Changes to Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG)

The Government is to incentivise bus operators in South West England to improve fuel efficiency, introduce low carbon buses and install GPS and smartcard readers on vehicles – the incentives will come in the form of higher Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) to those operators delivering the Government’s priorities. The Government has announced that from 1 April 2010, BSOG would only be uprated in line with future increases in fuel duty for those operators who have improved fuel efficiency by more than three per cent per annum for the previous two years – this change received little support during a recent consultation on the grounds that newer vehicles are heavier and less fuel efficient because of Disability Discrimination Act requirements, air conditioning and improved bus interiors. Bus operators also told the Government that fuel efficiency was affected by a number of factors outside the control of an operator, principally traffic congestion.

Local authorities to be given greater LTP flexibility

Local transport authorities (i.e. county and unitary councils) in the South West of England will enjoy greater flexibility in the third round of local transport plans according to draft guidelines published by the Department for Transport. The fifteen local authorities must have a new local transport plan in place by 1 April 2011 – whereas the first two plans had to cover a fixed five year period, local authorities will be able to choose the time horizon for the new plans (the strategy could be for up to twenty years, while the implementation plan must be for three years minimum). Neighbouring councils will be able to prepare joint local transport plans that reflect travel patterns rather than local authority boundaries. The new local transport plans from April 2011 must address the Government’s five national transport goals:-

• Tackling Climate Change
• Supporting Economic Growth
• Promoting Equality of Opportunity
• Contributing to better safety, security and health
• Improving quality of life

Intercity Express Programme (IEP) bid announcement delayed

Department of Transport officials postponed their planned announcement before the end of last year to name the successful bidder for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) of new high speed trains. The IEP is planned to replace the existing high speed trains on the First Great Western network. Two consortia are bidding for the contract:-

Agility Trains Limited (a consortium of Barclays Private Equity, Hitachi (Japan) Limited and John Laing)

Express Rail Alliance (a consortium of Angel Trains, Babcock and Brown, Bombardier Transportation and Siemens)

More carriages for First Great Western

The fifty-fourth refurbished high speed train is expected to enter service with First Great Western in April 2009 – this unit was used by National Express East Coast until December 2008. First Great Western has announced that the company is installing ‘miniature buffet facilities’ in eighteen high speed train carriages (sixteen existing and two newly acquired) by the end of this year - these carriages will be deployed in train sets undertaking shorter-distance services.

Weymouth Relief Road

The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed final funding approval for the construction of the Weymouth relief road and the associated Lodmoor park-and-ride site with one thousand car parking spaces – the DfT will contribute over seventy-nine million pounds towards the total cost of over eighty-seven million pounds. The new road and park-and-ride facility is expected to open in 2011.

People

James Newton, a driver with Damory Coaches (part of the Go South Coast group), and Wayne Spence, a First Great Western service delivery assistant at Bristol Temple Meads railway station, were both made Members of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Years Honours list.

And finally,

Cornwall County Council issued a pre-Christmas media release, which received considerable publicity, stating that customers would only pay single fares of fifty pence (adult) and thirty pence (child) for any single bus journey within Cornwall on Sunday in January, February and March – passengers found that the reduced fares only applied on First Devon and Cornwall buses from Sunday 11 January!