ae Comments on lain Gray's proposed Bus Bill from Barry Turner ‘As Chairman of RELBUS | am obviously supporting the RELBUS submission. In a personal capacity as a private individual | would like to supplement that submission with my interpretation of what the Bill should look like. ! am a town planner with long experience of relating land use planning with transportation | was for three years, until last year, Environment and Transport Convener on East Lothian Council. Essence of the Bill If, following extensive local consultations, a local transport authority or a group of such authorities acting together through a Regional Transport Partnership formally decides that bus services in its/their area need to be better integrated and/or better related to identified needs, or that there are significant quality of service issues, then, if appropriate changes cannot be achieved through negotiation with operators, it/they will be empowered to instigate procedures for the tendering of services in and related to a particular transport corridor, or a wider network of services. This will include both commercial and socially necessary routes. Dependent on the outcome of local consultations and discussions with operators this action will be discretionary rather than a requirement, for no action may be considered necessary, or other means may be available to achieve minor changes. The operational arrangements instigated through the tender process will replace the deregulatory provisions of the current legislative regime and current arrangements for supporting local bus services. Operators not party to the tender agreement will be excluded from the area covered by it unless specific arrangements are agreed for the continued operation of longer distance services. In order to avoid legal challenges from operators, the Traffic Commissioner would need to be satisfied that objective criteria relating to need and desired outcomes (j.e. replacing the current market failure test) have been met before any new arrangements can be put in place,(The Bill should specify these criteria). Local consultation The initial consultation will be mandatory and involve a wide spectrum of interests. It will seek views on all aspects of current bus services including gaps in provision and how these might be met, Its findings will be discussed with operators and efforts made through negotiation to make changes within the current legislative framework. Tendered services, if considered necessary, will be tallored to meet assessed needs and deficiencies. Where it may not be appropriate to operate conventional buses to meet needs, most notably in the ‘most remote rural locations, a new onus will be placed on local transport authorities to co- ordinate and organise community transport provision to meet needs in the most cost- effective way. (NB This may need separate legislation but the relationship between conventional and community transport should be recognised in the Bill). Arrangements for ‘ongoing consultation and user involvement will be put in place. The tender agreement ‘The agreement will specify: ~ All the services to be covered including routeings and terminal points ~ The types of vehicles to be operated on different routes ~ Frequencies, times of first and last buses and integrated timetables ~ Afares regime~ Arequirement for transfer/through tickets = How information about services will be provided to the public ~ The period of the agreement Penalties for failure to deliver Exception arrangements for the continuation of through services outside the agreement Reciprocal actions by the local authorities (see below) Where there is not an operating surplus an agreed sum of money will be paid to the successful operators to provide the tendered services and will be aggregated between Participating authorities as appropriate. This will replace money currently paid to operators providing supported services and could also include all government grants and subsidies in a single package. In circumstances where the overall identified service provision is seen to be profitable the reverse will apply and operators will make a financial bid to run services as is the case with some rail franchises. Joint bids For the purpose of tendering, recognising that there are different types of service and varying sizes of operator, bids will be considered from a joint venture between large and small operators or between a group of small operators in order to obtain best value and utilise local assets. (Such an arrangement may need accompanying legislation to overcome collusion and competition rules). Alternatively the agreement will specify services that could be sub-contracted. Enforcement The Traffic Commissioner will have the power to impose financial penalties on operators who fail to meet the terms of the agreement or withdraw from it altogether. Monitoring and review There will be ongoing review by the local authorities of performance in relation to the objectives of the agreement. Timetable and minor route changes that are deemed necessary will take place no more often than twice a year following local consultation, and on the same date across the area covered by the agreement and any related agreement. Reciprocal arrangements The local authority or groups thereof (2) Specify in tender documents and include as part of the resultant agreement any infrastructure improvements that they will undertake to support bus services covered by it and considered necessary to maximise passenger convenience and the effective operation of the tendered routes, (b) Liaise with Transport Scotland and the rail operators with regard to better integration between bus services and rail services in order to promote and make more convenient public transport use across modes. BARRY TURNER