Transport Act 1985

Product Information

DVSA consider that a service is not being provided for the ‘general public’ if 2 key conditions are met.

Since April 2009 services can be provided under a section 19 permit using a vehicle constructed or adapted to carry no more than 8 passengers. Where such vehicles are used under a permit, the passengers must be charged separate fares. The vehicle will normally need to be licensed as a private hire vehicle ( PHV), if separate fares are not charged and the vehicle is provided for hire with a driver for the purposes of carrying passengers, . A section 19 permit doesn’t exempt the operator from the PHV licensing regime. 4.5 Vehicles undertakings…which have a main occupation other than that of road passenger transport operator” (the “main occupation exemption”) applicant D is a district council which intends to run bus services using permits. The council is able to show that their main occupation is not transport, because most of their time and resources are consumed by the provision of local services other than transport The approach adopted in most of the case law (for example, 2000/024 & 2000/025 Arriva Tees and District Ltd & Arriva Teeside Ltd) indicates that the correct approach for the traffic commissioner is to first determine whether the operator has failed to operate a local service registered under section 6 of the Transport Act 1985, and secondly whether the operator has operated a local service in contravention of that section pursuant to section 26(1) of the Transport Act 1985. Service amendment notice

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The list of designated bodies is subject to review. This means that bodies may be added or removed from the list. Any permit issued by a body ceases to be valid if that body is removed from the list. An application for a new permit should be made to the traffic commissioner or another appropriate designated body. 5. Safety, licensing and vehicle maintenance It is also important that traffic commissioners consider the question of the adequacy of monitoring in the round by adopting a global approach (see Ribble Motor Services Ltd v Traffic Commissioner for the North West Traffic Area [2001] EWCA Civ 267).

A vehicle being used under a permit must not be used with a view to profit nor incidentally to an activity which is itself carried on for profit. Class C - disabled persons (as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) or persons who are seriously ill and persons assisting them. A Certificate of Conformity is for vehicles covered by a Type Approval Certificate. Type approval is the approval of mass-produced vehicles and components and the certificate sets the specification of a vehicle or vehicle component.In some cases it may be appropriate to attach a condition in view of the danger to the public involved in the operator’s conduct or the frequency of conduct. As per the legislation, this conduct includes: The permit system only applies to journeys wholly within GB and Northern Ireland. Permits aren’t valid outside of GB and Northern Ireland. You can ask for a copy of a leaflet Taking a Minibus Abroad from either: Monitoring needs to vary according to the reliability and punctuality of the route as well as service frequency. The less reliable the route the more monitoring and remedial action will be required. Conversely where a service is achieving high compliance then less monitoring will be required. The method of monitoring will vary according to the type and size of operator and the type of equipment and facilities that it has available. 3. Annex to Guidance - examples of a good operation

persons who believe that it would be unsafe for them to use any public passenger transport services Section 18 of the Transport Act 1985, as amended (‘the 1985 Act’) exempts any vehicle used under a permit granted under section 19 or section 22 of the 1985 Act, from the requirement to hold a PSV ‘O’ licence. Section 19 and section 22 permits can be granted by traffic commissioners whilst other designated bodies can issue section 19 permits, apart from those for large buses.Passengers must be informed of the requirement to wear seat belts. This may be done by means of an announcement by the driver or group leader, or by means of an audio-visual display presentation or by signs displayed at every seating position. It’s an offence to fail to take reasonable steps to ensure that passengers are so notified. At present (August 2009), children 3 to 13 years are not legally required to use seat belts. Regulations will be put in place as soon as possible which will require these children to use seat belts, or where available, child seats / boosters appropriate to their weight (as in cars). In many cases child seats / boosters won’t be available because parents / carers don’t have them, or they won’t fit in this type of vehicle, so seat belts will have to be used. Children under 3 years may be carried unrestrained if there is no baby / child seat available. The seat belt should not be used for both adult and child if a child under 3 years is carried on the lap of an adult - in the event of a crash the child would be in danger of being crushed. Until regulations can be put in place, many organisations will wish to make it their policy that seat belts (or child restraints where possible) are used. It’s the responsibility of the holder of a Class E permit to make arrangements to ensure that passengers genuinely fall within Class E - perhaps via a signed application or a membership scheme. When granting a permit to carry passengers in Class E, the traffic commissioner or designated body will need to be satisfied that the applicant has suitable arrangements in place. Changes to the permit Traffic commissioners have powers to take regulatory action against operators who do not operate services in accordance with the registered particulars. Section 26 of the TA 1985 enables the traffic commissioner to attach conditions prohibiting the operator from running certain local services or local services of any description. Section 27A (as amended by section 63 of the Local Transport Act 2008 which cross refers to section 250 of the Local Government Act 1972) provides that if a traffic commissioner holds a public inquiry into poor punctuality they can, by summons, require a representative from the local traffic authority to attend to give evidence or to produce any documents in their custody or under their control which relate to any matter in question at the inquiry.