Transport for London

Minutes of a meeting of the Board
held on Friday 8th September 2000, starting at 10.00 a.m. 
in  Room AG16, Romney House, Marsham Street, London SW1P 3PY

Present: 	Ken Livingstone (Chair)
	Dave Wetzel (Vice-Chair)  (for items 25/00 to 33/00)
	Stephen Glaister
	Kirsten Hearn
	Mike Hodgkinson
	Oli Jackson
	Susan Kramer
	Robert Lane
	Joyce Mamode
	Paul Moore	
	Steven Norris
	David Quarmby
	Tony West 

Special Advisors 	Bryan Heiser 
in attendance: 	Lynn Sloman 

Others 	Anthony Mayer
in attendance : 	Betty Morgan
	Maureen Nolan
		Michael Swiggs
	Nicky Gavron (for items 32.2/00 to 33/00)

25/00	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence had been received from Jimmy Knapp.   It was agreed that a letter should be sent on behalf of the Board to Mr. Knapp wishing him a speedy recovery. 

26/00	MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the previous Board meeting held on 27th July were agreed as a true record. 

27/00	MATTERS ARISING

Performance indicators for the Call Centre 

It was noted that a short report on the performance indicators for the Call Centre had been prepared by Dave Wetzel’s Policy Adviser.  A copy of the report had been sent to Stephen Glaister and Robert Lane and a copy would be provided to other Board members and Special Advisors on request.   

28/00	PROCEDURAL ITEMS

28.1/00	Formation of the TfL Advisory Panel and update on progress in relation to Management boards

A paper outlining the progress made in establishing the Management boards in the light of advice received and  proposing the formation of an Advisory Panel was considered.  

The Board endorsed the formation of the TfL Advisory Panel and delegated to the Vice-Chair of TfL the power to appoint advisors to it.

The Board delegated to the Vice-Chair, in consultation with the Chief Executive, approval of the terms of reference of the Management Board.

The Board endorsed the formation of the business boards in the format outlined in the Board paper, subject to further consultation in relation to the Rail Services board, and delegated to the Vice-Chair, in consultation with the Chief Executive, approval of the composition of the boards. 

The Board delegated to the Management Board approval of the terms of reference of the other business boards and also of the TfL Advisory Panel. 

The Board noted that amendments would be required to the TfL Board’s Standing Orders at a future meeting to reflect the finalised management structure and also that the new business boards were starting to convene to take up their remit. 

It was noted that it had not proved possible to obtain representation for the specific interests of pedestrians, cyclists, old and young people on all the Business boards and it was agreed that, where possible, these interests should be represented on the Advisory Panel. 

28.2/00	Accessibility of information on TfL website
	
The request that TfL should make the information on its website accessible to all users, for instance by providing a choice of portable document format or rich text format was noted.  TfL intended to develop this strategy and suggestions would be welcomed from Board members, Special Advisors and members of the public.

28.3 /00	Disclosure Policy

A paper proposing a general policy of openness regarding access by the public to information on TfL operations was considered. 

The Board endorsed the principle of disclosure outlined in the paper to pursue a policy of openness, except where commercial or legal factors require otherwise.  It was noted that practical guidelines to support this would be prepared by TfL, to be endorsed by the Management Board.

28.4/00	Appointment of Shareholder Representative for Transport Trading Limited

A paper outlining the purpose of appointing a shareholder representative for Transport Trading Limited (TTL) was considered.

It was agreed that Dave Wetzel be appointed as the shareholder representative of TfL with authority to vote at general meetings and sign all documents on behalf of TfL in its capacity as a shareholder of TTL, in accordance with such instructions or authority as may be given from time to time by TfL. 

28.5/00	Chair’s actions for endorsement

The following Chair’s actions, which had been taken since the previous Board meeting, were endorsed: 

Date 	Action 	Taken by 	
02 August	Retention of current operator of bus contract for route 29/N29, where the total value over five years exceeds £25m.(Contract price £5,534,499 pa)
	Dave Wetzel	
07 August	Changes in specifications for additional vehicles for Docklands Light Rail. (Total cost £1.5 m).
	Dave Wetzel	

29/00	EAST THAMES BUSES

Steven Norris declared an interest as a director of First Group’s Bus Operations.  

