Inter-City Bus Authorisations : Consultation or Confusion?
Island Transport Solutions, October 10, 2009
Every Wednesday,
the BC Passenger Transportation Board publishes details of applications received from bus / coach operators
to start or terminate services operated under Inter-City Bus Authorisations (long-distance buses) and Special Authorisations
(Taxis, Private Hire and Charter Services). Regulations require that the Board allows the public to comment on the impact
of the proposals before the application is determined and a licence issued.
The process is essentially
the same if an inter-city bus operator wants to reduce the number of services on a route, or to withdraw a service. The
Board must allow a minimum of 1 week from the date of publication for organisations or individuals to comment; where
there is a significant change proposed (such as the recent proposals by Greyhound Canada to reduce service frequencies
throughout BC) then the period for consultation can be extended - in this case up to 6 weeks.
Take, then, the case
of Pacific Coach Lines' service between Vancouver International Airport and Nanaimo.
The application
to run this service was granted by the Board under their "urgent public need" powers (Section 26(3) of the Passenger
Transportation Act) which removes the obligation to delay the application while public consultation takes place. The
decision to grant the licence was published July 9, 2008 and the service commenced running later that month.
The
Board's decision stated that the authorisation to operate the route would expire on 30 September 2009.
In April 2009, Pacific Coach applied to reduce the frequency of the service because of poor ridership levels. The application
was published April 15, 2009 and public comments were invited (by April 30, 2009 - 2 weeks). The Board's decision
to approve the reduction in service was published on July 8 and Pacific Coach implemented the revised schedule 3
weeks later, on July 30.
Ahead of the service reduction, Pacific Coach announced that the reduced timetable would
operate for just 2 months - and that the service would be suspended when the licence expired on September 30. Section
34 of the Passenger Transportation Act requires that an operator wishing to renew a Licence must apply to the Board before
the expiry of the old Licence - and, given the press statement from Pacific Coach on July 25, presumably no application
was necessary.
It was a surprise, therefore, to see publication (on September 30 - the date on which
the licence expired and the service ended) of an application to the Board to terminate the service - allowing a further
4 weeks (to October 26) for public comment on the application. As far as it is possible to detect, the service has now ceased
operating - and all reference to it has been removed from the company's website and publicity.
What
is the purpose of this further consultation period? Is it intended to raise the hopes of the community that the
service will be reinstated - or is it simply buraucratic process? A small (3" x 3") notice in a local
paper is easily overlooked ..... but since so few passengers were using the service, maybe that's not so important.
From the information supplied to the Board by Pacific Coach Lines, it is perfectly evident that the service
is not, and never was, economically viable. Even at its busiest period, Pacific Coach says the service carried no more
than 1600 passengers a month - that's around 9 passengers on each 4 hour trip - and at times, the passenger
load was only half that level. I used the service several times and there were never more then 6 passengers
on board. Pacific Coach reckons that the service covered less than half of its operating costs, and it's not hard to see
why.
When the case is that clear - and the operator has announced their intention to withdraw the service at
the end of the licence period, does it really demand another 4 weeks of public consultation? I think not.
Island Transport Solutions has invited the Passenger Transportation Board to comment on this article.
Their response will be published when it is received.
Passenger Transportation Board's Policy Manager, Michael McGee, responded:
Your question
is based on an understanding that operations ceased on September 30, 2009. I do not know whether operations
have ceased at any point. I do know that PCL is required (under the terms and conditions of its passenger transportation
licence) to continue operating until it obtains approval of the Board to stop operating the route.
The operator may have reduced service to the minimum route frequency that is set out in its passenger transportation licence.
This is 2 trips per week in each direction. In British Columbia, companies that operate commercial inter-city buses on
a schedule must have a licence under the Passenger Transportation Act. Licences set out the routes that can
be operated and the minimum service frequency for each community on a route.
A licensed operator has the
flexibility to increase or decrease service on a route as long as it meets the minimum frequency. A licensed operator
who wants to reduce service below the minimum, or to stop services on a route, must seek the approval of the Passenger Transportation
Board. When the Board receives this type of application, the public is invited to comment on the change that is proposed
by the bus company. In some cases, the Board will hold public meetings in affected communities.
So the PTB doesn't know whether the service is still running - though
clearly it should be - at least twice a week. Pacific Coach Lines' cutomer service agents don't think it is -
they say the service has ended. So what purpose will the consultation period really serve?
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