Agenda item

(a)  That a three month/twelve week pilot for Slough residents on the SMaRT service between O2 and Slough Station be approved.

(b)  That free travel for Slough residents be approved between 10:05 and 15:55 Mon-Fri using QR codes or similar in line with the Slough App.

(c)  That a spend from existing transport budgets of up to £30K be approved for the trial with analysis of usage and related outputs such as carbon saving etc.

The Service Lead Major Infrastructure Projects introduced a report that sought approval for a twelve week pilot offering free travel to residents on the Slough Mass Rapid Transit (SMaRT) service.  The pilot was part of the Transport Vision approved by Cabinet in February 2019.

The SMaRT service operating on the A4 was now an open service and whilst the scheme was working well overall, the level of public use was relatively low with most passengers from businesses that had signed up to the service.  The off peak service was not well used and the proposed pilot was to increase this by offering free travel to Slough residents on the service between 10.05am and 3.55pm.  The estimated cost of the pilot was a maximum of £30k which would be met from existing budgets and the trial would start on 7^th May to 2^nd August 2019.

Members supported the principle of the pilot to contribute to the aims of modal shift from private cars to public transport.  The Cabinet highlighted the importance of promoting the service more widely and discussed how it would work in practice.  Residents would need a QR code or the Slough App to enable access to the service and anyone with a concessionary travel pass could already use this from 9.30am.  It was agreed to introduce the pilot and evaluate the impact after twelve weeks to determine the benefits.

Resolved –

(a)  That a three month/twelve week pilot for Slough residents on the SMaRT service between O2 and Slough Station be approved.

(b)  That free travel for Slough residents be approved between 10:05 and 15:55 Mon-Fri using QR codes or similar in line with the Slough App.

(c)  That a spend from existing transport budgets of up to £30K be approved for the trial with analysis of usage and related outputs such as carbon saving etc.