Oli Jackson declared an interest through his office as Senior Regional Officer of the Transport and General Workers Union. 

It was noted that a consultant had been appointed to examine the scope and delivery of the service and the management structure and that his report should be finalised by mid September.   It was agreed that this report should be put to the Management Board meeting to be held on 21st September 2000, to which Board members, Special Advisors and the consultant would be invited.  A report of the decisions made at this Management Board meeting would be made at the October Board meeting. 

30/00	FARES

A paper outlining the Mayor’s final recommendations for fares in 2001 was considered. 

The Board noted that the proposals outlined in the Board paper for Item 6 on the Agenda for the Board meeting held on 27 July 2000 had been confirmed by the Mayor, following consultation, and included: a freeze on bus and tram fares; an increase on fares on the Underground in line with inflation; an increase in specific tube fares as part of a two year programme of increases; and an increase in One Day Travelcards broadly in line with inflation.  It was noted that there would be consultation on fare reductions to be introduced in January 2003 to assist the introduction of congestion charging.

It was noted that there would be a meeting of Board members on 3rd October to review the Transport Strategy.   

It was noted that the Mayor would issue a formal direction in relation to fares shortly. 

31/00	REPORTS 
	
31.1/00	Performance Report

The monthly Performance Report for July 2000 was noted. A Service Performance Review report had also been circulated to Board members prior to the meeting. 

Concern was expressed that the Performance Reports did not measure real levels of customer satisfaction and it was agreed that realistic customer satisfaction surveys should be carried out by independent consultants.  It was noted that a long term contract was to be awarded to assess bus, Underground and overland train services on a regular basis, which would become a benchmark. The remit of the consultants should include information from particular sections of the community often not covered by surveys (for example those who do not speak English as their first language).   The survey should include travellers and non-travellers.   It was agreed that the performance reports should be extended to include  pedestrians, cyclists, residents and businesses using London’s roads. 

It was noted that many of the earlier suggestions from Board members on performance indicators had been incorporated into this  Performance Report and that Board members and Special Advisors had been invited to a seminar at which performance indicators would be further reviewed and agreed.   

It was also agreed that, following any significant transport-related operational incident, Board members would be provided with a brief summary of the background and causes. 

It was noted that London Underground had not been included in the Performance Report and it was agreed that this should be discussed at the forthcoming seminar on performance indicators. It was further noted that the integration with London Underground was progressing, with a view to it assuming processes which were consistent with that of TfL. 

There was an indication, reported by the Chair, that the transfer of  London Underground to TfL might now be later than planned, and that if so, there would be an impact on budgets. 

32.2/00	Development of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and the TfL Business Plan

A paper summarising the progress and timescales of budgets and business plans for TfL was considered. The positions on the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, the TfL business plan and the status report were noted. 

It was noted that the rate of capital projects being started in the first year might lead to problems in relation to the backloaded nature of the agreed funding.   The situation would be clarified with Government Office for London. It was agreed that decisions regarding further representations to Government regarding more funds should be made after the five month review had been discussed at the October Board meeting.  

It was agreed that the capital projects should be pursued, assisted by the future anticipated income stream from congestion charging although noting that some projects might have to be deferred. To facilitate the implementation of the capital projects, it was considered important to improve service and capacity before any introduction of congestion charging.

The need to build an East Thames river crossing was discussed and the potential strategic advantage of introducing a heavy rail crossing was raised.  An integrated approach to the solution was emphasised  and a top priority is to extend the Docklands Light Railway to Woolwich, with the possibility of a heavy rail crossing in the longer term.  

The suggestion was made that the river crossing schemes, which were currently treated as a package, should be broken down and a cost/benefit analysis undertaken of individual schemes.  It was noted that significant resources would need to be allocated to project planning.  It was agreed that the issues surrounding the East Thames river crossings should be debated by the Board in the Autumn.

