The UK Government has launched Bus Back Better, the long-awaited National Bus Strategy for England, and it promises a bright future for the industry. It sets out an ambitious vision that will revolutionise the way in which local bus services are provided.

Operators and local transport authorities will work closely together to create a new environment that will spur on genuine improvements for passengers. Meanwhile, for areas that choose to press ahead with franchising their local bus services will now have the means and guidance to allow that to happen.

DATA IS AT THE HEART

There’s little doubt that high quality planning will play a key role in meeting the ambition contained within Bus Back Better. The bus strategy calls for high quality integrated public transport. It will see what are today competing operators harmonising their networks and the creation of multi-operator, multi-modal ticketing. This will be incredibly important in helping attracting new passengers to the bus.

Traditionally instigating and managing such a scheme was incredibly complicated but at EPM we have a strong background in this area – we have audited a number of existing schemes for some years, working to ensure operators receive fair reimbursement. As the importance of multi-operator schemes grows and becomes a growing percentage of the average operator’s income, it’s going to become incredibly important that this process is managed fairly and transparently, backed by the very latest usage data.

“It’s important there’s trust,” says Nick Brookes, EPM’s Software Director. “As the value of these schemes from an income point of view increases, the operators need to have the confidence that they are getting a fair share of that pot. Our solutions can take ticket machine data from the operator, off bus sales data and scrutinise the usage and ensure the resulting apportionment of revenue is transparent and fair.”…

Read the full article from Passenger Transport: Beginning the Bus Revolution: Building on the National Bus Strategy for England.

11 August 2021 – Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Department for Transport made a commitment that BSOG would continue to be paid to operators at pre-Covid levels for as long as CBSSG payments were being made.

With the CBSSG scheme due to end on 31 August 2021, the Department have now written to operators to advise that following this date they will need to adhere to the pre-Covid BSOG scheme rules.

In effect:

• Certified claims – all PSV311 submissions should include actual data from 1 September – this will apply to both the eligible kilometres and fuel consumption sections of the certified claim form.

For EPM clients we will advise on the presentation of the PSV311 in advance of your certification audit.

• Estimate claims – for estimate claims submitted from 1 September, the data should be based on the operations that are expected to be run over the forthcoming year and not pre-Covid operations, as has been the case whilst CBSSG has been paid. For those operators that have already submitted estimate claims prior to this date, they will continue to receive payments on account as previously advised by the Department.

Users of the EPM Traffic system can continue to utilise the estimate function to prepare your BSOG estimate using the current schedule. Where EPM process the estimate on your behalf, we will take into account this guidance.

• School services – where operators amended registrations from ‘normal stopping’ to ‘school or works’ to comply with social distancing requirements during the pandemic, they were able to continue to claim BSOG. However, this dispensation ceases from 1 September. To receive BSOG for these services going forward, they will need to be registered as ‘normal stopping’. The Department recognise that there is not much time to effect these changes, so they will accept evidence that operators have request a change in the registration particulars in advance of 1 September.

Operators should review all registrations and advise the Traffic Area Office of those which are no longer required to be operated as ‘schools or works’. All correspondence should be kept in case evidence is required for the Department when processing your claim.

EPM are the leading experts in the certification of BSOG claims, ensuring that all claims are accurate, compliant and maximised. If you would like to discuss how we can help you with your claim, then get in touch for a free consultation.

Read the full announcement: DfT BSOG guidance

12 March 2021 – Due to Covid-19 many operators have had to restrict the number of passengers on board their vehicles in order to comply with social distancing requirements. As a result, many school services that had previously been available to all members of the general public became “closed-door” when schools & colleges returned in September 2020, meaning they could now only carry students. Such “closed-door” services are not eligible for BSOG.

Initially this was not thought to be an issue as at the outbreak of the pandemic the Department for Transport (DfT) stated that operators could continue to claim BSOG at pre-Covid levels. However, in the case of services which had become “closed-door”, the BSOG Policy Team advised that they would continue to apply the BSOG eligibility criteria and that the services would no longer be eligible for BSOG from the date of the change.

After an internal consultation the DfT have issued guidance confirming that BSOG can now be claimed for “closed-door” Home to School services. The main points from the guidance are as follows:-

• Commercial school services that became “closed-door” from 1 September 2020 due to C19 can be treated as eligible from this date.
• Operators must complete a survey to provide information about these school services – to be submitted by 26 March 2021.
• For those claims that have already been submitted with year ends after 1 September 2020 then a retrospective claim can be made for the services – details to follow from DfT.
• Due to the short term nature of this arrangement closed-door services should not be included on current or future estimates

Read the DfT Home to School Services and BSOG eligibility letter

Download a copy of the DfT guidance and the Home to School survey.

If you have any questions on the announcement made by the DfT or on the BSOG / CBSSG schemes, please complete the online contact form or call 01527 556940.

UK bus services have been hugely impacted by the Covid-19 virus, with patronage dropping almost 90% in the early stages of the pandemic and social distancing measures becoming mandatory on all public transport.

As the government starts to lift restrictions, it is now vital to understand the changing demands of the industry so that you can discover ways to encourage passengers back on board.

From analysing your data to see causes of disruption, to looking at additional monetary streams such as concessionary fares reimbursement and Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) claims, this guide will identify ways in which you can improve your current services and boost your profits for the year ahead.

It includes ways to:

• Investigate route profitability
• Improve customer service
• Drive more revenue
• Fine-tune your operations
• Empower business decisions
• Get the right tools and expertise