Transport Act 1985

120 Notice of withdrawal of bus substitution service

(1) Where the Railways Board propose—

(a) to seek revocation of a bus service condition requiring them to secure the provision of a bus substitution service; or

(b) to seek variation of such a condition so as to permit them to withdraw any such service from any locality or point for the time being specified in the condition as a locality or point the service is required to serve;

they shall, not less than six weeks before the date they propose for the withdrawal of the service or (as the case may be) for the withdrawal of the service from that locality or point (referred to below in this Act as the withdrawal of service) publish in two successive weeks in two local newspapers circulating in the area affected, and in such other manner as appears to them appropriate, a notice complying with subsection (2) below.

(2) The notice shall—

(a) give the date proposed by the Board for the withdrawal of service and particulars of the proposed withdrawal, of any alternative services which it appears to the Board will be available and of any proposals of the Board for securing the provision of alternative services or augmenting any available alternative services; and

(b) state that objections to the revocation or (as the case may be) to the variation of the bus service condition may be lodged in accordance with this section within six weeks of a date specified in the notice.

(3) The date so specified shall be the date on which the notice is last published in a local newspaper as required by subsection CI) above.

(4) Copies of the notice published under subsection (1) above shall be sent to the appropriate Area Committee.

(5) Where the proposed withdrawal of service relates to a service or part of a service which is subsidised by the Passenger Transport Executive for any passenger transport area under any agreement made with the Railways Board by virtue of section 119(3) of this Act, the Board shall not publish a notice with respect to the proposed withdrawal under subsection (1) above without the consent of the Executive to its publication.

(6) If in any such case the Board publish such a notice before obtaining that consent, the notice shall be of no effect unless before the end of the period fixed by the notice for objecting to the revocation or variation of the relevant bus service condition either—

(a) the Executive have informed the Board in writing that they consent to the publication; or

(b) the Secretary of State, on an application made for the purpose by the Board (whether before or after the publication of the notice) and after offering the Executive what the Secretary of State considers a reasonable opportunity to make any representations, has directed that the notice shall have effect notwithstanding that the Executive have not consented to its publication.

(7) Where in the case of any proposed withdrawal of service subsection (5) above does not apply but any locality or point affected by the proposed withdrawal is situated in a passenger transport area, the Railways Board shall send to the Passenger Transport Executive for that area a copy of the notice published by them under subsection (1) above.