It was agreed it was important to establish good relationships with the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, especially where integrated projects were concerned.  The Deputy Mayor (Nicky Gavron) was invited to report on recent developments.   It was agreed that the business plan would be discussed in parallel with the strategy meeting and that Alex Jan and Tony Travers should be invited to attend.

Some Board members requested detailed budget figures for the inherited current year budget.  It was agreed that the monthly Group Management Accounts should be sent to Susan Kramer and to any other Board members on request.

33/00	HUNGERFORD BRIDGE

A personal briefing note from the Mayor on actions taken regarding Hungerford Bridge had been circulated to Board members prior to the meeting and the Mayor gave an oral update on the situation.   The proposal involved building two new bridges, one on each side of, and attached to, the existing railway bridge.  TfL would not take over responsibility for managing the contract.  

Board members expressed concerns about engineering problems associated with the bridge and asked whether other options existed, such as opting for the construction of only one of the proposed new bridges. It was noted that Westminster Council had taken out insurance to limit any cost overruns.   The Board was assured that, before commitments were entered into, TfL would satisfy itself on design and safety issues.

There was general consensus that the bridge had considerable strategic significance as a key pedestrian facility to open up the rapidly-developing South Bank.   It was noted that the condition of the existing pedestrian bridge was unacceptable and that the benefits to Londoners should be taken into consideration when arriving at a decision.  

The Board noted the position.  The Mayor said that no commitment would be made until the designs and funding agreement had been fully assessed.  A report would be made at the next Board meeting. 

34/00	CONGESTION CHARGING

A background paper on congestion charging was considered and an oral update of the results of the Assembly Scrutiny Committee on Congestion Charging held on 7th September was given at the meeting.  

The Board noted three main areas of concern arising from the Scrutiny Committee’s meeting: 

•	the need to ensure TfL delivers complementary transport improvements; 
•	concern on traffic displacement in areas immediately adjacent to the proposed congestion charging area and the need for adequate traffic measures in these areas; and
•	the need to await the publication of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy before final contractual commitments are given.  

Due to time constraints, it had not proved possible to include in the Board papers a copy of the paper that had been delivered to the Scrutiny Committee, the press release,  and the press coverage in the Times on 8th September, but these were available after the meeting for Board members to collect and would be distributed with the minutes. It was agreed that the Board should spend half a day discussing congestion charging. 

The Board approved the proposed response to the Discussion Paper attached to Agenda Item 8.

35/00	ANY OTHER BUSINESS 

35.1/00	Health & Safety Policy

The Board noted that, following the approval of the TfL Health & Safety policy at the Board meeting on 3rd July, consultation with trade unions had taken place and the policy had been agreed and would now be be circulated to all TfL staff. 

35.2/00	Appointment of Chair of London Bus Services Limited

Following his retirement, Denis Tunnicliffe, Chairman of London Bus Services Ltd, was removed from the Board of LBSL  by its wholly owned parent company, Transport Trading Limited on 3rd July 2000.  As urgent actions needed to be taken that required a chair, the Board noted that Dave Wetzel had been appointed Chair of LBSL  by Chair’s action on 3rd July 2000.
 
35.3/00	Appointment of additional directors of London Bus Services Ltd. 

The Board noted that the Board of Transport Trading Limited would be appointing Joyce Mamode and Bryan Heiser as directors and joint Deputy Chairs of London Bus Services Limited.  It was noted that the roles and responsibilities of the Chairs and Vice-chairs of the TfL Board, the business boards and the Advisory Panel and a matrix illustrating the business boards would be prepared for Board Members in the near future. 

35.4/00	Corporate identity of TfL

The corporate identity of TfL and the London Transport (LT) roundel was discussed.  The roundel would be retained, but it was essential for TfL to be seen as a new organisation with a new remit, which was broader than simply the old LT remit.   It was noted that the intellectual property rights associated with the roundel had been assigned to TfL. 

	There being no further business, the meeting closed at 12.10 pm. 

……..………………………………….
	Chair