Guernsey Press enquiry:

I am just doing a follow-up story to an article in today's paper P4 about a bus driver shortage after three drivers quit and three are off ill, causing some services to be cancelled.

Would it be possible to get a response from Environment about the questions below:

What is its general reaction to the cancellations of some bus services?

What is there in the contract/ what power does the department have to make sure this doesn't happen again? Can any penalties be given out?

Does the department have a service level agreement with CT Plus? If so, what is it?

As we know from the States accounts, bus numbers are down - Does the department think the unreliable service experienced on Thurs is acceptable?

What will it be doing to ensure that further services aren't cancelled?

Does the department think it is acceptable that passengers were left waiting at the bus stop with no idea that the service had been cancelled?

Can the department provide details of the contract? Cost etc? If not, can the department justify not releasing the details to taxpayers?

Environment Department response:

The Environment Department is aware that CT Plus has been actively seeking to recruit new drivers as part of its programme of scaling up to the Summer Bus Service schedule and understands that driver availability has recently been hampered by the decision of a small number of drivers to leave the employment of the Company together with an unforeseen temporary blip in sickness absence.

CT Plus has assured the Department that it is doing all that it can to minimise potential disruption to the Scheduled Bus Service but that it has unfortunately had to cancel a number of services on each of the past few days. As from Monday 21 May, CT Plus will be broadcasting regular bus service updates through Radio Guernsey on their travel update and are looking to introduce other measures aimed at improving communications with passengers, particularly during morning and evening commuter periods.

Clearly any shortfall in service provision is regrettable as the principal success criteria for any public bus service operation is based around the ability to offer a safe, affordable, frequent, consistent and reliable service to its passengers. Whilst the loss of any one of these elements can be potentially damaging to the service, the Department is hopeful that CT Plus can overcome this temporary driver shortage in an expedient manner.

The contract with CT Plus includes a number of provisions for monitoring performance and there are of course measures in place to ensure that the operator is incentivised to meet its agreed service levels and penalised if it fails.

The cost of the contract to the States is in the order of £2.4 million per annum which is less than the projected spend for 2012 had no action been taken to renegotiate a new contract.

Further details regarding the bus contract negotiation process are available as a Download Document from the States website under Travel, Traffic and Transport/ Public Transport/Buses/Scheduled Bus Services - Contract Negotiations.

Contact Information:

Karl Guille, Traffic and Transport Services Manager
Environment Department
Tel: 243400

The project is expected to take around two years, and includes the replacement of four of the five current harbour cranes with two new mobile units. Before these can be installed, extensive work is required on the freight handling berths they will be located on.

This involves replacing the concrete deck structure of one of the three existing berths, and repairs to the other two where corrosion has occurred to their undersides, supporting beams and columns. The refurbished berths will then have a design life of at least 50 years, and the cranes 25 years.

Separate contracts have been awarded to two companies to carry out different aspects of the construction works, and a third contract agreed for the supply of the cranes.

Civil engineering contractor Dawson WAM has been appointed to carry out the work on Berth 5, which involves the complete replacement of the current upper 'deck' level. Its first task is the installation of new cable ducts to provide the power supply to the freight handling areas. This phase has begun, and is expected to be completed in July.

The company will then demolish the existing concrete deck and construct a new one, along with a piled supporting structure. Once complete, the crane supplier will dismantle the two on Berth 5 ready for the delivery of the first new one, which is expected early next year.

Currently, the cranes handle more than 50,000 tonnes of freight a year, and are all at least 40 years old. Two of the units being replaced date back to 1965.

The new cranes will be equipped to operate on either diesel or electricity.

Contact information:

Jim Anderson, Projects Liaison Officer
Public Services Department
01481 234692 
07781 108325
 Jim.Anderson@gov.gg