The Department for Transport should take heed of those community transport operators pursuing best practice as it undertakes its consultation and finds a way to resolve this difficult issue once and for all. Like many, I love travelling on these wonderful routes and would hate them to fail.
INSIDE TRACK
A right old row has broken out concerning rural bus routes. And it is not the usual argument from passenger groups over the impact of local authorities withdrawing tendered routes, leaving residents isolated in their villages.
This row is between small bus and coach companies with a PSV operator licence (and all the costly regulation that entails including stringent Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency maintenance standards and Driver Certificate of Professional Competence qualifications) and the community transport sector using Section 19 and 22 permits providing not-forprofit transport for community groups in a more relaxed regulatory regime.
This has been simmering for years as community transport organisations have sought to plug gaps in rural bus networks, in some cases encouraged by local authorities keen to make the most of scarce public funding for bus subsidies. Not surprisingly, bus and coach…
