5A – Bus service changes
Whereby:
- a bus service is proposed to be withdrawn without replacement or only replaced in part by another service meaning a loss of existing journey opportunities
- a bus service is proposed to be re-routed without replacement or only replaced in part by another service meaning a loss of existing journey opportunities
- a bus service is proposed to have a reduction in early morning or evening journeys
- a bus service is proposed to have a reduction in daytime frequency
Bus operators will publish proposed changes to commercial bus services, for at least two weeks prior to submitting the relevant service registration changes to the Traffic Commissioner, for public consultation. Where Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) proposes to make changes to supported bus services, these will be advertised for at least two weeks prior to the contractor submitting the relevant service registration changes to the Traffic Commissioner, for public consultation.
The exception is in emergency circumstances where the change is only expected to be temporary e.g. road closure, unforeseen reduction in available resources etc.
As a minimum operators must either provide LCCA with text to be published on the LCCA's public transport website Bus Service Changes page, or publish on their own website and provide LCCA with a weblink for wider advertising of the consultation. The text as a minimum must cover:
- the proposed changes in simple to understand language with an explanation for the reason for the change
- clear maps should be provided where routes are changing
- any mitigations to be put in place or an explanation of how other existing services provide alternative options for those currently using the affected service
- details of how to respond to the consultation including the deadline for responses.
The outcome of the consultation will be published alongside the resulting service change notice and be available for at least two weeks at either the same location as the original consultation or at a location linked from the webpage of the original consultation.
5B – Bus stop changes
LCCA will provide regular communication to the relevant contacts at all bus operators within Lancashire regarding changes to bus stops. This will consist of:
- proposals to add, remove or relocate a bus stop for which operators will have two weeks to respond with any objections from the date of publication
- outcome of consultations on the proposals to add, remove or relocate bus stops including expected date of change
- changes to the NaPTAN database of bus stops including the above and any name changes not covered by the above
Operators will be expected to update their NaPTAN database in accordance with any changes they are informed about.