Category: Uncategorised

Brixton Road
From 21:00 until 06:00 each night until late July, Brixton Road will be closed in phases between Acre Lane and New Camberwell Road due to essential road surfacing works.

Cadent Gas will be carrying out works to replace a gas main at the above location. Grosvenor Road eastbound between Chelsea Bridge Road and Lupus Street will be closed.

A40 Westway: From Sunday 21st July until October 2024 there will be a series of closures affecting the slip roads on and off the A40 at the Westway roundabout and on the A3320 West Cross route. This is due to critical safety works.

The first phase of these works will be from 22:00 on Sunday 21 July until Thursday 22 August, when the eastbound off-slip and the southbound A3220 West Cross route from the Westway roundabout will be closed. Drivers will not be able to exit the A40 to join the A3220 West Cross route travelling southbound. The westbound on-slip and A3220 northbound will remain open.

Signed diversion routes will be in place but these and local roads are expected to be extremely busy. Delays on the A40 Westway on the approach to the Westway roundabout and the exit for Wood Lane are expected.

Use alternative routes such as the A312 The Parkway or the A406 North Circular for connections with the A4.

A challenge for many of us working in transport is keeping track of legislation. For example, the deregulation and the subsequent opportunities for reregulation of the bus network, has introduced new Acts of Parliament and repealed many aspects of earlier Acts, making it, at times, quite difficult for the layperson and, I suspect, the professional to follow.

Therefore, increasingly within the coach industry, I believed we are faced with the issue of unintended consequences. Changes to Acts and Regulations which have an impact on certain operations, which I suspect they were not really meant to do, but at the time these pieces of legislation were being drafted, they were not directly considered.

Take BODS (Bus Open Data Service) for example. I completely understand why having detailed information about the operation and performance of bus services is important and the benefit it brings to the customer and stakeholders. However, its application to certain categories of Home to School (H2S) transport which are not available to the public, and only need to be registered if certain criteria apply, was not something, I believe was actively thought about or understood at the time the regulation for BOBS implementation was drafted.

In fact, it is clear now that registration for H2S routes is quite inconsistent depending on the type of service that is being provided; who is responsible for providing the service (especially if it is a third party who is not the school or the coach operator); and how the fares are charged and collected.

Coach operators are taking different approaches. Some are accepting it is something that they need to do, even if they disagree with it and getting on with the job. A few others are ‘burying’ it and hope it goes away (not a good idea), and there are some, who are now deciding it is time to quit those school contracts that need to be registered and do something else with their vehicles. An unintended consequence with these regulations could lead to some schools unable to cover all their H2S requirements in the future!

Another more recent example, are the PSV (Accessibility Information) Regulations 2023, which although are excluded from ‘closed door’ H2S routes, are required for Rail Replacement (RR) services. For many coach operators, who may only operate RR services on occasions, they will have to purchase some relatively expensive equipment, learn how to programme it and spend time before a job putting in all the various combinations of journeys that might be required (especially if it is a complex RR operation with many variations).

Sadly again, one of the unintended consequences of this will be that some operators will cease to provide coaches for these events. I am already aware of train operating companies who are unable to provide RR services on occasions as there is no bus or coach operator available to cover the workings.

I have more sympathy with this example, as I can see the benefit to customers who use rail replacement services, having the confidence of knowing they are on the right route and getting off at the right stop, especially on a dark winters evening or in an unfamiliar area. But I just don’t think that the practical implications for the smaller coach operators have been thought through.

As ever the UKCOA (and I am sure other trade bodies) will continue to engage with the DfT and others to find a solution that works for all.

Peter Bradley
Managing Director
UK Coach Operators Association

There are just over 3 months to go before the next step in the minimum levels of compliance required for those who have a ‘Special Authorisation’ for vehicles used on Home to School (HTS) and Rail Replacement (RR) services.

From 1 August 2024, the following levels of compliance will be required:

• Band A – For fleet sizes between 1 and 5 vehicles – At least 50% of the fleet partially compliant;
• Band B – For fleet sizes between 6 and 9 vehicles – At least one fully compliant vehicle and at least 50% of the rest of the fleet partially compliant;
• Band C – For fleet sizes between 10 and 29 vehicles – At least 15% of the fleet fully compliant and at least 50% of the rest of the fleet partially compliant;
• Band D – For fleet sizes of 30 vehicles or more – At least 25% of the fleet fully compliant and at least 50% of the rest of the fleet partially compliant;

The ‘fleet’ is just those vehicles that are used on HTS and RR duties; vehicles that are never used on this work (or are used on HTS services that do not carry any paying passengers) can be excluded from the fleet totals.

Partial compliance requires vehicles to comply with parts of PSVAR schedule 3 as follows:

• paragraph 2 (floors and gangways)
• paragraph 3 (seats)
• paragraph 4 (steps, excluding sub-paragraphs 1d, 1e, 1f, and 5)
• paragraph 5 (handrails)

i.e.: it does NOT include any requirement for a wheelchair lift or destination equipment.

If, since you applied for your exemption from PSVAR, your fleet used to provide HTS or RR services has changed (either increased or decreased) which has moved you into a different ‘band’, you must notify the Department for Transport (DfT) at [email protected].

These are important changes; for coach operators who are Band B or C it requires you to have fully compliant PSVAR coaches for the first time, and for Band D there is a significant uplift in the number of coaches that need to be fully compliant. If you don’t already have plans to meet these requirements by 1 August, we suggest you make this a priority in the immediate future, as the demand for fully compliant PSVAR vehicles is likely to be high over the next few months.