Did you know? PSV Registration of Local Services Amendment 24 April 2018

New legislation for operators applying for, varying or amending a local bus service
The Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 quietly came into force on 24 April 2018. Very little has been written about the new Regulations, but the amendment will be relevant to operators running (or wishing to run) local bus services.

The new Regulations amend the Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services) Regulations 1986. Those Regulations set out the process that must be followed for an operator to register a local bus service with a traffic commissioner and these Regulations relate to the registration of services with stopping places in England.

Why is this happening?
The Competition and Markets Authority (previously The Competition Commission (Commission), undertook an investigation into the market for local bus services in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland and London) and made recommendations following this in 2011. The Commission recommended that local authorities should have powers to request and make available from operators, information about the patronage and revenue of commercial services that are cancelled. The reasoning being that if an operator is withdrawing or reducing a commercial service, local authorities are able to make informed decisions about any replacement services and to avoid disruption to passengers. These Regulations are intended to implement the Commission’s recommendations.