but, as people keep on telling you, Rail Replacement services are not local or scheduled services as defined by the Transport Act 1985 [as amended]... and I refer you to Section 3 paragraph 9b of the PSVAR regulations you keep quoting!
Do you mean
this?
references to a vehicle being “used” or “in use” means the regulated public service vehicle is being used to provide either a local service or a scheduled service.
"Regulated public service vehicle", "a local service" and "a scheduled service" all have definitions specified in the PSVAR.
PSVAR Section 2 gives the definitions.
In these Regulations...
“regulated public service vehicle” means any public service vehicle to which these Regulations apply in accordance with regulation 3(1);
"local service” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Transport Act 1985(
5);
"scheduled service” means a service, using one or more public service vehicles, for the carriage of passengers at separate fares—
- along specified routes,
- at specified times, and
- with passengers being taken up and set down at pre-determined stopping points,
but does not include a tour service;
So for the purposes of the regulations, "regulated public service vehicle" means "A single-deck bus which weighs more than 7.5 tonnes and is in use on or after 31st December 2000" and so on. No reference at all to any other legislation; it is defined in its own right purely for the purposes of the regulations.
"Scheduled service" is defined clearly within the regulations and makes no reference to any other legislation. So your claim that the fact that Rail Replacement buses aren't scheduled services as defined by the Transport Act 1985 is irrelevant; the only relevant definition is that in the PSVAR themselves.
"Local service" refers only to Section 2 of the Transport Act 1985. Neither the regulations, nor Section 2 of the Transport Act, make any reference to Section 6 (in which the duty to register with traffic commissioners is dealt with), so registration or otherwise with the Traffic Commissioners, and rail replacement services is not relevant to the regulations.
The PSVAR says that for the purpose of the Regulations, the definition of a Local Service is as stated in
Section 2 of the Transport Act 1985. So here's that section.
Local services.
(1) In this Act “local service” means a service, using one or more public service vehicles, for the carriage of passengers by road at separate fares other than one—
(a) which is excluded by subsection (4) below; or
(b) in relation to which (except in an emergency) one or both of the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) below are met with respect to every passenger using the service.
(2) The conditions are that—
(a) the place where he is set down is fifteen miles or more, measured in a straight line, from the place where he was taken up;
(b) some point on the route between those places is fifteen miles or more, measured in a straight line, from either of those places.
(3) Where a service consists of one or more parts with respect to which one or both of the conditions are met, and one or more parts with respect to which neither of them is met, each of those parts shall be treated as a separate service for the purposes of subsection (1) above.
(4) A service shall not be regarded for the purposes of this Act as a local service if—
(a) the conditions set out in Part III of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Act (trips organised privately by persons acting independently of vehicle operators, etc.) are met in respect of each journey made by the vehicles used in providing the service; or
(b) every vehicle used in providing the service is so used under a permit granted under section 19 of this Act.
(5) Subsections (5)(b), (c) and (6) of section 1 of the 1981 Act (meaning of “fares”) shall apply for the purposes of this section.
So with two exceptions, a "local service" for the purposes of the PSVAR is any service "using one or more public service vehicles, for the carriage of passengers by road at separate fares" where stops are less than 15 miles apart.
"At separate fares" is defined by the section as that specified in
Subsections 5(b),(c) & 6 of Section 1 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981. Here's that section.
(b) a payment made for the carrying of a passenger shall be treated as a fare notwithstanding that it is made in consideration of other matters in addition to the journey and irrespective of the person by or to whom it is made;
(c) a payment shall be treated as made for the carrying of a passenger if made in consideration of a person’s being given a right to be carried, whether for one or more journeys and whether or not the right is exercised.
(6) Where a fare is paid for the carriage of a passenger on a journey by air...
You content that these definitions mean that payment for a rail ticket without which one may not travel on a rail replacement bus does not meet the criteria of being "at separate fares". I disagree with you.
So what about the two exceptions to the definition of local services?
I'll take them in reverse order.
(b) every vehicle used in providing the service is so used under a permit granted under section 19 of this Act.
Rail replacement services aren't under a Section 19 permit; this permit is for voluntary or charitable organisations where bus transport is a minor part of their operations, e.g. care home owned / operated minibuses. None of us think this is relevant.
The other one deals with private hire. A service is exempt from the PSVAR if:
the conditions set out in Part III of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Act (trips organised privately by persons acting independently of vehicle operators, etc.) are met in respect of each journey made by the vehicles used in providing the service
For this exemption to be effective, the serviced must satisfy all conditions set out in
Part III of Schedule 1 to the Public Passenger Vehicles 1981 Act. Here's that part.
Alternative Conditions Affecting Status or Classification
5 Arrangements for the bringing together of all the passengers for the purpose of making the journey must have been made otherwise than by, or by a person acting on behalf of—
(a) the holder of the PSV operator’s licence under which the vehicle is to be used, if such a licence is in force.
(b) the driver or the owner of the vehicle or any person who has made the vehicle available under any arrangement, if no such licence is in force,
and otherwise than by any person who receives any remuneration in respect of the arrangements.
6 The journey must be made without previous advertisement to the public of the arrangements therefor.
7 All passengers must, in the case of a journey to a particular destination, be carried to, or to the vicinity of, that destination, or, in the case of a tour, be carried for the greater part of the journey.
8 No differentiation of fares for the journey on the basis of distance or of time must be made.
None of us dispute that rail replacement buses meet the independence requirements of Section 5. BUT for this exemption to be effective, sections 6, 7 and 8 must also be engaged.
For 6 to engage, the arrangements for the service must not have been advertised to the public. So no pre-announced timetables, no tannoys announcing the service, nothing on TOC websites or National Rail Enquiries, no announcement on Twitter... I contend that rail replacement buses do not fit S6 and thus this exemption does not engage.
S7: If the service isn't a tour (which nobody contends that rail replacement buses are) then all the occupants of the bus must be carried to its final destination or points close to it. So any rail replacement service that has more than one stop, I.E. stops at a station or stations en route to its final destination, does not fit this section and this exemption doesn't apply.
S8: people travelling different distances on the bus (or for different lengths of time) must not be charged different fares based on the distance / time travelled.
You and I disagree as to whether rail fares can be considered as "separate fares" for the purposes of the Regulations. I contend that they are, and that it is self-evident that the further along a rail replacement route one travels, the higher the fare - e.g. Oxenholme to Kendal vs Oxenholme to Windermere. So I contend that rail replacement buses don't meet this section, and so the exemption isn't engaged.
It's important to note that for this exemption to be engaged, ALL of the conditions in Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 have to be true. I argue that 6, 7 and 8 are not (always) the case for rail replacement services.
That's my relatively comprehensive exploration and explanation of the legislation, and why I believe that the definitions, terms and sections do apply to rail replacement buses. I know you disagree.