County councils may take control of concessionary bus fares

01 April 2009

The Department for Transport is set to consult on plans to transfer responsibility for concessionary bus fares from district to county councils, Surveyor has learned.

Councils have welcomed the prospect of an administrative shake-up, with many facing funding shortfalls since the scheme’s introduction 12 months ago.

The plans, which will go out for consultation in a few weeks, would see the number of authorities overseeing the scheme fall from 280 to just over 80 unitary and county councils. The DfT is looking at transitional issues, funding and distribution, passenger transport executive (PTE) powers and ‘additional flexibilities’, Surveyor understands.

Alan Hill, chairman of the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers’ bus executive, said the move would significantly reduce the administrative costs, given each council was currently having to ‘replicate all the reimbursements’.

But he said a new national agency would be best placed to oversee the scheme.

‘We recognise the inefficiencies of having a large number of authorities reimbursing operators and believe the public purse would be better served by having a single, national agency to take responsibility.’

Transport authorities could purchase local enhancements – such as allowing free travel for over-60s before 9.30am or on trams and local train services – from such an agency, he said.

Teignbridge District Council in Devon, like many coastal areas facing a funding shortfall, said county councils would be better equipped to fund the scheme – especially as they were rewarded for increased public transport usage under their local transport plan funding from central government.

‘The funding from central to lower-tier local government never exactly matches the cost of the scheme – the difference often being higher or lower by amounts that, to district councils, is very significant but would be easily absorbed by county councils,’ added John Cocker, Teignbridge’s strategic manager.

‘Therefore, county or regional is the way to go, unless the DfT wants to run the risk of holding this very expensive baby.’
Dorset County Council would also welcome the transfer of responsibility. David Dawkins, integrated transport unit manager, said: ‘First, like a lot of county councils, we have a statutory roll to co-ordinate public transport networks, and it would make sense to have a equal co-ordination roll in the usage of those networks. Second, while it currently rests with district councils to make reimbursements to bus companies, they typically do not have public transport expertise, and this is, therefore, something of an anomaly within those authorities.’

A spokesman for the Confederation of Passenger Transport said: ‘As long as we receive adequate repayment, we’re happy, either way.’

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