Agenda item

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/177

Contact: Martin Kraftl, Senior Transport Planner Tel: (01865) 815786

Report by Deputy Director for Environment & Economy – Highways & Transport (CMDT6).

The Cabinet Member for Transport considered the terms of an application to the Traffic Commissioner for a traffic regulation condition to limit emissions from buses in Oxford and seeking to bring taxis and licensed private hire vehicles up to the same standard as buses.

Councillor Turner supported the general aims of the proposal.  However, he expressed some concern regarding the potential impact from the cost of these proposals to smaller operators who operated an hourly or less frequent service into the city centre and possibly placing some of those services, many of them rural, under threat.

Mr Kraftl advised that the impact on smaller operators would be lessened because there was an alternative and cheaper option to retrofit existing engines with an exhaust treatment device. Also where additional costs were incurred they were likely to be passed on to the county council as they were subsidised services.

Mr Helling added there was some risk that some service could be withdrawn but if that was to be the case it would be minor as the majority of subsidised services were already compliant.  Every effort had been made to protect very low frequency buses and hourly services  would be exempt.  However, it would not be acceptable to expect larger operators to comply whilst exempting smaller operators.

The Cabinet Member for Transport noted a late additional submission from Oxford Sightseeing , which officers had tabled along with their comments. 

With regard to these comments Mr Kraftl advised that the county council was doing as much as it could to be fair to all parties and officers were recommending no further amendment was required.

He further advised that the Traffic Commissioner had suggested a meeting to discuss the draft condition and it had been anticipated that that could lead to some changes to the finally submitted application.  Therefore officers had suggested an amendment to recommendation (a) to authorise the Deputy Director for Environment & Economy (Highways & Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport ) to make any minor changes to the draft.

Having regard to the arguments and options set out in the documentation before him, the representations made to him and the further considerations set out above the Cabinet Member for Transport confirmed his decision as follows:

(a)               agree to making a formal application to the Traffic Commissioner for a traffic regulation condition based on the draft at Annex 1 to this report, subject to authorising the Deputy Director for Environment & Economy (Highways & Transport) to make any minor changes to the draft in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport and to formal agreement by Oxford City Council that it would operate a certification scheme for vehicles and retrofitted equipment for as long as the traffic regulation condition remained in force;

(b)               agree to the approach being taken for maintaining a database of very low frequency services and the monitoring and investigation of suspected non-compliance for as long as the traffic regulation condition remained in force; (paragraph 18) of the report CMDT6;

(c)               formally ask Oxford City Council to apply emissions standards equivalent to those in the draft traffic regulation condition to taxis and licensed private hire vehicles by 2014.