Transport & infrastructure market research

Thought leadership blog:
Driving forward change: how we delivered the WYCA bus reform consultation

Increasingly, public sector organisations are under pressure to achieve the impossible and engage with a broadly representative cross section of people in response to a proposal to change the way things are done in a particular area. Changes in how transport is planned and managed is one particularly emotive topic for both local and mayoral combined authorities. Whether you feel the UK’s transport network should be re-nationalised or continue to be deregulated, one thing’s certain – the public want a say on the future of transport in their areas. For an elected mayor it is also a subject fraught with political risk. DJS Research has recently supported the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to conduct its statutory consultation into a 'Proposed Bus Franchising Scheme'. The proposal would re-regulate buses to be controlled by the Combined Authority, similar to what happens in London and what has recently been implemented in other large cities in the UK such as Manchester and Liverpool. This was made possible by the Bus Services Act 2017, which allowed local authorities to determine the details of the services to be provided – where they run, when they run and the standards of the service. In theory it means that low patronage routes would be delivered alongside more popular routes for the benefit of the entire West Yorkshire area, thus providing greater connectivity across the region. The proposal was subject to a detailed and technical assessment, which followed a clear process as set out in the 2017 Act, and it was this assessment which was the subject of the statutory consultation. Our team’s extensive experience, gleaned from delivering previous bus reform consultations, meant we were able to support and advise WYCA throughout the entire process. We began by reviewing the questions which were to be asked in the consultation to ensure they were easy to understand and without bias. With the questions optimised the consultation was launched and we waited for the West Yorkshire public and stakeholders to tell us their views. In total 1,245 individuals took part in the consultation, including 69 responses from statutory consultees and other organisations. A further 14,960 responses were received by means of petitions and campaign activities (postcards and email). Our in-house team of coding experts here at DJS Research analysed every single response received. Each point made in response to the questions was coded, which means that the breadth of comment by each participant was captured in detail providing a comprehensive summary of issues raised in relation to the proposals. Such analysis is critical because participants can often hold a supportive position on something, but yet request further vital information for example which also needs to be acknowledged. Then there are stakeholders who provided extremely technical responses, meaning our coding team became bus market experts in a very short space of time! At the conclusion of the consultation period, we produced a thorough analytical report which fed directly into the mayoral decision-making process. We were hugely proud to be in attendance at the Combined Authority meeting where the final decision was taken to proceed with a bus franchising scheme in West Yorkshire too – an outcome which received a great deal of regional and national press coverage! It was so rewarding for our hard-working team to see the headlines and recognise the direct impact of their work, changing transport policy in the region. Because that’s what it’s about at the end of the day – gathering public opinion and implementing the change they ask for… it was an honour to be part of it. You can read the published WYCA Bus Reform Summary Report or view our case study here. To find out more about our public consultation experience, or to discuss our research capabilities in further detail and how we might be able to help your organisation, contact me, Matt Bristow.

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