Róisín Shortall
Question:169 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Transport his proposals for the appointment of an independent regulator to oversee the granting of licences to private bus operators. [7137/03]
Written Answers - Private Bus Operators.
I set out my proposals for the appointment of an independent regulator for the public transport market in my statement to the public transport partnership forum on 7 November.
My proposals are that the independent body will procure and regulate public transport services within a regulatory and investment framework laid down by Government. As Minister for Transport I will continue to set overall transport policy. Under my proposals the independent regulator would have the following functions: the allocation of both current and capital funding for public transport services from an overall allocation provided by the Exchequer; the procure ment of bus services in the greater Dublin area from both Dublin Bus and private operators; the procurement of long distance bus services serving the GDA which commence or end outside its boundaries; the regulation of public transport fares; setting and enforcing quality standards for public transport services; negotiating a public service contract with Iarnród Éireann for the provision of DART and suburban rail services in the GDA; and approval of the relevant service contracts for LUAS and metro services procured by the Railway Procurement Agency.
All public transport outside the GDA should also be subject to independent economic regulation. I have not yet taken any decisions on the precise form of regulation to be applied to public transport outside Dublin.
My objective is to put in place reforms which will ensure a good quality public transport service with a greater focus on delivery, value for money and responsiveness to customer requirements.