STRATEGIC PLANNING,

SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

6 November 2018

 

Park and Ride – Pay to Park Trial

 

Final Decision-Maker

Strategic Planning, Sustainability and

Transportation Committee

Lead Director

William Cornall                                       Director of Regeneration & Place

Lead Officer and Report Author

Jeff Kitson                                              Parking Services Manager

Classification

Public

Wards affected

All

 

Executive Summary

This report provides an overview of the performance of the Park and Ride, Pay to Park trial between 1 June 2018 and 30 September as agreed by the Committee on 22 January 2018.

 

 

 

 

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:

1.   That the performance of the Park and Ride, Pay to Park trial be noted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Strategic Planning, Sustainability and

Transportation Committee.

6 November 2018.



Park and Ride – Pay to Park Trial

 

1.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

1.1     On 22 January 2018 the Committee agreed a 12 months trial Park and Ride operation which retained the 20 minute bus frequency and an extension of the bus contract for one year until 31 May 2019. The duration of the service was increased to 7pm Monday to Saturday and a Pay to Park cashless charging structure was introduced.

 

1.2     The revised service operation and refreshed Park and Ride logo was widely publicised and promoted at both sites, on the buses, through local media sources including bill boards, social media and a YouTube video showing the operation and benefits of the revised Pay to Park service.

 

1.3     Height barrier improvements were carried out at both London Road and Willington Street to protect the sites throughout the operating period as the extended bus service and parking opportunity into the evening period provided potential to attract town centre night time economy customers.

 

1.4     The Pay to Park operation was introduced on 1 June 2018 and customers made the transition to a cashless service through card payments on-site and the RingGo mobile phone payment system with support from Parking Services who attended both sites to provide face to face customer support and further promotion from Friday 1 June to Tuesday 5 June.

 

1.5     The Committee requested that a report be presented back to the Committee with data of peak usage so that Members could review the new service and make an informed decision on whether to keep Park and Ride after the one year extension had been completed.

 

1.6     As a result the service has been closely monitored and the data presented within this report has been collated over the 4 month period from 1 June to 30 September 2018. The performance of the Park and Ride – Pay to Park trial is to be considered in association with the options and proposals presented within the Alternatives to Park and Ride report.

 

Income from parking (Net of VAT)

 

1.7     A net income of £65,300 has been recorded over the four month period from 1 June 2018 and this identifies a deficit of £48,780 against the budgeted income expectation of £114,080.

 

1.8     Net income recorded over the same period in 2017/18 confirms that £110,285 was received with a deficit of £2,719 when compared against a budget expectation of 113,004.

 

 

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Total

Net income 18/19

£13,110

£17,591

£19,046

£15,553

£65,300

Budget 18/19

£28,450

£30,070

£28,100

£27,460

£114,080

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income 17/18

£29,217

£27,000

£26,920

£27,148

£110,285

Budget 17/18

£28,040

£28,857

£28,267

£27,840

£113,004

 

 

1.9     Revenue in 2017 included the income from the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) which provided free bus travel to ENCTS permit holders travelling on the bus. This equated to £38,388 of the total income June to September and £126,860 for the year 2017/18.

 

1.10 If performance continues at the same rate throughout 2018/19 it is estimated that the income budget will be in deficit by approximately £134,000 by year end with an overall budget deficit at around £149,000.

 

1.11 Any additional income from the increased pay and display tariff introduced in June 2018 (Parking Reserve £165,640), may be used to offset reduced park and ride income as per officer recommendation to the Committee on 22 January 2018. At the end of quarter two 2018/19 (week 26), pay and display income was £78,982 higher than the same period in 2017/18. If the current pay and display income performance continues, it is estimated that income could be £156,000 higher than the previous financial year.

 

Costs (Net of VAT)

 

1.12 The budgeted net costs to provide the park and ride service during the trial period from June to September is £212,094. The actual net costs are £5,942 higher than budget as investment in infrastructure has been required in making the transition to pay to park. During the same period 2017/8 net costs were £7,482 underspent against budget.

