QC Obstacles?

Speaking at a recent conference, a solicitor for a top firm known to advice government, PTEs and the large groups has said efforts under new legislation to speed up quality contracts – franchising – simply won’t work. Or, rather, there’d be too many obstacles.

He felt that safeguarding the legitimate interests of operators and the likely hurdles through which a public body would need to demonstrate a QC was in the public interest would mean an application for a QC would still be a last resort.

Further, the tender process would be affected by tensions surrounding local operators and their advantages in holding fleet and premises, plus the rules surrounding the transfer of employees between organisations.

So who might gain? Lawyers, perhaps?

This isn’t stopping South Yorkshire PTE attempting to identify future bus garage sites as part of its work to introduce franchising. Likely to be first off the mark with quality contracts, SYPTE wishes local planning authorities to identify and then safeguard potential sites for the future, to own and then lease depots to successful bidders. This would lower the barrier to entry and overcome the incumbent operators’ built-in advantage.

 Meanwhile, SYPTE and Sheffield City Council have signed England’s first statutory quality partnership, affecting eight key routes in North Sheffield. The only people not to sign up were... the operators themselves, though First & Stagecoach have agreed minimum standards.