9.          GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS

 

9.1       The County Council will require 42 days notice by operators of their intention to withdraw from voluntary participation in respect of any service in the scheme, and the operators will be expected to provide travel concessions until the period of notice has expired.

 

9.2        Operators must allow County Council staff to have reasonable access to their vehicles on which concessions are available for the purpose of surveying the number of concessionaires and fares paid in connection with the reimbursement arrangements.  In appropriate circumstances, the operators may be required to supply the County Council with the corresponding information obtained from electronic ticket machines for the surveyed journeys and their equivalent at other comparable times.

 

9.3       For operators supplying information by means of electronic ticket machines, the County Council will require at the end of each financial year a certificate of accuracy and completeness given by a responsible person as defined by regulation 16 (5) of the Travel Concessions Schemes Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/77) ("the Regulations"); and from time to time a measure of proportion of on-bus or total revenue for the routes within the scheme (in aggregate) which is accounted for by concessionary travel; and to co-operate with the County Council when conducting ad hoc on-bus checks for the purpose of audit, as described in 9.2 above.

 

9.4       In connection with the reimbursement arrangements, operators will be required to notify the County Council in writing of details of any fare changes, not later than 7 days after such change takes effect, on services where concessions are available.  In making payments to operators whose reimbursement is based on survey information (either self completion or County Council conducted), the assessment of payment will be based on the fare levels at the time of the survey, unless notification of a subsequent fare increase has been received.

 

9.5       Where it is considered that fares currently charged on a service include a special amenity element (i.e. are significantly high in relation to the general level of fares for comparable journeys in the area), the reimbursement for that service will be based on the general level of fares in the area for comparable journeys.

 

9.6        Specimens of the concessionary fare passes to be recognised in connection with the scheme shall be sent to operators about one month before the start of the year to which they apply.  Any operators shall have the right to refuse to offer the travel concession to any person who fails to present a pass, or presents an invalid, defaced or altered permit.  Any such passes may be withdrawn and returned to the Concessionary Fares Administration Officer, Cheshire County Council, Mill Lane, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire CH66 3TL.  However, at the start of each new financial year, it is expected that an operator would provide a four week period of grace to allow concessionaires to travel to renew their passes.

 

9.7       The content of any notice relating to compulsory participation in the scheme, or any other matter relating to the administration of the scheme, which may be issued under Section 96-99 of the 1985 Act by the County Council or an operator, shall comply with the Regulations.

 

9.8       The County Council shall not give less than 28 days notice in writing to operators of its intention to vary the scheme or reimbursement arrangements for operators in the scheme.

 

9.9       A full copy of this document is being sent to all operators who are currently providing services, and will subsequently be sent out to any operator who for the first time has been successful in winning a contract for a service operating in Cheshire, Warrington and Halton.  Operators receiving tenders for Cheshire Bus services will also be notified of the existence of this scheme, and the facility to request further details.

 

9.10    A full copy is available for inspection at (i) Cheshire County Council, County Hall, Chester, (ii) Transport Co-ordination Service, Mill Lane, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire (iii) the Treasurers' Offices of the Councils of Chester, Crewe and Nantwich, Congleton, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Halton, Vale Royal, Warrington, (iv) the Service Centre, Macclesfield Borough Council, Town Hall, Macclesfield, or can be obtained by writing to:

 

 

Please quote "concessionary fares", or telephone David Perkins on Chester (01244) 603406 or Gareth Dudley on Chester (01244) 603290 for a further informal discussion of the arrangements.