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1240/5(3827)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY G.C.L. BAUDAINS OF ST. CLEMENT
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 29th APRIL 2008 Question
With regard to the Connex bus service, would the Minister state:
( a ) w hether he intends putting the service out to tender when the current contract expires and if not, why
not,
( b ) over what period the new buses were amortised from the start of the service and their present value, ( c ) w hether he has considered purchasing the fleet in order to facilitate a change of operator if desired,
( d ) w hether he believes in the user pays principle' and, if so, why he does not apply this to the bus
service?"
Answer
- I h a ve notyetmade a decision as to whetherthebus service will beput out to tenderwhen the current contract expires in September2009but I can assure the Deputy that I will inform States members as soon as a decision has been made.
- T h e original fleet of vehicles were leased over the length of the contract, that is 7 yearsandtheresidual value at the end of the contract wasassumedtobe£18,000pervehicle. I donotknow the current valueof these originals vehicles as the fleet has been supplementedsince2002.
- I h ave considered whether the States, through the Vehicle andGaragePlantAccount,shouldpurchase the fleet not only to facilitate the changeoverofoperator but also to reduce the risk shouldanoperatorchoose to leave the Island and to ensure an appropriate vehicle replacement programme is implemented to smooththeprocurement cycle. However, the current contract specifically includes the facility for an incoming service provider to acquire the current operator'sfleetatmarketvalueand I am comfortable at present that this provides the security the Islandrequires.
- In general, I do support the userpaysprinciple' but notwherethere is clearly an elementofproviding a service for social reasons. If all bus passengers, including our senior citizens and children, paid the full cost oftheservice, the averagefare would be £1.80. I do not believe that this would be acceptable to the public and certainly it would not support efforts to optimise publictransport to reducecongestionand pollution from road traffic.