LibertyBus get the Lords thumbs-up

Sunday 03 July 2016

Jersey’s bus service LibertyBus have been given a lordly seal of approval for their rising passenger numbers.

Liberty can boast passengers figures increasing from 3.2 million in 2012 to 4.2m in 2015 - a sharp rise which General Manager Kevin Hart says is down to a sound business approach.

Those figures have also come to the attention of Baroness Scott of Needham Market, who last week told the House of Lords she views the service provided in Jersey as a shining example of how a bus partnership - or franchise - with local government can work.  

Speaking at the Houses of Parliament, she said: “This franchising approach can really deliver if we get it right. I have been in contact with people in Jersey, where they brought in a franchising system. 

“They have 80 buses serving a population of 100,000 yet, in that very small pool, they have had an increase of 32% in passenger numbers in the last three years and significantly, they have saved £1million in public subsidies. This shows that you can have a win-win situation of saving money and improving accessibility. If we get this Bill right, we can deliver that.”

Baroness Needham and the Lords were discussing the Buses Bill, which has urged local government to ‘franchise’ their bus services out to tender - just as has been done in Jersey. 

Mr Hart said the Baroness’ comments were “both accurate and very well received.” 

He said: “Big operators have been saying that franchising won’t work but we have shown it does. The States govern what we can charge to passengers and that means no-one pays more than £2 per trip, dropping to £1.50 if you use a bus users card. That means it is very affordable. 

“We have a system of self-governance, which means if our reliability drops, our passenger numbers would drop and as such our profits would drop. 

“The way we operate is that we are part-funded by the States so there is a commercial aspect to our operations, but we are also happy to continue to operate on the less popular routes, which ultimately means good news for our passengers.” 

Since the start of the new contract in 2013, LibertyBus can boast a passenger ridership increase of 32%. Levels of subsidy have fallen by £800,000 per year, while customer satisfaction has increased by 5% and five new routes have been introduced with frequencies improved on key corridors. 

Jersey has also seen some progress in getting people out of cars and onto public transport as 57% of those who use the bus in peak time have access to a car but choose not to use it.

Mr Hart said: “We are pleased with the figures we are producing but we are always open to more ideas in how to keep going in the right direction. But as a system, we are convinced franchising works and we have the figures to back that up.”