Memorandum submitted by The Traffic Commissioners
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Traffic Commissioners (TCs) are regulators
of the Bus Industry in Great Britain. Their role as a single person
tribunal requires them to consider road safety, fair competition
and bus punctuality. There are seven full time Traffic Commissioners.
2. THE POWERS
OF THE
TRAFFIC COMMISSIONERS
2.1 These are set out, in so far as they
relate to the bus industry, in the Public Passenger Vehicles Act
1981, the Transport Act 1985, and the Transport Act 2000, together
with relevant secondary legislation.
2.2 TCs have the power to take action against
non-compliant bus operators who do not comply with the conditions
and undertakings of their Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators'
licences.
2.3 The orders which TCs may make against
bus operators who do not run their buses according to the registered
timetables include restricting or prohibiting operators from running
services on certain routes, or imposing a financial penalty.
3. THE EFFECTIVENESS
OFF THE
TCS' FUNCTION
3.1 There are several factors which mitigate
against TCs being able to use their powers effectively. These
include:
— In England, a total lack of adequate
resources to monitor bus punctuality. The DfT pays for bus compliance
officers and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) employs
them. There are no more than two such officers allocated to each
traffic area. Additional funding is available in Scotland and
Wales for this purpose.
— A lack of will amongst a number of
local transport authorities to ensure that there is adequate provision
for bus services and a failure by them to develop meaningful partnerships
with PSV operators.
— The nature of the local road network
along which buses are expected to operate.
— A failure by Government to modernise
methods of measuring bus punctuality and to legislate accordingly.
— The above matters create difficulties
for TCs when considering whether a PSV operator has a reasonable
excuse for failing to run its services punctually.
4. THE FUTURE
4.1 As independent regulators, TCs are able
to call non-compliant operators to a Public Inquiry. This provides
a PSV operator with an opportunity to explain reasons for non-compliance.
4.2 The TCs' role could be enhanced by:
— Ensuring a modern approach to the
collection of evidence.
— Giving TCs adequate resources to
carry out their statutory duties.
— Making provision for TCs to enquire
of local transport authorities (and possibly central government)
the reasons for an apparent lack of support for local PSV operators
in the provision of an effective bus service.
4.3 TCs have demonstrated a willingness
to take notice of the views of all stakeholders in the bus industry.
Practice Direction No 4 (Standards for Local Bus Services) was
amended in November 2004 to encourage greater consultation between
local transport authorities and bus operators. It also introduced
the concept of punctuality improvement partnerships and set out
the guidelines within which TCs work when considering action against
non-compliant operators.
4.4 TCs believe that their effectiveness
as regulators would be improved with adequate provision of resources
and a clearer definition of their role.
June 2006
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