East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Passenger Services Unit has undertaken two projects to identify efficiencies in their transport network. The first examined the school network and the second, the Performance Reward Grant (PRG) process, examined all types of transport network. Both projects have been very successful to date in achieving efficiencies.
The Home to School Routing project used ArcView GIS mapping to plot the homes of all eligible children. This allowed the project team to draw up an efficient set of transport routes. These routes were then checked to ensure they could operate, before tendering to see if they would result in cost savings.
The PRG project used ArcView GIS mapping to plot all forms of Public Transport across the whole of East Riding. The Council was then able to identify duplicate routes, such as a public bus following the same route at the same time as a school bus. Duplicate routes were then removed. An attempt was also made to tender for coordinated bus workings. This was to ensure that buses are used for many different roles, such as school transport and public transport. This greater vehicle efficiency for operators was then reflected in reduced cost tenders.
In addition, the tenders from the Home to School Routing project and PRG project have been co-ordinated, wherever possible, to try and maximize the possibility of savings being made. The cost savings from the Home to School Routing project now exceed £260,000 per annum and the cost savings from the PRG project are a further £88,000 per annum.
The local transport network is now much more efficient and cost effective, with savings of around £348,000 per annum. This total will continue to rise, as both projects are still ongoing.
This approach has attracted attention from other Councils who are eager to learn from these projects. The Council has given presentations on this work to Northumberland County Council and Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.