Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has responded to claims made by High Peak Buses and D&G Bus Director Julian Peddle that it has been “holding up” assistance to operators in the region and “point blank refusing” to help them through the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Peddle accused TfGM of threatening to withhold concessionary pass reimbursement and tendered services payments made at a ‘business as usual’ level, against the direction of the government, unless operators agreed to abide by various conditions.
Payments to operators for April were brought forward by two weeks by TfGM to 1 April. However, Mr Peddle says that was contingent on them agreeing to an 11-point list of demands in return for maintaining ‘business as usual’ rates, including TfGM “having a controlling say in what services run both now and after the crisis ends”.
In response, TfGM says that because of a patronage decline of up to 90% since the previous payment, “an interim funding package” was put in place for April. That allowed operators to be paid earlier, and it will see around 80% of normal payments made to them, TfGM adds.
On 27 March, it sent a letter to operators outlining 11 conditions that it expected them to meet if April’s payments were to be made early and at ‘business as usual’ levels.
Working flexibly and “redeploying resource as required” were among them, as was not making changes to services without TfGM’s agreement. TfGM has confirmed that that remains its position.
When questioned on Mr Peddle’s allegation that it required a “controlling say” on how services run in return for those payments, TfGM says that “it needs to ensure that the right resources are available to support the changing needs of the transport network in Greater Manchester.”
Interim Head of Bus Service Alison Chew adds that it is now working with the government to understand details of its £167m funding package for English operators. She adds that TfGM has also deferred an increase in bus station usage charges and will give operators using TfGM facilities a three-month rent-free period.
Transport for Greater Manchester refutes Mr Peddle’s claim that it has refused to engage with operators on that matter. It says that an ongoing dialogue is being maintained.
