MPs want to give councils more power over buses

08 August 2007

MPs have urged the Government to amend the Draft Local Transport Bill to ensure local authorities have greater control over bus companies under quality partnership schemes.

In its response to the draft Bill, the transport select committee recommended that the Government nullify the right of bus operators to unilaterally withdraw or alter services, once an agreement is reached.

In addition, passenger transport authorities should be given powers to fine bus companies for breach of agreement. ‘Bus operators must recognise that partnership works both ways, and the price of being a full partner is not threatening the local authority when arrangements are not entirely to their liking.' In turn, the Bill should be amended to guarantee partnership criteria, such as frequencies and timings are ‘set by agreement between the authority and operators’.

The committee also recommends that other operators should not be able to compete outside the standards of a partnership agreement. ‘Where a partnership exists, bus operators should only be allowed to run services in competition where they comply with the standards of the partnership agreement,’ it says.

Otherwise, ‘quality partnerships will not work’. It also called for more flexibility for transport authorities, such as county councils to form passenger transport authorities (PTAs) covering only part rather than the whole of their areas.

‘The requirement for the whole authority to join will stifle the development of passenger transport areas that truly serve the needs of passengers’ it says. ‘It is vital that PTA boundaries can be fixed in ways that reflect local strategic partnerships as well as local travel-to-work patterns.’

Regarding the time taken to set up a quality contract, the committee recommends a time limit for the approval period of six months. It shared concerns voiced by pteg that approval could take one to five years – and the whole process up to five years – and not the 14 to 20 months estimated by the Government. Furthermore, local traffic commissioners should sometimes chair the approvals board, rather than senior traffic commissioners automatically doing so, because they will ‘often be more familiar with the local circumstances which have led to the scheme being proposed’.

Other recommendations include establishing a statutory bus passenger advocate body ‘to hear the complaints of bus-users’. Welcoming the report, pteg chair David Wood, said: ‘This is a thoughtful report by the select committee which the Government would be well advised to take heed of as it develops the legislation.’

Download The Draft Local Transport Bill and the Transport Innovation Fund report here

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