Long distance, tourist and charter services

A long distance bus service coach is a public passenger service conducted according to regular routes, in which each passenger is carried for at least 40 kilometres.

A tourist bus service is a public passenger service which is either:

• A pre-booked service designed for the carriage of tourists to destinations listed on a publicly available tour itinerary, or
• A service designed for the carriage of tourists where all passengers have a common origin or a common destination (or both).

A charter bus service is a public passenger service in which a bus and the services of a driver are pre-booked to take passengers for an agreed fee, but only if:

• The hirer is entitled to determine the route and the time of travel
• All passengers' journeys have a common origin or a common destination (or both)
• Individual fares are not payable by the passengers (either to the operator or the driver)
• The service is not provided according to regular routes and timetables.

Long distance, tourist and charter bus services are essentially deregulated in they are not subject to the service contract regime. However, the following requirements do apply:

• The service must conform to the service definitions specified in the Act
• The operator must be accredited, and comply with the regulations and the accreditation conditions (including public and passenger safety requirements)
• The driver must have a driver authority and comply with the regulations and the driver authority conditions.