Archived decisions

Contact: Peter Bayless, ext 6882 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 Regulations under the Transport Act 2000 enable the County Council to undertake the enforcement of bus lanes, the definition of which includes bus-only links such as Middle Brook Street and Station Hill in Winchester. Enforcement of bus lanes is likely to increase in importance as future programmes introduce further bus priority measures, for example at Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley.

1.2 This report explains the background to this issue and recommends that the County Council adopts the powers to impose penalty charges for the enforcement of bus lanes, and enters into a Joint Agreement with other bus lane enforcing authorities to provide an adjudication service.

2. Background

2.1 Regulations under the Transport Act 2000 came into operation on 1 November 2005, enabling traffic authorities which currently undertake Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) also to enforce bus lanes. The definition of a bus lane includes bus-only links such as Middle Brook Street and Station Hill in Winchester, and the proposal at Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley, as well as the bus lanes on priority routes such as A3 at Waterlooville and A325 at Farnborough.

2.2 London Boroughs have undertaken bus lane enforcement since 2002 and the recent regulations extend the civil enforcement of bus lanes to traffic authorities in England outside London. The powers of the Police to enforce under the criminal system are not affected.

3. Guidance on Introducing Bus Lane Enforcement - Required Steps

3.1 Provisional guidance has been issued by the Department for Transport (DfT) for bus lane enforcement and sets out specific details on how to conduct enforcement and the steps that need to be taken before enforcement can commence. Enforcement must be by camera, using equipment of a type approved by the Secretary of State. In addition to setting up camera systems and procedures, other key steps include:

(i) resolve to adopt bus lane enforcement powers and enter into a Joint Committee Agreement with other Councils taking up bus lane enforcement to establish an adjudication system to deal with appeals;

(ii) consult with public and stakeholders, including the Police;

(iii) review Traffic Orders and signing to ensure that they are appropriate and enforceable; and

(iv) establish office systems, resources and procedures to enable bus lane enforcement Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to be sent out and to deal with representations and appeals.

4. Suggested Arrangements in Hampshire

4.1 In Hampshire many of the District Councils are already operating on-street DPE on behalf of the County Council. They therefore already have systems and procedures in place to issue PCNs for parking contraventions and to deal with representations and appeals. These procedures are similar to those required for bus lane enforcement and it would therefore be a sensible option to explore further the possibility of District Councils also enforcing bus lanes on behalf of the County Council.

4.2 Bus lane enforcement is intended to be self-financing since penalty charges can be used to fund the operation of the cameras and PCN processing. However, a detailed financial case on a scheme by scheme basis would need further consideration and analysis for each District. In a best case scenario, for example, where there are significant contraventions and enforcement is therefore considered desirable, capital funding, perhaps as part of a Quality Bus Partnership or from the Traffic Management programme, could finance the camera systems and be repaid if a surplus arises on the enforcement account.

4.3 At present there is very little illegal use of the bus lanes on priority routes at Waterlooville or Farnborough and therefore no current need for civil enforcement arrangements. However, there are regular contraventions of the bus-only links in Winchester, and the City Council would be interested in the possibility of enforcing these on behalf of the County Council as an extension of the current DPE operation. A study is in progress to establish the equipment that would be needed and the costs involved.

4.4 In addition, further bus priority measures are likely to be pursued in future bus quality partnership programmes, and for these reasons it would be sensible to put in place the necessary preliminary steps to facilitate enforcement of these measures as the need arises. A further example is the proposed bus only link at Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley, where one option to control the use of the new link would be camera enforcement.

5. Bus Lane Appeals and Adjudication

5.1 Prior to undertaking DPE in respect of parking and waiting restrictions, the County Council was required to set up a joint committee with other Councils also wishing to take up these powers, and to exercise its functions through the joint committee in respect of the appointment of adjudicators and providing accommodation, staff and facilities for them. The National Parking Adjudication Service Joint Committee (NPASJC) was established for this purpose. Councillor Phrynette Dickens is the County Council's representative on the Joint Committee and is currently Assistant Chairman.

5.2 Hampshire County Council was one of the founder members of the NPASJC. Manchester City Council is the Lead Authority and supports the administration of the adjudication service, which is therefore based in Manchester. A similar arrangement is required for an adjudication service for bus lane enforcement, but since the approved local authorities for bus lane enforcement are not the same as those approved for parking enforcement (shire districts and local authorities in Wales are not included) it would be necessary to establish a second joint committee to exercise bus lane adjudication functions.

5.3 It would be sensible for the existing administration for the parking adjudication service also to deal with bus lane adjudication and the provisional guidance issued by DfT envisages that this will happen. Manchester City Council has agreed to act as the Lead Authority for the proposed Bus Lane Adjudication Joint Committee. The essential first step is for the County Council to enter into a new joint agreement for this purpose with Manchester City Council and other authorities wishing to exercise bus lane enforcement powers.

5.4 The County Council's Chief Engineer for Traffic Management and Road Safety is currently Chairman of the national officers' Advisory Board to the NPASJC, and is therefore in a good position to assist this process to set up a new joint committee linked to the existing parking adjudication service.

6. Impact Assessments

6.1 It is considered that the introduction of civil enforcement of bus lanes does not have any detrimental impacts on equalities or race discrimination. Better enforcement of bus lanes and bus-only links should help to improve public transport services.

7. Conclusion

7.1 The recent regulations under the Transport Act 2000 enable the County Council to undertake the enforcement of bus lanes, the definition of which includes bus-only links such as Middle Brook Street and Station Hill in Winchester, and the proposal at Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley. Enforcement of bus lanes is likely to increase in importance as future programmes introduce further bus priority measures.

7.2 The essential first steps are for the County Council to adopt the powers to impose penalty charges for the enforcement of bus lanes and to enter into a joint agreement with other bus lane enforcing authorities to provide an adjudication service.

7.3 The detailed arrangements to introduce bus lane enforcement at particular locations will require further consideration, but since District Councils in much of Hampshire already undertake DPE on behalf of the County Council, which is a similar PCN process, a favoured option would be to extend these agency arrangements to include bus lane enforcement. A study is in progress on how this would operate in Winchester and a further report will be submitted in due course.

Recommendations

1. That approval be given in principle to:

(i) undertake bus lane enforcement in pursuance of the powers conferred under Section 144 of the Transport Act 2000 and to impose penalty charges in respect of bus lane contraventions; and

(ii) discharge the County Council's functions in respect of appointment of bus lane adjudicators (including the provision of accommodation, staff and other facilities) through a joint committee with other like Councils, and to enter into an agreement with other Councils for this purpose (under Section 101 (5) of the Local Government Act 1972) on similar terms to the National Parking Adjudication Service Joint Committee Agreement.

2. That a further report be submitted in due course on proposals for bus lane enforcement in Winchester.

760Rpt/PDB