The Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services in Enhanced Partnership Areas) (England) Regulations 2019

Slot allocation contracts

14.—(1) Where notification of a decision under section 6E(3) or (4) of the 1985 Act is given under paragraph 10(7) or 11(6), the relevant local transport authority may issue an invitation for tenders for the award of one or more slot allocation contracts that must require the implementation of all route requirements and operation requirements that the cancelled service was required to meet.

(2) The person awarded the contract must implement all of the route requirements or operation requirements that the cancelled service was required to meet–

(a) for five years, or

(b) until the relevant enhanced partnership scheme expires,

whichever is earlier.

(3) A slot allocation contract is a contract which—

(a) relates solely to the provision of services in the area of the relevant enhanced partnership scheme;

(b) is competitively procured, except where regulation 15 or 16 applies;

(c) is procured using evaluation criteria of the description set out in paragraph (5), except where regulation 15 or 16 applies;

(d) requires the income received under the contract to be spent on—

(i) the cost of meeting the obligations set out in the contract;

(ii) providing new or improved benefits to the users of local services within the area of a participating local transport authority; or

(iii) both (i) and (ii);

(e) requires the services provided under that contract to begin immediately after the cancellation under section 6E(3) or (4) of the 1985 Act has effect;

(f) is not awarded while—

(i) the decision to cancel a service is subject to an appeal under section 6F(1) or (2) of the 1985 Act; or

(ii) the period for bringing an appeal mentioned in paragraph (i) has not expired;

(g) is not awarded until at least 29 days after a notification of cancellation has been given under regulation 8(7), 9(6), 10(7), 11(6) or 12(4);

(h) specifies the date from which the person awarded the contract is to provide services.

(4) If a service provided under a slot allocation contract has commenced operation, any new application to register a service on the route or part of the route (as the case may be) to which the contract relates must be refused while that contract remains in force.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(c)—

(a) the evaluation criteria must include evaluation of—

(i) the quality of service being proposed;

(ii) the potential for competition to bring benefits to bus passengers in the area of the relevant enhanced partnership scheme;

(iii) the contribution that the service being proposed would provide to connectivity for bus passengers within the area of the relevant enhanced partnership scheme;

(iv) any other factors the local transport authority considers it necessary to take into account in order to further the objectives set out in the enhanced partnership plan for the relevant enhanced partnership scheme;

(b) a maximum of 33% of the evaluation criteria may relate to any monies to be paid to the local transport authority.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(d)—

“new benefits” means any benefits which were introduced in the nine months preceding the date on which the invitation to tender is issued;

“participating local transport authority” means a local transport authority the area of which is subject to the enhanced partnership scheme.

(7) For the purposes of this regulation, the “relevant enhanced partnership scheme” is the scheme the requirement or requirements of which the service that had its registration cancelled was not meeting or could not meet.