The deadline for coach operators to complete a survey to help inform the future of medium-term exemptions (MTEs) from PSVAR by submitting information on their in-scope home-to-school services has been extended by a week to Friday 19 September.
Data is being sought by the Department for Transport as part of work to define the future of those MTEs. They are due to expire on 31 July 2026. Beyond then, all in-scope services must comply under the current position. The survey notes how DfT “is considering what the next steps for these exemptions might be.”
In the clearest hint yet that those for in-scope home-to-school services operated by coaches will be extended beyond that date, information submitted “will be used to support a decision on the future of exemptions.” MTEs also cover rail replacement services.
The survey adds that collection of “good data” around the number of vehicles used on in-scope home-to-school services “should allow for a faster decision-making process, and quicker communication of its outcome to the industry.”
Despite that claim, next steps for PSVAR were initially due to be delivered by DfT before 31 December 2023 alongside a response to a call for evidence that closed over two years ago. Neither have yet materialised.
It is unclear why such a data collection exercise is only being overseen by DfT 20 months later, with wording in the survey preface suggesting that the Department still has no plan for the long-term future of how PSVAR will apply to coaches used on home-to-school services despite there being less than 11 months until the planned end of MTEs.
Soon after the MTE mechanism was launched, a Freedom of Information response from DfT showed that for home-to-school and rail replacement, 17,969 vehicles had been granted exemptions, although it was noted that not all of those would be required to operate services and that some operators had ‘over-applied’ to give flexibility across fleets.
When coach operators undertake “paid” home-to-school services – where a fare is paid by or on behalf of at least one passenger and the service is thus in scope of PSVAR – the survey seeks data on how many vehicles were used on that work on a day in May.
Notably, one question asks how many such commissioned home-to-school duties required a PSVAR compliant coach “because it was specifically needed to meet the needs of a disabled passenger.”
That is set against another question asking how many coaches with a capacity of 23 or more passengers the operator was contracted to provide for “paid” home-to-school work overall. Such framing suggests that DfT is now exploring what percentage of in-scope home-to-school services require PSVAR compliance to accommodate a passenger.
Access the survey here.
