Mr. David Conway:

The process here is that in the first instance, an application needs to be made to the National Transport Authority. It is quite a detailed application, as it should be. However, the timeframes in terms of receiving a decision back from the transport authority can be quite considerable. There is no guarantee of an offer or if an offer is made, it may not necessarily be for what was applied for. As people who are commercial operators and being close to consumer demand, we seek particular insights in terms of travel demand. We seek to serve those needs. In many instances, a grant or an offer may not be received at all. In fact, a rejection is often received. It is on public record that over the years, the transport authority rejects as many applications as it grants.

In the event that an offer is received, from that point onwards, a very cumbersome and bureaucratic administrative process needs to be gone through. As I mentioned in our presentation, bus stop approvals have to be sought and received from all local authority or private landowners the service will be servicing. For example, if it is serving a university, approval must be received from the university but if is passing through the bounds of a number of different local authorities, approval needs to be received from all of these. In addition, there is the requirement to pass on vehicle details, commercial vehicle roadworthiness tests, PSV licences and copies of insurance. These are all matters which are within the public domain through the Road Safety Authority, RSA, in any case. This would appear to be a doubling up.

If the service is actually launched, for various different reasons, be it travel demand or increased traffic congestion, then service times may need to be amended over time in order that a more reliable and consistent service is provided to the customers. A timetable may need to be changed by as little as five minutes to provide a more reliable running time. An example scenario might be a later arrival because of increased congestion entering into an urban area. In this case, the operator is required to go through the whole process again. An application has to be made for an amendment. It has to be decided upon and if it is offered, the operator has to follow through that whole process again. New bus stop approvals have to be sought and up-to-date documents have to be provided again.

In comparison, in the UK if one wishes to run a commercial service, it is a case of registering it with the local authorities. Once registered, there is a timeframe given to provide the service but approval to do so will be received. Then the operator must simply put on the service within that four-week period. If there are to be changes, the operator simply needs to notify the local authority and let the travelling public know within a two-week period in advance of the changes that are being made. All of the other administration is done away with.