Passenger Service Operators - Appendix B

STAGE CARRIAGE.

This is deemed to occur where a road service licensee provides for the carriage of passengers (of any description) at separate fares, normally collected on board a vehicle, on a pre-determined route with pre-determined pick up/set down points, in accordance with a published timetable.

NOTE: Where a route is already adequately served by a licensed stage carriage service, a licence for a competing stage carriage service will not normally be granted unless an operator can prove (1) a particular need for the service and (2) that he has scheduled his proposed service either at least 30 minutes before or after any existing licensed service.

EXPRESS SERVICE

This is deemed to occur when a road service licensee provides for the carriage of passengers at separate fares, normally collected on board a vehicle on a pre-determined route with pre-determined pick up and set down points in accordance with a published timetable. Each passenger journey must include a closed door element, which is not less than 30 miles measured in a straight line during which passengers must not be picked up or set down. Therefore on an express service, it will be a condition of the licence that only passengers travelling on a journey, which includes the 30 mile closed door element, will be carried. It is accepted that a passenger on a return journey may be set down at their original pick-up point.

NOTE: No more than 2 competing operator/services (either stage carriage or express) will normally be allowed on the same route.

Clarification

This guideline recognises that an express service can meet different passenger needs from those met by stage carriage services. On longer distance journeys (in Northern Ireland deemed to be over distances greater than 30 miles), some passengers may prefer a quicker or more direct "express" service rather than a stage carriage service, which stops more frequently.

This guideline was introduced some time after the licensed stage carriage network had been established. It is the Department's intention that the existence of a licensed stage carriage operator on a route should not prevent the passenger from enjoying a longer distance express service, provided that the introduction of such an express service would not directly compromise the existence of the already licences local stage carriage services. It is recognised that a competing express service may attract some passengers making longer journeys on an existing stage carriage service but this need not necessarily comprise the availability of that service from passengers making short journeys.

Whilst the guideline allows an incumbent stage carriage operator to introduce a parallel express service on the route, it is the Department's policy that the interests of the longer-distance passenger are served best by competition from another express service operator. The Department acknowledges that allowing free access to operators to introduce any number of competing express services on a route would be to the detriment of all passengers. Therefore, the guideline contains a proviso that no more than two operators, competing "head to head", will normally be allowed on the same express route. This would not prevent one operator offering an express service only and another operator offering both an express service and a local stopping stage carriage service on the same route or part of that route.

As with the guideline for stage carriage services, it is intended that the licensed express service operator on a route should offer a regular timetable throughout the day. An express service once every 30 minutes is regarded as an adequate provision. In exceptional circumstances, where a licensed express operator is offering only a limited timetable, a third operator (in addition to the existing express licence holder and a stage carriage licence holder) may avail of the 30-minute rule to offer additional express services. The fact that a stage carriage operation on the route may offer a 30 minute or better frequency on the route will have no bearing on the licensing of an adequate provision of express services on that route.

REGULAR CONTRACT CARRIAGE

This occurs where a Road Service Licensee has a contract with an organisation or group for the hire of his vehicle on a "regular basis", i.e. on one or more occasions per week. Separate fares may be collected but not by the Road Service Licensee or any of his employees or agents who receive any consideration whatsoever for so doing. In particular no money may be collected on board the vehicle. The operator will be expected to receive lump sum remuneration from the Contractor no more frequently than weekly.

OCCASIONAL PRIVATE HIRE

This occurs when a Road Service Licensee's vehicle is engaged on an occasional basis to carry a group of passengers, e.g., a day trip, and no money is collected on the vehicle. The operator is paid a lump sum by the organiser to provide the agreed service.

EXCURSIONS OR TOURS

Excursions or Tours are occasional advertised services for the carriage of passengers at separate fares whereby :-

1. the passengers travel together on a journey, with or without breaks, from one or more places of departure to one or more destinations within the United Kingdom and back to the place or places of departure.
2. normally none of the destinations is less than 30 miles distanance measured in a straight line from any of the places of departure; and
3. on not more than 2 occasions in any period of 7 consecutive days are passengers carried on such a journey between a place of departure and a destination both of which are situated within half a mile of the route of an existing regular public timetable service of another licensed operator, unless either the time of departure or completion of the journey differs by at least one hour from the nearest corresponding scheduled time of an outward or return journey respectively by the regular public timetable service.

SEPARATE FARES

The Department will regard this as including payments to an employer, whether by deductions from payroll or by direct debit collection for the purposes of securing travel to and from work. It would also include the sharing of travel costs within a group, or payments to a travel agent, club, or association or payment of a larger sum for a different purpose but which also included the right of a payee to be carried. If separate fares are paid or collected by the Road Service Licensee, his employee, or an agent, in return for any consideration whatsoever, the service cannot be defined as "contract carriage", only as a "stage carriage".

Demand Responsive Bus Service

This is a service, which serves one or more local communities or neighbourhoods within a specified geographical area. It is provided for the carriage of passengers at separate fares, which are fixed in advance and are not subject to variation according to the number of passengers carried on the journey. The service is provided solely for the purpose of carrying passengers who have booked in advance of the journey and whose collective requirements determine the route of each journey. Each single passenger journey must not exceed 24.15kms (15 miles) when measured in a straight line between pick up and set down points (the Department may consider exceptions to this maximum distance to ensure no pockets of rural dwellers are excluded from the service, particularly around coastal or border areas).

An operator may apply to provide the service to the general public or may restrict the service to specified user groups within the local population.

NOTE: There is no limit on the number of operators who can register Demand Responsive Bus Services within a local area.

Please refer to the Demand Responsive Bus Services - Guidance for Operators (see Appendix E) which details all information to be provided with an application to licence a service and the standard conditions of operating the service.