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Bus Contracting Regime for Regular Route Services: Non-Commercial Bus Contracts
Under the Passenger Transport Act 1990, regular passenger bus services are provided under a service contract between the Ministry of Transport and an accredited bus operator. A regular passenger service (often called simply a regular route service) is a public passenger operated according to regular routes and timetables. Service contracts may be issued for a specified region or for a designated route or series of routes. The Act allows for two types of service contract: commercial and non-commercial.
Non-Commercial Bus Contracts
A non-commercial service contract is issued where it is considered that regular route bus services are needed but the region or route would not sustain a full commercial service. The Ministry pays the operator a contract price for the provision of specified services. Non-commercial contracts do not grant exclusive rights to the operator and they can be for any term, except that in the case of school bus services, the term must not exceed eight years.
Most of the noncommercial contracts which have been issued for the provision of school bus services in country areas. Generally, they provide for one bus per contract, and most services travel to more than one school.
Operators with noncommercial contracts for school bus services are paid as part of the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS). Payments are based on a model developed by Price Waterhouse and is calculated on a per bus basis. The model makes reference to the average number of school days, the variability of bus sized (4 main categories and 10 secondary categories) and the total hours and kilometres travelled.
