial-a-Ride' and was used quite widely outside of the UK. It had never been trialled in the area before and following a post Covid review would be targeted mostly towards existing Community Transport users. A key enabler to success was mobile phone booking via an app and integration with the 'Breeze' app.  Pilot scheme trials would be conducted in December 2022 through early 2023 in Southampton and the Isle of Wight.

The joint committee was advised that whilst initial setup costs were high, expansion would be cost efficient and there was a lot of potential for it to rolled out across Hampshire.

RESOLVED that the joint committee NOTED the update.

Presentation.

The joint committee received a presentation for information from Conrad Haigh, Solent Transport Manager, which provided an update on drones for medical logistics

The drone trials with Apian/Isle of Wight NHS confirmed the project plan and subsequent work packages had commenced. This included examination of multiple drone airspace and trials had been planned for July 2022 but unfortunately technical issues with the drone and the lack of alternative drone options had delayed the trials.  The rescheduled timeframe for these trials would be reliant on the drone provider and the granting of an extension of right to fly by the Civil Aviation Authority.  Ideally, testing would take place in good weather.

The joint committee was reminded that this was a trial and if successful, the NHS would need to take up the running of the service post FTZ.

RESOLVED that the joint committee NOTED the update.

Presentation.

The joint committee received an update on sustainable logistics.  The team was currently able to scope out logistics projects but it had been difficult to source freight logistics professionals.  It was believed that the team would be at capacity to deliver the projects soon.

Significant work on micro logistics had been carried out by Southampton and Portsmouth Universities in respect of 'last mile' deliveries.  Work would now centre around the wider delivery network.

RESOLVED that the joint committee NOTED the update.

Decarbonising Transport

Cllr Stagg had attended a seminar on Decarbonising Transport where regional decarbonisation strategies had been recommended.  She was aware that Southampton City Council, the Partnership for South Hampshire and the Local Enterprise Partnership were progressing strategies and she felt that an overarching strategy under Solent Transport would be a good idea.

The Solent Transport Manager believed that decarbonising could fit within the strategy and that some work had already been undertaken with Southampton University.

RESOLVED that an agenda item on this topic be added to the agenda for the October 2022 meeting of the Solent Transport Joint Committee.