FI16114

Request

Fast Track bus service

1. what was the estimated original cost and what is the outturn cost, including 5 new ZEBs, charging facilities at Stagecoach Dover, and alterations to the highway at Pencester Road, Dover?

2.When is it now anticipated that the 5 ZEB's on order from Alexander Dennis will be delivered?

3.Are the required charging points, and maintenance facilities installed at Dover Stagecoach depot, and if not when will this happen?

4. What was the anticipated take up in passenger numbers budgeted for in the original plan, and after 8 months what progress has been made to reach that figure.

5. How many passenger does each Fast track journey carry on average?

6. What are the monthly passenger figures for the Fast track service?

Stagecoach connect - Whitfield to Aylesham DRT Service.

1. what was the estimated budget for the service including vehicles?

2. How much was actually spent to start the service?

3. What is the required monthly passenger loading to reach a break even point?

4.What are the passenger loadings per month?

5. As it is a DRT service, how many requests for a ride are successful and how many are not. Express this in numbers of requests and number of rides on the DRT.

6. The DRT service had two specialist vehicles purchased for the service, when and how often are Stagecoach allowed to substitute alternative vehicles.

The District council may not be responsible for both services. Please answer the request that applies to the District Council.

Response

Fast Track Bus Service

1. The Council does not hold this information.  This is a Kent County Council service forming part of their responsibility as the public transport authority.  Kent County Council can be contacted at freedomofinformation@kent.gov.uk.

2. The Council does not hold this information.  This is a matter for Kent County Council as the public transport authority.

3. The Council does not hold this information.  This is a matter for Kent County Council as the public transport authority.

4. The Council does not hold this information.  This is a matter for Kent County Council as the public transport authority.

5. The Council does not hold this information.  This is a matter for Kent County Council as the public transport authority.

6. The information held by the District Council is attached.  You will need to contact Kent County Council for any additional information about monthly passenger figures.

Stagecoach connect - Whitfield to Aylesham DRT Service.

1. The Council does not hold this information.  I can confirm that the total Section 106 funding available to subsidise the service was £770,131.82.

2. Costs are based on an annual service charge, rather than a cost to start the service.  The annual service charge is considered exempt from disclosure under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act as it is considered commercially sensitive.  The information being requested is:   

• commercial in nature, 
• is protected by law through the common law of confidence (as they are not trivial and have not been released into the public domain) as well as through the contractual obligations of confidence.
• The confidentiality is protecting a legitimate economic interest.
• The confidentiality would be adversely affected by disclosure.  

This exception is subject to the Public Interest Test. This is where public authorities have to consider the balance of the public interest in relation to a request and the subsequent release of information. 

The Public Interest Test in favour of disclosure 

• A public authority should apply a presumption in favour of disclosure when considering a request for information. 
• The central public interest in disclosure of this information lies in creating transparency and accountability in the spending of public money and in the financial decisions the Council has made. 

The Public Interest Test against disclosure 

• Release of the information would adversely affect the legitimate economic interests of the contractor by revealing market sensitive information or information that is of potential value to competitors, eg through indicating a way in which this contract has been priced or a commercial position that the Contractor has taken that is unique to this particular contract.   This would cause harm to the commercial position of the Contractor in bidding for other contracts.
• It is in the strong public interest of the Dover District taxpayers that the Contractor remains commercially viable businesses, so they are in a position to provide the contracted services over the period of the contract.
• There is a strong public interest in commercial confidences being maintained. The likelihood of commercial damage being caused to the contractor through disclosure of information they consider commercially sensitive would adversely affect the relationship between the Contractor and the Council. 

Summary and conclusion 

There is significant public interest for the public in having the right to know the terms and conditions under which the Council as a public authority have awarded contracts.   However, there is a strong need to protect the legitimate economic interests of the contractor while they are bidding for other similar contracts. Release of the information would harm the Contractor’s competitive position in other procurements and in the market generally. This is not in the interests of the Council, Contractor, or the public.  On balance it is concluded that the information should not be released. 

3. The Council is unable to answer this question as it depends whether the passengers are concessions or paying. 

4. The Council only holds this information for the period February 2024 to February 2025, and this is set out below: 

2024	February	823
	March	849
	April	834
	May	828
	June	697
	July	806
	August	863
	September	681
	October	947
	November	960
	December	843
2025	January	1027
	February	882

5. The Council only holds this information for the period February 2024 to February 2025.  The following sets out the number of requests and offers made, rather than number of rides. The number of rides is fewer than the offers made as the customer either chooses not to book, or cancels the booking. 

	Trip Conversion	Requests	No Offers	Offers	%requests offered
2024	February	1083	59	1024	95%
	March	1169	50	1119	96%
	April	1096	68	1028	94%
	May	1108	69	1039	94%
	June	1737	592	1145	66%
	July	1744	378	1366	78%
	August	1188	83	1105	93%
	September	1349	134	1214	90%
	October	1368	63	1305	95%
	November	1305	66	1239	95%
	December	2044	82	1962	96%
2025	January	2604	149	2455	94%
	February	3253	492	2761	85%

 6. The contract requires three vehicles to be available. There is no specific provision for alternative vehicles to be used. 

Attachments

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