Part V

Financial Provisions

Travel concession schemes

Right of eligible service operators to participate in travel concession schemes.
96
1
Subject to the following provisions of this section, where any operator or prospective operator of an eligible service which runs or will run between places within the limits covered by any scheme under section 93 of this Act applies to the authority or authorities responsible for administration of that scheme to be admitted to participate in it in respect of that service, the authority or authorities in question shall be obliged to admit that operator to participation in the scheme in respect of that service as from any standard admission date under the scheme not later than the one next following—
a
the end of such period as may be prescribed beginning with the date of his application; or
b
the date on which the service begins;
whichever last occurs.
2
The Secretary of State may, on the application of the authority or authorities responsible for administration of any such scheme, exempt the authority or authorities in question from the obligation under subsection (1) above in relation to any service or description of services; and the Secretary of State may at any time withdraw or vary any exemption granted under this subsection.
3
An exemption may not be granted under subsection (2) above on the application of a Passenger Transport Executive, or on the joint application of authorities who include such an Executive, unless the application is made with the consent of the Integrated Transport Authority or, as the case may be, the Passenger Transport Authority for that Executive’s area.
4
Subject to any regulations under section 94(1)(d) of this Act, where it appears to the authority or authorities responsible for administration of any such scheme, in the case of any operator or prospective operator of an eligible service who applies to be admitted to participate in the scheme in respect of that service, that fares currently charged or proposed to be charged by that operator for relevant journeys on that service include a special amenity element, the authority or authorities in question shall not be required by subsection (1) above to admit that operator to participation in the scheme in respect of that service unless that operator agrees to appropriate modifications of the current reimbursement arrangements for eligible service operators participating in the scheme.
5
Subject to any such regulations, where it appears to the authority or authorities responsible for administration of any such scheme, in the case of any operator of an eligible service participating in the scheme, that fares currently charged by that operator for relevant journeys on that service include a special amenity element, the authority or authorities in question may by notice of not less than such period as may be prescribed exclude that operator from participation in the scheme in respect of that service unless before the end of that period that operator agrees to appropriate modifications of the current reimbursement arrangements for eligible service operators participating in the scheme.
6
For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5) above fares for relevant journeys are to be regarded as including a special amenity element if they are significantly high in relation to the general level of fares for comparable journeys in the principal area covered by the scheme (within the meaning of section 93 of this Act).
7
References in those subsections to appropriate modifications of the reimbursement arrangements there mentioned are references to such modifications of those arrangements as the authority or authorities concerned consider appropriate for providing reimbursement in respect of travel concessions provided for relevant journeys on the service in question by reference to the general level of fares mentioned in subsection (6) above instead of by reference to the actual fares charged (or proposed to be charged) for those journeys.
8
For the purposes of this section “relevant journeys” are journeys on which travel concessions are to be provided under the scheme in question.
9
For the purposes of this section and section 97 of this Act, references to a prospective operator of an eligible service are references to a person who has registered a local service under section 6 of this Act but is not yet operating that service.
Ss. 93-102 applied (13.12.2006) by The Luton Dunstable Translink Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3118), art. 36
Ss. 93-100: functions transferred (S.) (1.11.2006) by The Transfer of Functions to the Shetland Transport Partnership Order 2006 (S.S.I. 2006/527), art. 3, Sch. 1 (with art. 5)
S. 93-100: functions transferred (S.) (7.11.2006) by The Transfer of Functions to the South-West of Scotland Transport Partnership Order 2006 (S.S.I. 2006/538), art. 3, Sch. 1 (with art. 5)
Ss. 93-101 applied (S.) (27.4.2006) by Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Act 2006 (asp 6), s. 54(1) (with s. 75)
Ss. 93-101 applied (S.) (8.5.2006) by Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Act 2006 (asp 7), s. 54(1) (with s. 76, 84)
Ss. 93-102 restricted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(7), Sch. 17 Pt. II para. 20(5) (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch. 2
Ss. 93-102 applied (28.7.1998) by 1998 c. iii, s. 1, Sch. s. 52 of Order
Ss. 93-102 applied (24.7.2001) by S.I. 2001/3627, art. 51
Pt. 5 (except ss. 110, 111): transfer of functions (1.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/672, art. 2, Sch. 1
Words in s. 96(3) inserted (E.W.) (9.2.2009) by Local Transport Act 2008 (c. 26), s. 134(4), Sch. 4 para. 34; S.I. 2009/107, art. 2(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 1
Pt. 5 modified (E.W.) (1.4.2011) by The Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 (Variation of Reimbursement and Other Administrative Arrangements) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/1179), arts. 1(3)(b), 5(1)(a)
Pt. 5: transfer of functions (E.W.) (1.4.2014) by The Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral Combined Authority Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/865), arts. 1, 8(1)(a) (with arts. 8(4), 12)
Pt. 5: transfer of functions (E.W.) (15.4.2014) by The Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1012), arts. 1, 8, 9 (with art. 11)
Pt. 5: delegation of functions (E.W.) (1.4.2016) by The Tees Valley Combined Authority Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/449), arts. 1(a), 6(a)
Pt. 5: functions made exercisable (E.W.) (9.2.2017) by The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017 (S.I. 2017/126), arts. 1(3), 8
Pt. 5: functions made exercisable (E.W.) (3.3.2017) by The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Order 2017 (S.I. 2017/251), arts. 1(2)(b), 8(a)
Pt. 5 functions made exercisable (E.W.) (8.5.2017) by The Tees Valley Combined Authority (Functions and Amendment) Order 2017 (S.I. 2017/431), arts. 1(2), 4(1)(a)
Pt. 5: transfer of functions (E.W.) (2.11.2018) by The Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/1133), arts. 1, 7 (with art. 28)
Pt. 5 functions made exercisable (E.W.) (2.11.2018) by The Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/1133), arts. 1, 9 (with art. 28)
Pt. 5: functions made exercisable (E.W.) (20.12.2023) by The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/1432), arts. 1(2), 13(1)(2)
Ss. 93-101: functions made exercisable concurrently (E.) (28.2.2024) by The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/232), regs. 1(2), 14(4) (with reg. 14(5))
Pt. 5: functions made exercisable (E.) (28.2.2024) by The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/232), regs. 1(2), 14(1)
Pt. 5: functions made exercisable concurrently (E.W.) (7.5.2024) by The North East Mayoral Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2024 (S.I. 2024/402), arts. 1(3), 19(b) (with art. 9)
Pts. 4, 5: transfer of functions (E.) (5.2.2025) by The Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/113), arts. 1(2), 7
Pts. 4, 5: transfer of functions (E.) (5.2.2025) by The Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/115), regs. 1(2), 9
Pts. 4, 5: functions made exercisable (E.) (5.2.2025) by The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/117), regs. 1(2), 13
Pts. 4, 5: functions made exercisable (E.) (5.2.2025) by The Lancashire Combined County Authority Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/118), regs. 1(2), 9