Sore PTEs join in tender talks
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• Angry passenger transport executive bosses, disillusioned by the Bus and Coach Council, are discussing the possibility of an alternative tendering assocaition for PTEs, shire councils and Scottish regional councils.
The Passenger Transport Executive Group, which comprises six English PTEs, London Regional Transport and Strathclyde PTE, is spearheading the move.
Roger Simpson, commercial director of West Yorkshire Transport Executive and secretary of the PTE Group, says the majority of tendering authorities left the Bus and Coach Council in June, following the decision to restructure the trade association.
He alleges: "The changes at the BCC eliminated tendering authorities from committee meetings. Instead, the BCC wanted a tendering liaison group to represent tendering authorities which would receive reports of committee meetings after they had been held.
"Tendering authorities felt this meant the loss of their voice in the organisation, as they would only hear of a proposal after it had been decided. So following the changes, they decided to leave because the BCC subscription no longer represented value for money," he says.
The PTE Group is now considering the options available to replace the forum of the BCC, which would represent the needs of all tendering authorities, not just the PTE Group. It is organising a meeting of all former BCC members and "the formation of a new group is a real possibility," says Simpson.
He says if a new organisation was formed it would discuss all matters related to tendering authorities, including concessionary fares and bus stations.