Inter-Island PSO Air Services Review of Services and Procurement - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 28 September 2016 Inter-Island PSO Air Services Review of Services and Procurement Options

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 28 September 2016 Scope of Review In addition to carrying out an analysis of passenger carryings and service usage over the current contract period, the review was also to include the following: • A general analysis of the socio and economic impact of the reduction of air services • The identification and appraisal of options for future air services • An overview of legislation and public sector and industry practice to identify a means for the reinstatement of a five-day service within existing financial provisions .

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 28 September 2016 Scope of Review • Findings of review (Tom Matthew) • Options for future air services (Tom Matthew) • Options for tendering (Iain Mackinnon) • Recommendations to Comhairle (Iain Mackinnon)

Review of Outer Hebrides PSO Air Services Tom Matthew Director

Presentation Structure  Work undertaken  Current Stornoway-Benbecula service  Impacts of previous changes to PSO services  Issues for future Stornoway-Benbecula service  Stornoway-Benbecula: options appraisal

Work Undertaken  Desk-based review of route statistics and other information  Over 50 face-to-face, telephone and email consultations  Self-completion survey of current Stornoway- Benbecula passengers  Community consultation events in Balivanich and Stornoway

Current Stornoway-Benbecula Service

Service Profile  Two return flights per day-  Plane starts and ends in Tuesday, Wednesday and Inverness, providing Thursday Inverness-Benbecula link  Day return trips possible to  Single adult fare between Uist (6½ hours available) £41 (non-flexible)-£75 (fully and Stornoway (4 hours) flexible)  30 minute flight time  Road/ferry alternative takes 2-3 hours longer, with day trip only fully feasible in  34 seat aircraft (Saab) summer

Demand Fell After Service Reduced to Three Days, Business and Health Trips are Significant  8,300 passengers in 2015-16  High percentage of passengers on business (especially public sector)  NHS patient traffic also significant  Day trips from Stornoway to Benbecula an important element  One quarter of passengers are travelling between Inverness and Benbecula  Most trips originate at the Benbecula end of the route

Annual Subsidy  2015-2016 subsidy was £264,000  Equal to £32 subsidy per one way passenger trip

Main Benefits of Stornoway- Benbecula Service  Reducing non-productive time for business passengers- reduced travel time and avoiding overnight stays  NHS patients-greater comfort than surface travel, able to be treated in Stornoway and back to Uist on same day  Through service between Benbecula and Inverness  Onward flight connections at Stornoway-e.g. to Edinburgh  An option for getting to/from the Outer Hebrides if mainland air or ferry services are disrupted

Impacts of Previous Changes to the PSO Services

Evaluation Approach  Used the following criteria:  Economic  Public Administration  Health Travel  Social  Public Acceptability  Equalities  Wider Impacts  Scores given for each criteria-but no weightings applied

Stornoway-Benbecula: Reduced From Five Day To Three Day Service (1) Most significant negative impacts on Health Travel :  20% of admissions to/discharges from hospital in Stornoway are on Monday and Friday  A number of patients-particularly those travelling to Inverness-are quite unwell  Potentially arduous surface journey and/or inability to get back from hospital in Inverness for the weekend

Stornoway-Benbecula: Reduced From Five Day To Three Day Service (2)  Equalities . Travel requirements for Southern Isles patients appear more arduous than for other Outer Hebrides residents  Public Administration :  less efficient travel for Comhairle staff based in Uist and others with island-wide remits  constrained operations of some Uist-based organisations and a small number in Stornoway  Public Acceptability -impacts on health travel seen as severe for those most affected

Discontinuation of Barra-Benbecula Service (1) Most significant negative impacts on Public Administration :  less efficient travel for Comhairle staff based on Barra and others with island-wide remits, particularly given reduced Stornoway- Benbecula frequency  constrained operations of a small number of public sector bodies based in Stornoway

Discontinuation of Barra-Benbecula Service (2)  Health Travel : Very limited number of patients travelling between Barra and Uist & Barra Hospital/Stornoway/Inverness-but impacts are significant for them  Equalities . Barra patients travelling to Stornoway and Inverness likely to be in the poorest of health

Issues for Future Stornoway- Benbecula Service

Future Issues  No obvious mechanism to  Likely decline in public fund a five day service sector travel between without increasing subsidy Stornoway and Southern Isles  Passenger carryings unlikely to return to pre- 2013 levels  Likely reduction in passengers making a day  Single return flight on trip Monday and Friday generally acceptable  Increasing attractiveness of  PSO tender to allow road/ferry alternative operators to suggest their own ways of enhancing the servic e

Stornoway-Benbecula: Options Appraisal

Approach to the Appraisal  Used the following criteria:  Economic  Public Administration  Health Travel  Social  Public Acceptability  Equalities  Wider Impacts  Also included potential change to current CnES subsidy cost  Scores given for each criteria-but no weightings applied

Four Options Retain existing service 1. Discontinue service 2. Reinstate five day service with two return 3. flights per day Five day service-double daily (three days) 4. and two single daily rotations

Option (2): Discontinue Service  Very negative Health Travel and Public Administration impacts, plus relatively large degree of public opposition

Option (3): Five Day Service-Two Return Flights Per Day  Positive Health Travel impact:  Southern Isles patients able to travel to/from Stornoway by air on five days of the week  Particularly important for patients travelling to/from Inverness  Significant positive impact for Public Acceptability  Positive contribution to Public Administration-more efficient and extensive public sector travel

Option (4): Five Day Service-Double Daily (three days) and Two Single Daily Rotations  Would achieve a proportion of the benefits of Option 3  Not all user needs could be met by a single return flight on the two days  Extent of impact would depend on flight timings and how far Inverness connection was maintained

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 28 September 2016 Any questions regarding review findings and outcomes?

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 28 September 2016 Procurement Options OPTION 1 Retention of three-day service; fixed specification OPTION 2 Reinstatement of five-day service; double rotations each day; fixed specification OPTION 3 Five-day service; double rotations three days/week; single rotations two days/week; fixed specification OPTION 4 Capped budget; bidders to propose services and timetables to best meet needs of service users; service thresholds to be specified; bids evaluated against service targets

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 28 September 2016 Procurement Options OPTION 1 Retention of three-day service; fixed specification OPTION 2 Reinstatement of five-day service; double rotations each day; fixed specification OPTION 3 Five-day service; double rotations three days/week; single rotations two days/week; fixed specification OPTION 4 Capped budget; bidders to propose services and timetables to best meet needs of service users; service thresholds to be specified; bids evaluated against service targets

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 28 September 2016 Procurement Timetable Description Milestone Comhairle Approval of Scope of Services 5 October 2016 Issue of Invitation to Tender 21 October 2016 Return of Tenders 23 November 2016 Identification of Preferred Bidder 9 December 2016 Contract Award 23 December 2016 Contract Start Date 1 April 2017