October 07 2024
CPT has submitted a full response to the Department for Transport's recent consultation on proposed changes to franchising guidance. CPT argues the guidance must:
- Require Local Transport Authorities to set out a clear and cohesive case for franchising before any assessment is undertaken to ensure that tax payer money, time and resource is not wasted on an unsound process.
- Make clear to LTAs that franchising will not be the right solution everywhere and that it is neither expected or necessary for them all to go down the franchising route.
- Where an area carries out a franchising assessment but decides not to pursue the model it should not be possible for an LTA to reconsider franchising for at least five years. Without such a safeguard, operators will be working under constant uncertainty – which will curtain investment in depots, (cleaner) vehicles, and new services.
- An additional threshold should be incorporated into the guidance to ensure that LTAs review the potential impact of franchising on SME operators and pursue a plan to secure their effective participation in the franchising process.
CPT's response also recognises the importance of placing passengers at the heart of the bus network, and of fully funded nationwide initiatives that make buses feel safer for women and girls, or drivers, and indeed all bus users.