Bus Quality Contract Schemes under the spotlight in the UK

摘要

Earlier this month, the Tyne and Wear QCS Board published its long-awaited opinion on North East Combined Authority (NECA)'s proposed Quality Contract Scheme. The verdict? In an opinion that has been welcomed by the region's bus operators, the board found that the scheme failed to meet certain statutory public interest tests and recommended that it should not be implemented. But to what extent is NECA bound by the board's opinion? Could Nexus (NECA's transport executive) safely disregard the opinion and proceed with the scheme regardless? One answer to that question is found in the make-up of the board itself. It's a statutory body whose role is to give an opinion, not a tribunal charged with making a decision.