 

 

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Total

Net costs 18/19

£66,408

£52,227

£49,914

£49,487

£218,036

Budget 18/19

£54,731

£51,316

£51,316

£54,731

£212,094

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net costs 17/18

£48,976

£48,323

£53,379

£47,850

£198,528

Budget 17/18

£53,174

£49,831

£49,831

£53,174

£206,010

 

 

 

1.13 The subsidy to run the Park and Ride service in 2017/18 was £242,000.

 

Number of passengers using the bus

 

1.14 The total number of passengers recorded over the period is 55,885 averaging 13,971 passengers each month with a combined number of passengers averaging 537 per day across both sites.

 

1.15 When compared to the same period in 2017/18 there were 71,732 passengers which included 43,591 passengers travelling for free under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.

 

 

Jun-18

Jul-18

Aug-18

Sept-18

Total

Willington St

6,926

6,948

7,436

7,105

28,415

London Rd

6,508

7,020

7,270

6,672

27,470

Total

13,434

13,968

14,706

13,777

55,885

 

 

 

1.16 Due to the limited sample of four months data it is difficult to accurately predict future patronage. However it is estimated that by year end around 170,000 people would have travelled on the Park and Ride bus. The number of people who used the service in 2017/18 was 217,000. However this figure also included 132,542 passengers travelling for free under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.

 

Peak usage

 

1.17 It has been established that over the four months since the start of the pay to park model, on average 155 cars (66 cars London Road / 89 cars Willington Street) are removed from the highway at the peak park and ride travel time between 6am and 8.30am. During the same period on average 206 passengers use the park and ride service.

 

Number of cars

 

1.18 The total number of cars recorded over the period is 37,488 averaging 9,372 vehicles each month (average of 2,343 per week / 390 cars per day).

 

1.19 As revenue was collected by passenger on the bus during 2017/18, it is not possible to provide the number of cars parked during the period June to September 2017 as a comparison.

 

People per car

 

1.20 Surveys carried out by WSP in 2017 identified the car share ratio before 9am as 1.27 per vehicle. This increased to 1.59 after 10am during the off peak period (1.43 average).

 

1.21 Data confirms that since the introduction of the pay to park system the car share ratio has risen from 1.42 people per vehicle in June to 1.53 in September with the highest recorded in August at 1.54 (1.49 average). 

 

 

 

1.22 Passenger and transaction data confirms that although car sharing is limited at the 8am peak, car sharing steadily increases by late morning and slowly reduces during the afternoon until just after 3pm after which a sharp decline in passengers can be seen.

 

 

2.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

2.1     This report provides the Committee with an overview of the performance of the Park and Ride, Pay to Park trial between 1 June 2018 and 30 September as agreed by the Committee on 22 January 2018 and is intended to be considered in association with Park and Ride options and alternative proposals.

 

3.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

 

Issue

Implications

Sign-off

Impact on Corporate Priorities

Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all – by seeking to improve the quality of parking services though innovation and development.

Jeff Kitson Parking Services Manager

Risk Management

This report is presented for information only so it has no direct risk management implications.

Jeff Kitson Parking Services Manager

Financial

Any additional income from the increased pay and display tariff introduced in June 2018 (Parking Reserve £165,640), may be used to offset reduced park and ride income as per officer recommendation to the Committee on 22 January 2018.

S 151 Officer and Finance Team

 

Staffing

Services are delivered within existing staffing levels.

Jeff Kitson Parking Services Manager

Legal

There are no specific legal

implications at present as this report is presented for information only

Keith Trowell, Team Leader (Corporate Governance), MKLS

Privacy and Data Protection

There are no specific privacy or data protection issues to address.

Keith Trowell, Team Leader (Corporate Governance), MKLS

Equalities

This report is presented for information only so it has no direct equalities implications. An EQIA was completed alongside the original options evaluation.

Policy and Information Manager

Crime and Disorder

The performance identified within this report has no negative impact on Crime and Disorder.

Jeff Kitson Parking Services Manager

Procurement

None identified.

Jeff Kitson Parking Services Manager

 

4.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

4.1  None.

 

 

5.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

5.1   None.