BODS exemption call for closed-door H2S must come good

The absurdity of many closed-door home-to-school services in England being required to comply with the Bus Open Data Service (BODS) has again been raised, this time by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT).

It wants all such services removed from scope of BODS, and for good reason. Never has there been a logical explanation for closed-door work that is subject to mandatory registration needing to comply with BODS. For that to have followed an original declaration that dedicated school services would be out of scope makes it even more bizarre.

CPT has made its case in a paper presented to the Department for Transport. That lists various alternatives. The most obvious of those is exempting all closed-door home-to-school services from any requirement to be registered, which would deliver what is sought.

The Confederation is not the only trade body that would like to see that happen. Another has identified such a move as one of its priorities for 2025, sitting alongside clarity on PSVAR for coach services towards the top of this year’s to-do list.

Both of those associations point out that the current situation contradicts the underlying reason for BODS. Open data is at odds with closed services. Members of the public cannot use those routes. There is no need for anything around them to be shared publicly. They are provided for captive and highly corralled groups of students.

A point originally laid down by DfT about real-time information for waiting passengers may have slight merit, but that is only the case on journeys running to school. It has no relevance to homeward trips.

Yet any such ‘fringe benefit’ cannot be worth what is said to be £1,000 per year, per in-scope vehicle for a small operator to comply with BODS. At 190 days’ annual utilisation, it is around £5.30 per day for data provision that realistically few to none of the people to whom the service has relevance will look at. That is before the aggravation factor is considered.

Those who need to see the locations of vehicles on home-to-school services can often already do so. Some operators were providing that to parents over a decade ago. Many track their vehicles away from BODS considerations, so location data is there in those cases.

Legal expert James Backhouse said in March 2024 that the industry’s desired position could be reached via a simple change to the regulations.

Local transport minister Simon Lightwood is keen to stress how the government has brought forth a bonanza of legislation of late, and that his door is always open to the sector. Well, Mr Lightwood, coach and bus is giving you something to listen to here.

There is no obvious reason why the called-for change cannot happen, and certainly nothing that means it should not. Acting upon what is being sought in time for the new academic year late this summer would certainly be an act of good faith – and give Simon Lightwood’s warm words of engagement some credence.

CPT paper to government available here.