Our reference: 7206 FOI
02 October 2014
Dear Mr Halinson,
Thank you for your request of 02 September 2014 in which you asked for the
following information. Please find our response to your questions below in
blue:
1. The amount of bus subsidies provided to bus operators on the
following routes in Oxford.
a. Route 400
This bus route is provided on a commercial basis and no
subsidy is paid.
b. Route 800
This bus route is part of a joint contract for the provision of
routes 700, 800 and 900 paid for by a central Government grant
under the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) scheme.
The total allocated for revenue support for these services was
£600,000 to be paid over an eighteen month period from
September 2013 with the contracted service level to be
maintained until September 2016. A further £600,000 was also
part of the grant to be used for the purchase of new vehicles.
c. Route 8
This bus route is provided on a commercial basis and no
subsidy is paid.
d. Route 9
This bus route is provided on a commercial basis and no
subsidy is paid.
2. The estimated passengers per route and an estimate/calculation of
future subsidies for these routes.
Oxfordshire County Council does hold the information regarding
passenger numbers, unfortunately the Council is unable to release this
information to you by virtue of the exception found in Section 43(2) of
the Freedom of Information Act which states that:- Commercial
detriment of third parties.
Public interest test
In reaching the decision to use Section 43(2), the Council considers
whether the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the
public interest in disclosure. In reaching its conclusion the Council
considered the following factors in favour of and against disclosure.
Factors in favour of disclosure
The Council recognises that a public authority should apply a
presumption in favour of disclosure when considering a request for
information. The Council does hold the patronage figures being
requested.
Factors against disclosure
The operators of these services (Oxford Bus and Stagecoach) have
been contacted and they have stated that the patronage figures are
commercially confidential and should not be released to a third party.
Releasing this information could negatively affect the legitimate
economic interests of the operator and give an advantage to any
potential competitor.
There is the likelihood of commercial damage being caused to the
operators. This would impact on the ability of bus operators to deliver
economic public services in Oxfordshire and could lead to a reduction
in services and increased prices.
These bus services are not subsidised by the Council and therefore the
County Council does not have a right to this information. The
information is sent to the Council in good faith on a confidential basis to
assist it with its overall understanding and management of transport in
Oxfordshire. Release of this information would mean that bus
companies would not realise this information in the future which would
negatively impact on the Councils ability to manage transport in the
future.
Given the factors under consideration, the Council considers that the public
interest lies in withholding the information requested in Question 2.
However, to advise and assist, as services 8, 9 and 400 are commercially
operated Oxfordshire County Council cannot supply any passenger numbers
as these are commercially sensitive. Passenger numbers for service 800
totalled 3,776 for the four week period 17 February to 14 March 2014.
Internal review
If you are dissatisfied with the service or response to your request you can
ask for an internal review as follows:

Contact the Complaints & Freedom of Information team in Law &
Governance :
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Use the online complaints form on our website:
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/complaints
Write to the Complaints & Freedom of Information team at the
FREEPOST address:
Complaints and Comments
Oxfordshire County Council
FREEPOST (SCE 7709)
Oxford OX1 1YA.
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you
have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 Website
: www.ico.gov.uk
Please let me know if you have further enquiries. I would be grateful if you
could use the reference number given at the top of this email.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Pau
Strategic Manager – Waste & Transport
Email:
xxxxxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk