Public Transport Organisation and financing in the practise - United Kingdom -

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Public TransportOrganisation and financing in
the practise- United Kingdom -

• Vince Christie
• Local Government Association
• Transport Policy Officer
• November 2005

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Introductions

• Mainly concentrating here on bus funding issues
  rather than rail, although some mention of rail.
• Apologies for technical acronyms!
• There are
• Issues of how public transport is funded
• Issues of how local government is funded in order
  to itself fund public transport

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Local Government I.

• Local Government Association formed April 1997
  formerly AMA/ADC/ACC. Also WLGA/ALG and
  COSLA/ALANI for Wales/London and Scotland/N
  Ireland. GLA for London-wide government outside
  these.
• London legislation different from everywhere
  else in a number of respects
• Metropolitan authorities and PTAs/PTEs
  Transport Acts 1968 and 1974

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Local Government II.

• Counties and districts in some areas - from
  even more variations before 1974
•  More unitary authorities in the 1990s
  Scotland/Wales and parts of England
• But boundaries now perhaps less convenient for
  public transport strategies
•  Wales and Scotland spiralling off from England
  now in transport and local government legislation
  after devolution

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Transport legislation I.

• Transport Act 1985
• privatisation of former NBC and STG
  (Scotland)/public sector companies set up led
  to selling of PTE bus companies but 17 municipal
  companies left/commercial operations of 70 to 80
  of network/service reductions evenings and
  Sundays and an unmet need provision which is
  funded by local authorities

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Transport legislation II.

• London legislation public control of network
  but private operation via route tendering
•  Northern Ireland still public control.
•  Transport Act 2000 some changes but not what
  local government wants
•  Railways Acts various privatisation and all
  the troubles since/diminution of the PTE role
  this year except for Merseytravel

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Local Government finance I.

• Complicated!
• Three year spending settlements annual updates
  for new burdens this year LGA announces a
  black hole of which 300 million revenue
  resources shortfall
• Capital and revenue issues Transport Capital
  via 5 year Local Transport Plans (LTPs) published
  on www.ltpnetwork.gov.uk
•  No ring fencing is LGA principle!
•  

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Local Government finance II.

• Concessionary fares via districts (EPCS) is it
  a subsidy to public transport or the user?
• Fuel Duty Rebate/Bus Service Operator Grant
  similarly is this a real subsidy?
• No VAT (sales tax) on public transport fares
  same point
• Bus revenue support via counties and unitaries
  (in EPCS block of RSG)

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Local Government finance III.

• Government trying to get more of a regional
  dimension led by Scotland and Wales, but upset by
  vote against in NE England some issues such as
  bus route funding must be more local. However
  some regional transport funding allocations are
  to be made.
• Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) is the latest
  Government initiative July 2005 linked to
  road pricing experiments and public transport
  improvements as part of a package

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Local Government finance IV.

• Ten Year Transport Plan (10YP) with targets and
  private investment assumptions - first published
  2000 seems it is being quietly forgotten.
• Ambitions in 10YP for light rail but arguments
  since on funding who to blame
• Light rail and utility diversions
• Politics of light/heavy rail versus guided bus
  option

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Local Government finance V.

• Targets for bus patronage but we say
  deregulation needs to have tools in the toolbox
  see www.lga.gov.uk and www.pteg.net
• Community railways is latest local rail idea this
  year, which could involve more local government
  funding and local responsibility in the end
  but where is the money to come from longer term
  closure worries?

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Arising from how distribution of local government
spending is decided nationally (in England)

• Rural and urban issues - current circumstances
  very different esp regarding accessibility and
  congestion policies
• North and south balance in spending eg priority
  for Crossrail/Olympics around London

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• Formula funding issues how to make them fair
  not just an issue for transport of course
• Local funding - S106 planning agreements limited,
  some parking/road pricing income esp London, no
  property taxes etc at present for infrastructure
  although some would like them

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• Bus operators appear to have opposing views to
  local government about UK legislation on bus
  regulation many of them operate in both London
  and on the continent and operate franchised
  trains in the UK
• London the Mayor and TfL usage up but costs
  high and some bold Mayoral decisions eg up to
  150 fares increase on single fares on
  underground from Jan 2006 to encourage electronic
  ticket use will disadvantage tourists

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• Government and/versus local government always a
  tension over funding split via DfT, including
  extent of private investment, and via ODPM which
  gives overall local government settlement
• Ministries often thinking of local authorities as
  delivery agents and wanting performance
  statistics at the same time as not giving the
  legislation necessary to allow delivery
  everywhere.

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The future

• We want better bus legislation to make all tools
  available as needed for all areas no common
  template
• We want to preserve and develop local rail
  networks and maintain network benefits such as
  through ticketing, there is a need for capital
  investment on rail bottlenecks
• We want good accessibility to essential services
  in both rural and urban areas

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• We want funding mechanisms which allow
  authorities to deliver what is necessary locally,
  in the light of local economic, social and
  environmental objectives
• We want a modern and efficient local government
  trusted by central government and not subject to
  invasive performance monitoring at every stage

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Main Acronyms

• DfT Department for Transport
• EPCS Environment Planning and Cultural Services
  (I think)
• ODPM - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
• PTA/E Passenger Transport Authority/Executive
• PTEG Passenger Transport Executive Group
  (public transport managers in PTEs)
• RSG Rate Support Grant
• TfL Transport for London

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Thank you for your attention!

• Contact
• Vince Christie
• Local Government Association UK
• E-mail Vince.Christie_at_lga.gov.uk