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8/10/2019 27 University of Strathclyde Students' Association
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BUS REGULATION (SCOTLAND) BILL
Consultation Response
Introduction
The University of Strathclyde Students Association represents all students studying at theinstitution.
Our vision is to empower students to shape, enhance and enjoy their Strathclyde
University experience.
As a charitable organisation, our mission is to provide a representative voice for the
student body; to offer advice & support whenever it is required; to encourage individual
involvement with our wide range of clubs & societies; and to provide a safe space in which
students can develop as individuals.
We are responding to this consultation in our capacity as a representative voice of thestudent body, since bus travel is an important issue for many, if not all of our members.
1. Do you support the general aim of the proposed Bill? Please indicate
yes/no/undecided and explain the reasons for your response.
Yes we support the general aim of granting transport authorities greater control
over bus services in their area by enabling authorities to regulate how they are
delivered.
Our support is based on the hope that tightening bus regulation will help to help
ensure that routes are protected for their public service value, rather than their
money-making potential.
We also hope that by increasing regulation, there is an opportunity to ensure bus
services are accessible and affordable for those on low incomes, specifically
students. This is important to the USSA as a high percentage of our students rely on
public transport to access the campus. It is therefore crucial that the public service
provided by operating a route is recognised and protected. Particularly as the
provision of bus services plays a key role in widening access to higher education(which will be elaborated on in response to question seven) and in enabling society
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to benefit from the education of those with high academic potential, rather than
high financial resources.
2. What would be the main practical advantages of the legislation proposed? What
would be the disadvantages?
The USSA anticipates the main advantages of the proposed legislation to be as
follows:
- Moving control of bus services closer to the areas of delivery would help to ensure
that decisions taken are suitable for the locality. For example, in an area such as
Glasgow where there is a high concentration of students, it is particularly crucial
that bus services are tailored to meet unique local needs. In this instance, ensuring
there is a plentiful supply of affordable bus services to institutions of higher and
further education.
-
The ability to use local authority fleets to provide socially useful services where
there are gaps in provision will inevitably make public transport more accessible to
those in areas of low provision. This is likely to increase the number of people
using public transport, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
- Bundling profitable and non-profitable routes together for franchise will ensure
transport operators are forced to embrace their public service obligations and will
ensure bids are made for less profitable routes too.
- Setting a minimum level of service allows transport authorities to enforce a quality
assurance process. This will be beneficial to students who rely on the service, as it
will help to ensure basic standards are met. We hope this would facilitate
guarantees that services run at useful, albeit less profitable times. For example,
student timetables do not typically follow the pattern of a normal working week.
This is especially the case at exam time, when students may need to stay in the
library until the early hours of the morning and still require a safe, reliable way to
get home. These are factors that the Bill would allow transport authorities to
consider when setting a minimum level of service.
- Empowering the Transport Commissioner to impose financial penalties where
contractual agreements are broken would ensure the terms of the final Bill could
be enforced.
3. In what ways do you envisage reregulation being used to improve bus services?
The USSA hopes regulation would be used to improve bus services for students, in
the following ways:
- By ensuring that bus services are regular to provide students with as many
opportunities to use the service as possible.
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- To guarantee that fares are consistently affordable and that student discounts are
made available as part of minimum service agreements.
- By ensuring services are relevant to the locality. For example, the USSA would like
to see regulation used to ensure there are user-friendly bus services to all higher
and further education institutions in the city of Glasgow. (See answer to question
2)
- To ensure that out of hours services to HEIs are just as regular, affordable and
accessible as peak time services, to facilitate the often irregular pattern of student
lifestyles. (See answer to question 2).
4. How can community transport be better utilised to serve local communities and
particularly low passenger volume routes?
n/a
5. Do you agree that the Traffic Commissioner should be able to impose greater
financial penalties on operators who a) fail to meet the terms of the franchise
or b) walk away from the franchise altogether?
We are aware that at present, the Traffic Commissioner is limited in the action he
or she can take to sanction transport operators who fail to meet the terms of their
franchise or those who abandon their franchise agreements.
We also recognise that financial penalties are generally the only realistic way in
which contractual obligations can be enforced.
We therefore agree that the Traffic Commissioner should be able to impose greater
financial penalties on operators who fail to meet their franchise agreements,
particularly as their obligations to the local community increase.
We suggest that the money recovered might be directly reinvested into the service.
6. What is your assessment of the likely financial implications of the proposed Bill
to you or your organisation? What other significant financial implications are
likely to arise?
n/a
7. Is the proposed Bill likely to have any substantial positive or negative
implications for equality? If it is likely to have a substantial negative
implication, how might this be minimised or avoided?
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A high percentage of students at the University of Strathclyde commute to the
institution from their parental home. As such, many rely on a bus service. This is
particularly important for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, who may
not be able to afford a car or any other more expensive forms of transport.
Therefore ensuring that socially useful services are provided will help to guaranteethat our university remains geographically accessible to everyone. This plays a
crucial and practical role in widening access to the university across social class
boundaries, as well as geographic ones.
Thus by helping to ensure the campus is just as physically accessible to those from
disadvantaged backgrounds as from others, it will help to equalise opportunities of
access to higher education.
8.
Do you have any other comments or suggestions that are relevant to the needfor or detail of this Bill?
It appears that that focus of the Bill is to protect the future of less profitable, yet
socially useful routes. Although we are supportive of this aim, the USSA believes
the Bill should also include obligatory detail on the affordability of bus travel,
particularly for students, who typically have a low income.
We feel it should be a requirement of minimum service to ensure discount fares are
available to students, without restrictions on, for example, times or zones.
It should also be noted that although discounted tickets are often available onmulti-week passes, the process of upfront payment is prohibitive as the costs are
significant for those on low incomes, such as students. This is a particular problem
when students have to cross local authority boundaries, as is the case for many
students of Strathclyde who live in their parental home and commute. As such,
under the current system, students do not have equal access to the benefits
available.
One possible solution would be to ensure payment schemes are available in each
locality. For example, Lothian Buses has a scheme called Ridacard through which
seasonal passes can be purchased with monthly direct debits or pay as you go top-
ups. Under this scheme, additional student discounts are also available. iAs such,
students can benefit from the maximum savings available with more manageable,
regular payments.
The USSA believes that similar schemes should be a requirement of all minimum
level of service agreements to ensure bus travel is as accessible and affordable as
possible, by providing a menu of payment options.
Once the financial detail has been strengthened, the USSA would be pleased to
support a Bill that we hope will ensure bus travel is accessible, more widely used
and key to widening access to higher education.
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ihttp://lothianbuses.com/timetables-tickets-maps/fares-and-tickets/ridacard