Devon County Council shortlisted for UK Bus Award

Devon County Council has been shortlisted in this year’s UK Bus Awards.

The County Council is among four finalists in the running for Local Authority Bus Project of the Year Award for its continued work on "Integrating Transport" in Devon.

Despite the challenges posed by the rural landscape of Devon, the County Council has developed partnerships and invested in infrastructure and facilities in order to increase demand for bus travel, improve the reliability of services and information for passengers, as well as reduce barriers to travel.

The UK Bus Awards judges felt that the project was a very good example of partnership in a county with more than its share of deep rural areas.

The work of the County Council has helped to achieve almost a 45% increase in passenger numbers since 2002, against the national trend of decline outside London. Traffic volumes in Exeter declined by more than 8% between 2002 and 2011, and the 2013 Passenger Focus Bus Passenger Survey revealed 90% overall passenger satisfaction in Devon.

Partnerships have been developed with Stagecoach and other operators not only to improve existing service routes, but also to work with them on issues as wide ranging as identifying potential highways improvements to help service punctuality, joint investment of more than £4million to upgrade over 100 vehicles, as well as input on the development of the South Devon Link Road.

Other external agencies such as the University of Exeter, Department of Work and Pensions, Dartmoor National Park and the Community Transport sector have also been involved in helping to shape service provision across the county.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “Partnerships have been key to this project and we are delighted to be shortlisted for a UK Bus Award. With budgets becoming tighter for local authorities we are working more closely with operators and other stakeholders to ensure that we are delivering transport projects as efficiently as possible to increase passenger demand. In recent years this has helped a number of services which were supported, such as park and ride services in Exeter, to become commercial operations, which has reduced the amount of support required to sustain the current level of service.”

Accessibility has been improved with the vast majority of Devon’s services compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act by 2012, and an on-going programme of providing accessible bus stops.

More than 2,500 Devon Access Wallets have been issued in the county, helping people with disabilities or communication difficulties who may otherwise be unable to travel alone.

With all operators of daily services in Devon now smartcard-enabled, Devon County Council is also actively working with neighbouring councils on the South West Smartcard Applications Ltd (SWSAL) scheme which would introduce a range of smartcard products in the first regional scheme in England.

The Local Sustainable Transport Fund has enabled investment to be targeted at services to employment areas, offering more frequent services between Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth and Exeter on Service 58, introducing the Service 10 which provides a work-time service to Marsh Barton, and extending Service B which links Exminster and Exeter.

Combining existing route support and developer funding with commercial additions has also helped increase the frequency of Service 4 to Ottery and Honiton.

The Awards Presentation and ceremony takes place at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London on Tuesday 19 November.