DTp simplifies registration
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• The Government has changed the regulations on registering deregulated bus services. According to the Department of Transport these alterations should make it easier and cheaper for operators to change services at short notice.
The DTp says the new regulations should come into force on 25 November and will: O Give traffic commissioners wider discretion to grant accelerated registration for new services to meet "an urgent and exceptional public passenger transport requirement."
• Make it possible to run duplicates over part of a service.
• Establish an easier system for notification of service changes in bank holiday periods. Operators will still be required to give 21 days notice of such changes, but will no longer have to pay registration fees.
Michael Portal°, Secretary of State for Transport says: "These new regulations will make it easier for operators to give the public the service they want."
The Bus and Coach Council has welcomed these changes. It says: "We have been asking for some time for these changes. They will help give some flexibility into the system, and if an operator pulls out of a service at the last minute, it can be replaced under the changes more quickly. It will also save operators hundreds of pounds a year."
The BCC believes, however, that many small operators will not be so pleased with the new duplication of services provision.
It says: "Smaller operators are worried about bigger operators taking advantage of this change. The passengers, however, will be pleased with the provision."
Talks between the DTp and the BCC over registration regulations will continue as the BCC wants a complete streamlining of the registration process.