How is ENCTS funded? Who pays the bus company each time I use my pass?

[gray1404]

How is ENCTS funded? Who pays the bus company each time I use my pass?

I have a pass issued by Merseytravel. I am assuming that when I use it locally it is the Mersey PTE who gives the money to the bus company. However, I use it regularly on the X5 Milton Keynes to Oxford and on many buses in Reading and Brighton. Who pays the fare in these cases?

 

[Gloster]

I think, from something I read a few years ago (possibly by David Mckie in the Grauniad) that each fare is reimbursed to the operator by the council in whose area each leg of your journey starts. There was something about it being a problem for Preston as many services go through the bus station. Merseytravel is only responsible for issuing, renewing and replacing the card.

Others will probably correct me now.

 

[Harpers Tate]

I believe that
a) Central Government grants monies to local authorities to fund the scheme; I think it's based on local population
b) The local authority of the area in which any given journey originates (i.e you board a bus and use your card) is responsible for funding that journey. So for example, if you travel from LA area A to LA area C and change buses in LA area B, A and B will pay for your two trips. And on the return, C and B will pay for it. Unlike the Railway, a bus "journey" is invariably just one ride; an overall journey involving (a) change/s of buses is in effect 2 or more journeys.

 

[David Verity]

I think, from something I read a few years ago (possibly by David Mckie in the Grauniad) that each fare is reimbursed to the operator by the council in whose area each leg of your journey starts. There was something about it being a problem for Preston as many services go through the bus station. Merseytravel is only responsible for issuing, renewing and replacing the card.

Others will probably correct me now.

Basically correct - the fun starts when the reimbursing authority pays a different % of the adult fare. Peter Shipp of EYMS quoted the example of a passenger travelling from (say) Bridlington in East Yorkshire to Scarborough in North Yorkshire and back again. East Yorkshire paid a higher % than North Yorkshire so the Company got reimbursed different rates according to which direction the passenger was travelling. Bet Gordon Brown never thought of that when he dreamed the scheme up.

 

[Llandudno]

Is the level of reimbursement to the bus operator the same irrespective of the length of the journey?

When the pass is validated on the bus there is no way of knowing how far the passenger is travelling, is a couple of stops where the normal adult fare maybe, say £1.50 or a long distance journey of maybe 20-30 miles are the fare could be around £8?

 

[gray1404]

Also is it a flat rate fare the bus company receives. Same amount regardless of how far the customer is travelling?

 

[GusB]

This is one of the questions that has come up on a number of occasions and has been answered elsewhere.

To view previous threads on the subject, please do the following:

• Click or tap on Search at the top of the page
• Enter "ENCTS" into the search box
• Tick "Titles only"
• Select "This forum" from the drop-down box (assuming you're already in the Buses & Coaches forum)
• Click or tap on the Search button

I would encourage others to use the search function if you have a question; there is a chance that it has been asked before and it saves having duplicate threads on the same topic. Thanks