Following the meeting arranged by Torbay MP Adrian Sanders for Torbay Council to put its case to the Transport Minister over the issued of bus pass funding, the Department of Transport has issued its response.
While the imperfections of the system remain, Minister Chris Mole highlighted that Torbay Council are overly generous in giving funds to bus companies.
At present Stagecoach and other providers receive 72% of the average fare for each journey undertaken, compared to the average rate of around 50%. With almost 4 million journeys made in Torbay last year, this easily contributes to the estimated £1.7million budget shortfall.
Adrian said: “This shows the hugely chaotic nature of the concessionary bus pass project. Why didn’t the Government set a standard rate of reimbursement to bus companies instead of forcing councils to waste resources on individual rounds of negotiation and then shoulder the burden of cost when they cannot get the best deal.”
“The Mayor has also been misleading council taxpayers on this issue. His estimates of the budget shortfall have ranged from £1.7million to £3.2million but it has taken a great deal of discussion to highlight that the council’s own negotiations with the bus companies were flawed.”
“The Mayor urgently needs to go back to re-negotiate the council’s dealings with Stagecoach to ensure taxpayers are getting value for money.”
Recent Comments