Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Jeff Brace, David Durant and Lynden Thorpe.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 7 November 2013  and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2013 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee asked if there had been any progress made on contacting the large brand companies in relation to the contributing fees paid by the local authority.  Officers stated they would report back to the Committee in March.

The Committee will receive a presentation on LED Lighting and how this feeds into the Council’s Carbon Commitment.

It was agreed that this item be deferred to the next meeting of the Committee, which was due to be held on 11 March 2014.

The Committee will receive an update on how the tracker system is helping to streamline the vehicle fleet.

The Committee received a demonstration of the GPS tracker system, Baktrak, which was installed on all fleet owned by Havering, this included PSV buses, freight vehicles and Streetcare vehicles.  There were a total of 180 vehicles in the fleet.  Officers agreed to circulate the full list of vehicles to members of the Committee.

It was noted that the majority of bus trips were completed by 18:00, however other vehicles from the Streetcare fleet, were still operational including road sweepers and salters.

The Baktrak system was a web-based system, which updated every 30 seconds and therefore was “real-time” data.  It was not to watch staff, but to ensure that routes are being carried out correctly, and if vehicles are needed urgently, officers can see where the nearest vehicle is.  It could also be used if claims of damage are received as operators can look back on the system to see where a specific vehicle was at any time.  It was invaluable for if a vehicle was stolen, as the tracker would trace it.  The system could be used to locate a particular point of interest.

Officers explained that a number of awards had been won by Passenger Transport Services (PTS) for the way the service works.  PTS was looking to get accredited under the Freight Operators Rating System (FORS).  This would include a number of areas being investigated, including the graph analysis, license checks and CPC training.  The officer stated that he attend a monthly meeting with other London Boroughs, to share knowledge. 

The Committee asked if the system was cost effective.  Officers stated that it was very competitive and the cost was £7 per month, per vehicle.  This was half the cost of other providers.  Vehicles can be assigned to particular jobs and collections times can be set, this can be programmed onto the system the night before if necessary.  The system allows the operator to track a vehicle so if a client calls to say the bus has not arrived; the operator can see exactly where it is and advise the client accordingly.

Officers informed the Committee that upgrades to the system were free and generally done remotely.  The software was updated on a monthly basis.  Officers were looking into measuring the level of fuel consumption used by each vehicle.  This would be another cost saving, as driver training could be set up to target specific areas that could reduce the fuel consumption.

The Committee were very impressed with the system being used and felt that the information should be given to other members through the Member Development Training Group.  They also felt that the information about the system should be included in an article for the Living magazine.

The Committee thanked officers for the very informative presentation.

The Committee will receive a report on the scope of variable speed limits around the borough, following a discussion at a previous meeting.

The Committee received a report on Variable Speed Limits.  The officer explained that the main operation of variable speed limits was on motorways, where conditions create an increased safety risk in the event of poor visability or congestion.

Members raised concerns about the 20mph zones, which were in operation around schools and other areas of the borough.  They felt that these should revert back to 30mph zones outside of school hours, or during the early hours of the morning.  Officer explained that the zones were in place and were generally in smaller side roads where traffic calming measure had also being put in place.  It was explained that variable signs would need Government approval, which was unlikely to be granted.

A member asked about flashing signs which could be operational at certain times of the day, and felt that these would be beneficial in controlling the speed during certain hours of the day, and when not in operation, the speed would revert to 30mph.  Officers stated that a third of all traffic scheme requested at Highways Advisory Committee were for speed calming measures i.e. humps, chicanes etc.

After further discussion, officers agreed that they would look at costs of variable signs, road markings and other signage together with a possible pilot location, which they would bring back to the committee in the future.

The Committee noted that at its next meeting the following items would be on the agenda:

·         Parks and parks enforcement

·         Air Quality

·         Carbon Footprint/ LED Lighting

·         Blue Badge Renewals update

·         Committee Annual Report

The Committee asked that the presentation on the Carbon Footprint/ LED Lighting be circulated prior to the next meeting so that it was simply a question and answer session.