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NOTICE OF VARIATION TO REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENTS


1. 1. In accordance with sections 95(2)(a) and 97(6) of the Transport Act 1985, the Isle of Wight Council hereby gives notice of the proposed variations to the eligibility conditions and reimbursement provisions for the discretionary element of the Isle of Wight Concessionary Fares Scheme (the "Scheme") as set out in this notice.

2. 2. These variations are to come into effect on 1 April 2011 and continue until further notice. Pursuant to section 97(6) of the Transport Act 1985 and the Operator's current participation in the Scheme pursuant to a participation notice dated 2 February 2010 ("Participation Notice") the Operator is requested to indicate within 28 days of the date of this notice whether the Operator is willing to continue to participate in the Concessionary Fares Scheme after the variation set out in this notice takes effect:

(a) a failure to indicate unwillingness to continue to participate in the Scheme after the variation takes effect will constitute acceptance of the variation; and

(b) the date of taking effect of the variation will constitute a new appropriate commencement date for the purposes of section 97(4) of the Transport Act 1985 and therefore participation under the Participation Notice in respect of the varied Scheme shall continue for 3 years until 31 March 2014 or until any earlier further variation of the Scheme or release by the Council pursuant to section 99(1) of the Transport Act 1985.


3. The services to which this notice relates are all eligible services for the purposes of section 146 of the Transport Act 2000 which are provided by the Operator within the Isle of Wight, excluding those where members of the public cannot make a single journey between two bus stopping places without it being at a fare which is a deliberate deterrent to such point to point travel and/or it appears to the Council that the fares for the service are significantly high in comparison to comparable journeys.


4. From 1 April 2011 the discretionary element of the Scheme (made in accordance with the Transport Act 1985) shall be varied in to reflect the draft Scheme annexed at schedule 1 by making the amendments to the existing Scheme shown in schedule 2 and in particular as follows:

(a) The Scheme definition of Eligible Users shall be varied to mean:

        (i) holders of a National Bus Pass for England who are elderly persons as defined in section 146 of Transport Act         2000, as varied by article 2 of the Travel Concessions (Eligibility) (England) Order 2010; or

         (ii) holders of a National Bus Pass for England who are disabled (as defined in section 146 of Transport Act         2000) ("Disabled Persons"); or

         (iii) Island Residents with severe and enduring mental health problems (and the Scheme now clarifies that to         benefit from the free concessionary travel offered to them, they must first have been issued with a New         Islander Card); and

         (iv) "Travelling Companions" who are now defined as companions/escorts for Island Residents who are Disabled         Persons and hold a New Islander Card or a National Bus Pass for England, provided such person could not use         the bus without the assistance of the Travelling Companion.

(b) The definition of "Island Resident" shall be varied to mean someone who holds either a National Bus Pass for England or a New Islander Card, in each case issued by the Isle of Wight Council. 

(c) The Scheme shall be clarified to permit expressly free travel during the permitted hours of operation to Eligible Users holding either a New Islander Card or who are Travelling Companions, in addition to those holding a National Bus Pass for England.

(d) The Scheme shall be varied to reflect the following hours of operation:

  • between the hours of 0930 and 2300 Monday to Friday and at any time on a Saturday or Sunday or on any day which is a bank holiday in England and Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, solely in accordance with the requirements of the Transport Act 2000 namely:

         Island Residents and non-Island Residents who are men and women who are of Eligible Age; and

         non-Island Residents who are Disabled Persons.

  • at any time on any day of the week:

        Island Residents who are Disabled Persons;

        Travelling Companions; and

        Island Residents suffering severe and enduring mental health problems, subject in each case to local bus         operating times.

(e) The Scheme shall be clarified to state that it provides free travel for Eligible Users during the applicable hours of operation on presentation of either a National Bus Pass for England or a New Islander Card.  The Scheme is further varied to clarify that the Isle of Wight Council will carry out the administration and issue of New Islander Cards, in addition to National Bus Passes for England. 

(f) The paragraph commencing "For the Scheme it is intended that the generation factor" shall be deleted and replaced with a new paragraph: "The revenue reimbursement shall be calculated as the product of the outturn numbers of concessionary trips made during the year on services provided by the Operator multiplied by the average commercial fare which applied to the Operator's services during the year, multiplied by the Reimbursement Percentage Level."  The following paragraph shall be varied to clarify that the Reimbursement Percentage Level shall be calculated using the Department for Transport Reimbursement Calculator and data gathered up to 2010-11.  It shall further be clarified that the Reimbursement Percentage Level applicable at the start of the varied Scheme shall be 34.1%.

(g) The Scheme shall also be varied such that the new Default Sum will be seven and one half pence (£0.075).  It shall be clarified that the Default Sum is derived from the Department for Transport Calculator and shall be used in the absence of figures substantiated to the satisfaction of the Isle of Wight Council for any Operator.  It has also been clarified that additional cost claims relate to costs in excess of the Default Sum. 

(h) The Scheme is varied further to clarify that where the reimbursement calculations lead to a variation of the future Reimbursement Percentage Level under the Scheme, such variation shall be made in accordance with the variation procedure contained in the Scheme and the requirements of the Transport Acts 1985 and 2000 (as the case may be). 

For the avoidance of doubt, these variations only vary the discretionary elements of the Scheme implemented pursuant to the Transport Act 1985, and those elements of the Scheme made under the Transport Act 2000 shall be varied in accordance with the requirements of the Transport Act 2000.

5. All enquiries and requests for further information should be directed to:

Isle of Wight Council
Highways and Transport
Enterprise House, St Cross Business Park
Newport, Isle of Wight , PO3O 5WB

Tel 01983 821000

Dated this 4th day of February 2011



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