Councils must do better on bus shelters, says county watchdog MORE must be done to improve run-down and vandalised bus shelters according to Lancashire County Council’s watchdog. A task group of county and district councillors has recommended that better coordination is needed across Lancashire to raise the standard of bus shelters and called on the county council to take action. A report on the issue has been published by the Sustainable Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee following an investigation into the impact of poor quality and vandalised shelters on bus use and fear of crime. The task group found that bus shelters across Lancashire are owned by any one of a number of bodies including district councils, parish councils, commercial advertisers and the county council, causing public confusion over ownership and who is responsible for maintenance. County Councillor Keith Young, Chair of the task group, said: “Over 1,000 people have responded to a questionnaire and told us that good quality bus shelters make them feel safer and have a real impact on whether they choose to use the bus. “Lancashire quite rightly has ambitious targets to promote public transport and get more people using the buses. The county council recognises that having decent bus shelters is a major factor in achieving this. “But it is not currently doing enough to put its good intentions into action. The quality of shelters across Lancashire varies greatly from district to district and there is little coordination in place to maintain or improve them.” The investigation found that people’s priorities for improvements to shelters are better timetable information, better vandal proofing, a quicker response to reports of damage or vandalism, and better lighting. County Councillor Young added: “There is a problem with lack of leadership on bus shelters which has led to a piecemeal approach with some districts having a good system of cleaning and maintenance and others doing very little. “Our report recommends that the county council should seek to take on the role of coordination for identifying where bus shelters are, who they belong to and what action is needed to bring them up to standard. When that is done, a partnership with district councils could be established and some minimum standards agreed. “This report has been passed onto the Environment Directorate and I will be seeking a commitment to take our recommendations forward.” The taskgroup visited other authorities in Warrington and Cheshire which had adopted a well planned, high priority approach to bus shelters, negotiating contracts with a private company to provide high-specification shelters across the area. The report recommends that although conditions in Lancashire are different, lessons should be learned from this approach.