The Bus Service Operators Grant (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2003

Welsh Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 943 (W.124)

PUBLIC PASSENGER TRANSPORT, WALES

The Bus Service Operators Grant (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2003

Made

27th March 2003

Coming into force

1st May 2003

The National Assembly for Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by section 154(5) of the Transport Act 2000(1), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Bus Service Operators Grant (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2003 and come into force on 1st May 2003.

(2) These Regulations apply to Wales.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations, “the 2002 Regulations” (“Rheoliadau 2002”) means the Bus Service Operators Grant (Wales) Regulations 2002(2).

Amendment of the 2002 Regulations: interpretation

3.—(1) There are inserted into regulation 2 of the 2002 Regulations (interpretation)—

(a) at the beginning—

““apex fare” (“pris tocyn apex”) means, in relation to a journey, a fare which is payable when purchasing a ticket for that journey at least seven clear days before the date of travel and which is not more than 90% of the full adult fare which would be payable on purchasing such a ticket on the day of travel;”

(b) after the definition of “disabled person”—

“domestic coach service” (“gwasanaeth coetsys domestig”) means a bus service which—

(a)

carries passengers at separate fares;

(b)

operates between two scheduled stops (at least one of which is in Wales), whether or not the service terminates at one or both of these stops; and

(c)

is not a local service;”;

(c)

after the definition of “public passenger transport services”—

““statutory travel concession permit” (“trwydded consesiwn teithio statudol”) has the same meaning as in section 145 of the Transport Act 2000;”.

Amendment of the 2002 Regulations: regulation 3

4.—(1) Regulation 3 of the 2002 Regulations (eligibility for grant) is amended as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) At the end of paragraph (1), there is inserted —

“(d) a domestic coach service, to the extent of its travel in Wales and in respect of which the conditions set out in paragraph (5) are satisfied.”.

(3) There is inserted at the end—

“(5) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1)(d) are that—

(a) the service provides half-price travel concessions (other than to persons travelling on an apex fare) on no fewer than 290 days per year and on no fewer than 21 days per month (other than December) and on no fewer than 12 days in December (or pro rata such amounts respectively if the service runs for part only of a year or month; the requirement being rounded down, as necessary, to the nearest whole number of days), to—

(i) persons who have attained the age of 60 years; and

(ii) any person to whom a current statutory travel concession permit has been issued, on production of the permit, or to any person who can demonstrate an entitlement to a statutory travel concession permit but for an agreement under section 145(6) of the Transport Act 2000;

(b) the service runs at least once per week for a period of not less than six consecutive weeks;

(c) seats on the vehicle by means of which the service is provided are normally available to members of the general public and the service is regularly used by such members;

(d) the service is operated in accordance with a timetable; and

(e) arrangements are made which afford members of the general public a reasonable opportunity to inform themselves of the existence of the service, times of its operation and the places which it serves.”.

Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998(3).

Jane Hutt

Minister for Health and Social Services

27th March 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations extend the scope of eligible bus services for the purposes of section 154 of the Transport Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”), from that set out in the Bus Service Operators Grant (Wales) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2022) (W.206) to include certain coach services over routes of 15 miles or more which operate in accordance with a fixed timetable, which are for use by the general public, and which provide half-fare concessions (on terms further set out in these Regulations) to persons of 60 years or older and to persons to whom a current statutory travel concession permit has been issued (or could have been, but for an alternative agreement with a travel concession authority under section 145(6) of the 2000 Act).

(1)

2000 c. 38.

(2)

S.I. 2002/2022 (W.206).

(3)

1998 c. 38.