Minutes:
A presentation was given by
Nick Baker, Head of Stakeholder Relations, London Trams.
He explained that the objective
of this initiative was to phase out the ticket vending machines at
tram stops, which were getting old and not being used frequently.
Panel members heard that only 0.3% of passengers used ticket
vending machines. One key reason why passengers were moving away
from this form of payment was cost: a single ticket costs
£2.60 whereas paying with an Oyster card or contactless card
costs £1.50.
TfL have used the lessons learnt from the process of transferring
to cashless payments on buses to prepare for cashless payments on
trams. For instance, staff will be in attendance at ticket machines
to raise awareness of the forthcoming change and alternative
methods of payment. In addition, there will be information panels
providing information on alternative methods of payment, and a help
point to assist passengers with additional queries (including
questions on how to deal with being unable to pay).
As those most likely to experience problems will probably be from
outside the borough or the country, officers will be working with
hotels to raise awareness of these changes.
Panel members were informed that local bye-laws regarding non-payment of fares would have to be changed prior to the transition to cashless payments. A very flexible approach would be adopted during the early days of cashless payments to ensure that no passengers would be stranded and unable to reach their destination.
Implementation will start in April 2018 if bye laws have been changed by the Department for Transport. This will be a phased process, and all ticket machines are due to be removed by September 2018.
Panel members highlighted the use of one day bus and tram passes which could be purchased from railway booking offices and ticket machines, as well as ticket shops, was an option for people without contactless cards or Oyster cards. They added that over a million of these had been purchased last year despite the low publicity on these passes, and urged TfL to promote their use on trams when they go cashless.
Panel members also asked for
trams to enable negative balances on Oyster cards for one single
journey, to be covered when the card was recharged. This provision
was originally made as part of the transition to cashless buses.
They were advised that this might not be possible, although a panel
member stated that it could be done in his experience as long as
the Oyster card had a minimum of £1 on the card. Nick Baker
undertook to investigate further.
Action: Nick Baker to provide an update
The Panel also discussed the use of national concessionary passes on tram journeys, which would need to be authorised by the Mayor.
New tram time-table proposals
The Head of Stakeholder Relations apologised for the late engagement carried out on new tram time-table proposals for the New Addington to Wimbledon service. He explained the rationale behind the proposals for a new tram time-table and hoped that the changes would improve reliability to services.
He stated that performance had recently suffered from the following problems:
· bunching of trams in the town centre
· some trams did not travel all the way to the terminus
· uneven services from Wimbledon
The proposals aim to provide
more evenly spread departures from Wimbledon. The Elmers End line
will also have a more even service.
One key aspect of the new timetable will be a shortened route from
New Addington to West Croydon and no further. However, there will
be some variation to the above at rush hour.
Panel members were also advised that the route naming system was to
be changed as some passengers had expressed difficulty
understanding the route numbers. Instead, routes
will now be known by their final destinations. Some panel members commented that this might cause
problems, particularly to people with reading difficulties, and
that numbers are universally better understood than
words.
Cllr Simon Hall observed that
announcements on the new timetable were made only three weeks
before the changes were due to be implemented. In addition, he
stated that the new timetable would come in only four days before
the first anniversary of the tram accident in November 2016, and
might cause some upset among local residents. He asked for the
start date of the new timetable to be postponed. The PTLP Chair
suggested that it be deferred to the beginning of the new year at
the earliest and highlighted the need for proper consultation when
these types of changes were proposed.
Cllr Hall highlighted the fact that timetable changes were likely
to cause particularly problems at the beginning and the end of the
day as many residents do shift work, as well as on Sundays. He
added that coordination between bus and tram services appeared to
be poor.
It was also remarked that
previous discussions had led people to believe that at least 50% of
trams would run from New Addington to Wimbledon.
A request was made for the last trams from Wimbledon to
Therapia Lane to be extended to East
Croydon for people to catch bus connections. In response, it was
argued that this could be difficult to achieve as the Therapia Lane stop was right by the depot to which
trams go at the end of the day.
The Head of Stakeholder
Relations offered to provide more publicity on timetabling changes
to help residents using New Addington bus and tram services get
accustomed to the changes more smoothly.
Panel members asked whether the Dingwall Road Loop was going to be built. They were
advised that this has not been confirmed but does remains an
option.
Action: London
Trams representative to provide an
update
an update