HC Deb 06 June 1995 vol 261 cc44-6W
Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers are available to traffic commissioners to restrict the routes and number of vehicles operating on local bus routes. [25908]

Mr. Norris

Powers are available to traffic commissioners under section 7 of the Transport Act 1985 whereby they may determine traffic regulation conditions to regulate, inter alia, the routes of services and to limit the number of vehicles which may be used in the provision of a local service.

Commissioners may determine traffic regulation conditions only at the request of a traffic authority and only if satisfied that such conditions are required in order to prevent danger to road users or reduce severe traffic congestion.

Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by traffic area office the number of staff employed specifically on bus monitoring and the number of hours spent on this task for each of the last 12 months. [25909]

Mr. Norris

The only staff employed specifically by traffic area offices on this task are casual—often retired staff—working part time. These are used to varying degrees depending on local arrangements. Precise staff numbers and the breakdown of hours spent per month are not easily available, but the total annual number of hours by all staff, including permanent traffic area office and vehicle inspectorate staff, in 1994–95 is given.

Annual number of hours worked on bus monitoring by each traffic area
Traffic area office Total number of hours 1994–95
North Eastern (Leeds) 740
North Western (Manchester 525
West Midland (Birmingham) 900
Eastern (Cambridge) 257
South Wales (Cardiff) 840
Western (Bristol) 398
South Eastern & Metropolitan (Eastbourne) 0
Scottish (Edinburgh) 936
Total 4,596

Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action(a) his Department and (b) the north-eastern traffic commissioner have taken in respect of predatory behaviour by bus companies in Darlington. [25910]

Mr. Norris

It is not for the Department to take action in respect of predatory behaviour by bus companies. Anti-competitive conduct is a matter for the competition authorities.

Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the penalties available to traffic commissioners for dealing with public service vehicle operators who fail to operate local bus services in a proper manner. [25913]

Mr. Norris

The penalties are set out in sections 26 and 111 of the Transport Act 1985. In summary, they are as followsA traffic commissioner may attach to the operator's licence a condition prohibiting the operator from using vehicles under the licence to provide any local service of a description specified in the condition or one prohibiting him from so using vehicles to provide local services of any description. A traffic commissioner may make a determination that an operator has failed to operate a local service as registered and notify the Secretary of State accordingly. The Secretary of State will then reduce by 20 per cent. any fuel duty rebate payable to the operator for the previous 3 months in respect of all his local service operations.

Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by traffic area for each of the last five years the number of staff employed in sections dealing with the registration of local bus services and public service vehicle operator licensing. [25914]

Mr. Norris

The numbers of staff years in each of the last five years were:

Traffic Area Office: Staff working in PSV and bus registration sections
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
North Eastern (Newcastle) 1.20
North Eastern (Leeds) 7.90 8.36 9.74 9.71 8.20
North Western (Manchester) 8.50 9.78 11.14 10.54 10.80
West Midlands (Birmingham) 5.20 5.21 5.79 5.38 4.68
Eastern (Nottingham) 3.60
Eastern (Cambridge) 4.10 6.80 5.99 4.58 4.86
South Wales (Cardiff) 3.60 3.82 4.82 4.63 3.61
Western (Bristol) 5.50 7.84 8.19 7.30 7.01
Metropolitan (London) 4.90 0.31

Traffic Area Office: Staff working in PSV and bus registration sections
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
South Eastern and Metropolitan (Eastbourne) 3.40 6.11 5.56 5.93 5.71
Scottish (Edinburgh) 7.50 8.39 9.15 9.04 8.52

Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the amount spent by his Department publicising the fact that members of the public can complain to traffic commissioners regarding the operation of local bus services. [25915]

Mr. Norris

No specific funds are allocated for this purpose.

Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what extra resources have been provided in the traffic area offices to deal with the new regulations relating to the registration of local bus services; and what assessment he has made of the additional resources required. [25917]

Mr. Norris

No additional resources have been provided to traffic area offices. The Department's assessment is that the resources currently available will be sufficient to deal with enforcement of the new regulations.