ENCTS concession bus passes reimbursement for bus operators.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Milton Keynes Council,

Can you please tell me how much money you reimburse bus operators for acceptance of ENCTS passes? What do they get paid? Also how is it worked out? Is it just a set amount per journey regardless of length? Is it a percentage of the Single fare or Return fare or average cost of fares on the route? If so what percentage? Is it the same amount for all given to all bus operators? Are the reimbursement rates for the OAP version and Disabled version the same? Also what is the policy for cross border routes that start in your area and finish in another council or start in another council and finish in your area and how is reimbursement dealt with for such journeys that cross a border? Finally can you advise the total amount of money you have given to each bus operator in ENCTS reimbursements that runs in your council area within each year for the past five years (so i require all of the periods of 01/01/2017-31/12/2017 and 01/01/2018-31/12/2018 and 01/01/2019-31/12/2019 and 01/01/2020-31/12/2020 and 01/01/2021-31/12/2021 are the five periods i need) and the list must show the total amount of reimbursement money for each year broken down in to how much has been given to each bus operator that runs in your council area?

Yours faithfully,

James Knight

Freedom of Information Team, Milton Keynes Council

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Reference: FOI-411714729
Date of request: 29/03/2022
Title of request: ENCTS concession bus passes reimbursement for bus
operators

Dear James Knight,

Thank you for your request for information. Your request is being
considered and you will receive the information requested within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days.

In the event that the information cannot be released you will be advised
within 20 working days, including your rights of appeal.

Best Regards

Freedom of Information Team

Any personal data will be processed in line with the Data Protection legislation, further details at https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/privacy

This email and any attachments hereto are strictly confidential and intended solely for the addressee. It may contain information which is privileged. If you are not the intended addressee, you must not disclose, forward, copy or take any action in reliance of this email or attachments. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify us as soon as possible.

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Freedom of Information Team, Milton Keynes Council

Reference: FOI-411714729
Date of request: 28/03/2022
Title of request: ENCTS concession bus passes reimbursement for bus
operators
Information request:

Can you please tell me how much money you reimburse bus operators for
acceptance of ENCTS passes? What do they get paid? Also how is it worked
out? Is it just a set amount per journey regardless of length? Is it a
percentage of the Single fare or Return fare or average cost of fares on
the route? If so what percentage? Is it the same amount for all given to
all bus operators? Are the reimbursement rates for the OAP version and
Disabled version the same? Also what is the policy for cross border routes
that start in your area and finish in another council or start in another
council and finish in your area and how is reimbursement dealt with for
such journeys that cross a border? Finally can you advise the total amount
of money you have given to each bus operator in ENCTS reimbursements that
runs in your council area within each year for the past five years (so i
require all of the periods of 01/01/2017-31/12/2017 and
01/01/2018-31/12/2018 and 01/01/2019-31/12/2019 and 01/01/2020-31/12/2020
and 01/01/2021-31/12/2021 are the five periods i need) and the list must
show the total amount of reimbursement money for each year broken down in
to how much has been given to each bus operator that runs in your council
area?

Dear James Knight,

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
requested is below. Where an exemption to disclosure applies, the response
should be considered a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Act.

Can you please tell me how much money you reimburse bus operators for
acceptance of ENCTS passes? What do they get paid? Also how is it worked
out? Is it just a set amount per journey regardless of length? Is it a
percentage of the Single fare or Return fare or average cost of fares on
the route? If so what percentage? Is it the same amount for all given to
all bus operators?

Information about how concessionary payments are calculated can be found
in Sections 1.59-1.63 of the ‘[1]Guidance for travel concession
authorities on the England national concessionary travel scheme’,
published by the Department for Transport on 21 December 2010. This should
be read alongside the dataset ‘[2]Older and disabled concessionary
passenger journeys on local bus services by local authority: England’,
produced by Department for Transport.

Milton Keynes Council publishes datasets each month about all payments
over £500, in accordance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.
These include payments to bus operators and can be found on the
[3]Transparency pages of our website (search ‘concession’ in each
spreadsheet).

****

Are the reimbursement rates for the OAP version and Disabled version the
same?
The payments are calculated in the same way. The amounts paid may vary
however, due to demand and the fact that Disabled passes (unlike Older
Persons’ passes outside London) are accepted at all times.

****

Also, what is the policy for cross border routes that start in your area
and finish in another council or start in another council and finish in
your area and how is reimbursement dealt with for such journeys that cross
a border?

Cross-border trips are funded by the authority in which the trip started.
Most areas only have data about where passengers board, as they only touch
their pass when boarding.

****

Finally can you advise the total amount of money you have given to each
bus operator in ENCTS reimbursements that runs in your council area within
each year for the past five years (so i require all of the periods of
01/01/2017-31/12/2017 and 01/01/2018-31/12/2018 and 01/01/2019-31/12/2019
and 01/01/2020-31/12/2020 and 01/01/2021-31/12/2021 are the five periods i
need) and the list must show the total amount of reimbursement money for
each year broken down in to how much has been given to each bus operator
that runs in your council area?

We’re refusing this part of your request under Section 43(2) of the Act.
The information is commercially sensitive as buses in Milton Keynes
operate on a commercial basis. This exemption is qualified and subject to
a public interest test. We present the arguments in favour of disclosure
and withholding the information below:
Arguments in favour of disclosing the information
1.   General transparency and openness of local government.
2.   Ability of taxpayers to scrutinise the efficiency and effectiveness
of the Authority.
3.   Disclosure helps residents engage with the workings of local
government and how services are delivered.

Arguments in favour of withholding the information
1.   The information is subject to a non-disclosure clause in the contract
the Council has with each operator (it is not even shared in meetings with
representatives of more than operator). Breaching this clause would be
actionable in Court and would likely result in the Council having to
compensate affected operators, who could also withdraw their services.
This would be significantly dis-beneficial to passengers and force the
Council at further cost and very short notice to replace these lost
services.
2.   The information is held alongside detailed trip information, often on
a route-by-route basis. Disclosure would allow rival operators to
accurately determine bus usage and open up travel corridors to unfair
competition (see [4]this article from 2000 and [5]this article from 2006,
regarding “bus wars” in Greater Manchester as an example).
3.   In a de-regulated bus market, it is manifestly in the public interest
to maintain fair competition between operators. It is also in the public
interest to ensure all residents have access to good quality public
transport services, not just those living on more profitable travel
corridors.

We find on balance the public interest is in withholding this information.

If you have a complaint about the handling of your request then you may
request an internal review within the next 40 working days which will be
considered as part of Stage 2 of the Council’s complaints procedure. You
also have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow 

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113

[6]www.ico.org.uk

Best Regards

Freedom of Information Team

Any personal data will be processed in line with the Data Protection legislation, further details at https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/privacy

This email and any attachments hereto are strictly confidential and intended solely for the addressee. It may contain information which is privileged. If you are not the intended addressee, you must not disclose, forward, copy or take any action in reliance of this email or attachments. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify us as soon as possible.

The anti-virus software used by Milton Keynes Council is updated regularly in an effort to minimise the possibility of viruses infecting our systems. However, you should be aware that there is no absolute guarantee that any files attached to this email are virus free.

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