Emergency guidance issued by Senior Traffic Commissioner Richard Turfitt has been updated to take account of a revised notice period required by local authorities (LAs) in England and Scotland when temporary timetable variations are made.
Operators may now apply to the Traffic Commissioner (TC) at the same time that the application is sent to relevant LAs. The LA will then have 24 hours to decide whether a longer period of consultation is needed. In that case it must contact both the operator and the TC.
TCs have agreed that due to the “exceptional nature of the [current] situation,” applications will be considered accepted and that changes can be introduced on expiry of the 24-hour period, subject to no notification from an LA.
The normal consultation period applies to new services or permanent cancellations.
For services operating entirely in Wales, applications for temporary timetable variations will be considered accepted 24 hours after receipt by the OTC. There is no requirement to notify LAs in Wales except where services enter England.
