Transport Act 1985

Product Information

For the purposes of Article 28(3), the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain (i.e. such traffic commissioner as the senior traffic commissioner may, pursuant to section 4B of the 1981 Act, require to carry out the functions of a traffic commissioner in respect of those licences, failing which, the senior traffic commissioner) are designated as the national enforcement authority (Regulation 8 of The Rights of Passengers in Bus and Coach Transport (Exemptions and Enforcement) Regulations 2013) in respect of a relevant person who holds a PSV operator’s licence. The designated body to which any passenger may submit a complaint about an alleged contravention of Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 by any relevant person is first to the relevant person who is the subject of the complaint. If the complaint is not resolved within three months after submission to the relevant person, the body specified in respect of any complaint concerning:

Case law identifies two factors to be taken into account in deciding whether to impose a penalty under Section 155: keep sufficient records to demonstrate that there is proper monitoring (which can vary according to the reliability and punctuality of the route as well as service frequency) of all services; You can set fares or contributions at a level to recover the costs of running the vehicle, including an allowance for vehicle depreciation and drivers’ wages. However fares must not be set at a level which would produce a regular surplus of income over expenditure because that would be a profit-making operation and would not eligible under the section 19 permit scheme. In this case you would be likely to need a PSV operator’s licence. Passengers in wheelchairs and disabled persons

Changes to legislation:

you inform DVSA or the designated body that issued your permit of any changes such as the change of name of your organisation, as this means that your permit needs to be replaced. Further guidance on the operation of the short distance exemption was released on 27 September 2019, it is to be read in conjunction with this material. The national market A permit which has been revoked or is no longer valid must be returned to the body which issued it or, where that body is no longer a designated body, to the Central Licensing Office in Leeds. Who can be carried on the vehicle

Minibuses, coaches and buses first used on or after 1 October 2001 must have seatbelts fitted in all forward and rear facing seats, including the driver’s seat. Standard permits authorise the use of vehicles adapted to carry not more than 16 passengers. They can’t be used in larger vehicles. Traffic commissioners have the power to issue permits under section 19 and section 22 in respect of all types of vehicle which can be used under the relevant permit. where partnership working is not in place have the necessary evidence to show the steps taken to initiate this; The 2018 Regulations amend the 1986 Regulations, introducing a new requirement for England only, to notify the relevant local authorities 28 days in advance of any application to a traffic commissioner to introduce, vary or cancel a local bus service. Here are links to:

Changes over time for: Section 6

A vehicle being used under a permit must not be used with a view to profit nor incidentally to an activity which is itself carried on for profit. It is important that the sample of journeys monitored is sufficient to represent the whole operation (see Ribble Motor Services Ltd v Traffic Commissioner for the North West Traffic Area [2001] EWCA Civ 267). However, there is a limit to the extent to which the latitude in decision making allowed to traffic commissioners can go to overcome problems of methods and sizes of samples, and of special traffic situations (see 2000/057 & 2000/062 Yorkshire Rider Ltd & First Bristol Buses Ltd v DETR). It is for the traffic commissioner to weigh up the evidence and determine which is preferred having heard the witnesses (see 2004/138 Parkash Ram Banga trading as Banga Travel). The judgment refers to the size and scale of the operator’s involvement in the road passenger transport market as being a potentially relevant factor when assessing the purposes for which it engages in road passenger transport. For example, where an operator is a large community transport operator in an area where it competes with other large commercial operators, then this factor may make it more difficult to conclude that the purposes for which the operator is engaging in road passenger transport are ‘exclusively non-commercial’. Even if some of its purposes are non-commercial the exemption requires each and every purpose to be non-commercial. However, size and scale of the operator is not in itself sufficient to prevent an operator falling within the scope of the exemption provided they can demonstrate that all their purposes are non-commercial. In doing so, all the factual circumstances need to be taken into account. Cross subsidy As a permit holder you’re responsible for ensuring the safe operation of your vehicles, within the legal requirements and under a valid permit. You should ensure are that: The legislation prevents a local authority from accepting a tender to operate a subsidised service contract under section 89 of the Transport Act 1985 (obligation to invite tenders for subsidised services) from the holder of a section 19 permit. Section 89 applies where local authorities invite tenders to operate public passenger transport services which are local services and where the authority has agreed to subsidise the operator. Services provided under a section 19 permit are not classified as ‘local services’ and members of the general public may not be carried on services provided under such a permit.

School minibuses which are used to transport people are covered by a Section 19 permit scheme. [6] The reference to "Section 19" relates to the Transport Act 1985. [7] See also [ edit ]The service is being provided by a professional transport operator who has been issued with a passenger transport operator’s licence in their host state.

keep a record of any matters that affect the reliability of services and details of the remedial action to try and mitigate the impact; In interpreting the meaning of the exclusively non-commercial purposes exemption, the judgment focused on requiring an operator to ascertain all of its purposes in providing road passenger transport services, i.e. why an operator provides its services, and whether all those purposes are exclusively non-commercial. It’s the responsibility of the holder of a Class E permit to make arrangements to ensure that passengers genuinely fall within Class E - perhaps via a signed application or a membership scheme. When granting a permit to carry passengers in Class E, the traffic commissioner or designated body will need to be satisfied that the applicant has suitable arrangements in place. Changes to the permitMonitoring needs to vary according to the reliability and punctuality of the route as well as service frequency. The less reliable the route the more monitoring and remedial action will be required. Conversely where a service is achieving high compliance then less monitoring will be required. The method of monitoring will vary according to the type and size of operator and the type of equipment and facilities that it has available. 3. Annex to Guidance - examples of a good operation