NTA takes over bus licencing

Victor

http://www.nationaltransport.ie/

Since 1st December 2010, the National Transport Authority has been responsible for the licensing of public bus passenger services.

http://www.nationaltransport.ie/bus_licensing.html

Bus Licensing
Licensing Public Bus Passenger Services

The Guidelines for the licensing of public bus passenger services explain the Authority’s approach for considering licences for commercial public bus passenger service licences.

The Guidelines set out, inter alia, the procedures for licence:

* applications;
* renewals;
* transfers;
* amendments; and

the indicative timeframes and conditions that may be applied in respect of a licence.

The Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 (PTR 2009) established the basis for the Guidelines, which are applicable to all commercial public bus passenger services operating within the State. This licensing system replaces:

* the licensing system that has been operated under the Road Transport Act 1932 for services provided by operators from the private sector; and
* the notification system that had been in place for services provided by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus.

While the licensing system applies equally to all commercial services, Public Service Obligation (PSO) services covered by Public Service Contracts (PSC) do not fall within the licensing system set out in the Guidelines hereunder:

* Guidelines for the Licensing of Public Bus Passenger Services

As outlined in the Guidelines, official forms for licence applications, renewals, transfers, and amendments are available as writeable PDF forms here:

* Licence Application Form
* Renewals Form
* Transfers Form
* Amendments Form

Application forms should be filled in electronically and include, as appropriate:

* details regarding the nature of the proposed service, fares, estimated capacity of vehicles to be used, details of the accessibility status of vehicles proposed for the service
* a detailed electronic timetable for the proposed service including a departure and arrival time for each pick-up and set-down point along the route on the outward and return journeys
* an Ordnance Survey Ireland map to a scale 1:20,000 for urban and suburban areas and 1:50,000 for all other areas, preferably on a web-based geographical file, identifying and naming each set down point clearly along the proposed route.

The form must then be printed off and where application fees are required, all relevant fees must be received before an application is registered. The relevant application form and section 13 Fees of the Guidelines provide further information regarding fees and payment.

Applicants should also refer to the Guidelines and in particular section 4 Applying for a Bus Passenger Services Licence before submitting any application to the Authority.


Background to the Guidelines

As required by the PTR Act 2009, the Authority submitted the draft Guidelines to:

* the Minister for Transport;
* the relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee; and
* the Competition Authority;

for written observations.

A public consultation process also commenced on 29th July 2010 encouraging all interested parties to submit their views on the Guidelines.

The National Transport Authority’s Board passed the Guidelines on 19th November 2010. A report was prepared to assist the Board’s deliberations and understanding of the public consultation submissions received and this is available hereunder:

* Public Consultation on the Draft Guidelines for the Licensing of Public Bus Passenger Services


Legislative basis of the Guidelines

In the context of public transport regulation, the Authority is also responsible for the management of Part 3 Chapter 2 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 (DTA Act 2008) which established a new contractual structure relating to the provision of subvented bus and rail services in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA).

Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 »

The Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 (PTR Act 2009) amended the DTA Act 2008 and extends that contractual structure to the rest of the State. The PTR Act 2009 also provides the primary basis for the Guidelines and is available hereunder:

Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 »

The DTA Act 2008 allows the Authority to enter into public transport services contracts (PSC) for the provision of subvented public bus services. Details of the PSC are available here:

* Contract between NTA and Dublin Bus
* Contract between NTA and Irish Rail
* Contract between NTA and Bus Éireann

This contractual structure is grounded in the provisions of the Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road, which came into force on 3rd December 2009. Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 provides for a contractual framework in the awarding of exclusive rights and compensation for services deemed to be ‘Public Service Obligations’ (PSO).

List of Passenger Licences, 22nd June 2010

Victor

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1215/1224285580710.html

More competition for bus routes

Guidelines which allow private bus operators to compete for an existing commercial route licence have been published by the National Transport Authority.

The move means bus companies are set to face more direct competition for existing licensed routes and have an equal opportunity to provide commercial services to bus passengers.

However, the challenge will not extend to most routes operated by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus as these are not considered “commercial”, as they require a subsidy.

A spokeswoman for the National Transport Authority said some Bus Éireann routes may come within the remit of the guidelines, as they were profit-making.

However, she said the CIÉ companies had “fixed contracts agreed for five years” from when the NTA came into existence on December 1st last.

Cookie_Monster

A spokeswoman for the National Transport Authority said some Bus Éireann routes may come within the remit of the guidelines, as they were profit-making.

So we allow private operators to make money off profitable BE routes while at the same time have to subsidise BE more as they've lost out on significant revenue from their few profitable routes so can't self subsidise as much?

To me the above is exactly why public transport should not be privatised, even in this country.

Sulmac

What we should have is proper competitive tendering (bundling profitable routes with unprofitable routes) and effective regulation for all routes like they have in London - link.

Basically, what the NTA are saying means that there will be competition on routes that aren't served by Bus Éireann or Dublin Bus for five years.

Still, every little helps, I suppose...