Information about the Torbay concessionary travel scheme for April 2025 to March 2026.
1. A concessionary travel scheme (“the scheme”) will operate throughout the Borough of Torbay (a unitary authority) from 1st April 2025 until 31st March 2026 unless otherwise modified. The scheme is being operated by Torbay Council (“the Authority”).
2. Under section 95 of the Transport Act 1985, amended by the Transport Act 2000 and the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 (“the Acts") the Council is under a duty to publish particulars of the scheme and of the reimbursement arrangements.
3. Any person holding an English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) “smartcard” pass issued by an English Local Authority (“National Passholders”).
4. All operators of local bus services in Torbay registered with the Traffic Commissioner, where the service complies with the description of an eligible service under concessionary legislation, are required to participate in this scheme. Where new operators enter the market by registering bus services to operate within the Torbay area, they will be required to participate in the scheme and will be contacted by the Authority’s Public Transport Team or its successors (the “Scheme Administrator”).
5. The concession to be offered by operators participating in the scheme shall be free travel for Eligible Persons on all journeys where the Passholder boards at or after 0930 until 2300 hours Monday to Friday; and on all journeys where the Passholder boards at any time on a Saturday and Sunday or on any day which is a Bank Holiday in England under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
6. The concession is to be made available on all eligible services beginning in the Unitary Authority of Torbay, and ending in England to all eligible persons having a valid “smartcard” pass issued by an English Local Authority.
7. In addition to the statutory scheme, the Council will exercise its discretionary powers under the 1985 Act to extend the valid times on weekdays within the Scheme area so that there is no weekday restriction after 2300 (to 0430 of the following day).
8. Eligible services are defined as:
9. Ineligible bus services are defined as:
10. The Authority reserves the right to use the powers under Section 96 (4) to (6) of the 1985 Act to exclude from participation in the scheme any service where the fares include a special amenity element, unless the operator has agreed appropriate modification of the reimbursement arrangements.
11. The Authority also reserves the right to exclude School Services where they do not allow members of the public to ride an omnibus on demand.
12. It is presumed that new services will automatically be included in the scheme from the date they start to operate. The Scheme Administrator will endeavour to obtain details of new services, changes and withdrawals, from registration particulars. As a guarantee that changes will be taken into account however, operators should provide requisite details of the change to the Public Transport Team at Torbay Council.
13. When an operator commences the operation of eligible services within the Authority’s Administrative boundary, it shall supply:
14. The operator shall inform the Authority of the introduction or cessation of any eligible services, changes to the times and routes of eligible service operations and, within 7 days of such an event occurring, any circumstances leading to the temporary cessation or major disruptions to such services.
15. The appropriate alteration to reimbursement will be made to take effect not later than the week following that in which the change occurred, provided the requisite notice of registration was given and the above returns were supplied in time.
16. Operators who commence services for which they intend to apply for concessionary reimbursement and do not give prior notice as in Paragraph 14 above will only receive reimbursement if due from the date the Authority is correctly notified.
17. Reimbursement will be based on the Department for Transport guidance on reimbursing bus operators for concessionary travel for older and disabled people 2025-26.
18. “Payment periods” will be monthly, unless otherwise agreed by the Authority and the Operator. Provisional payments, which is estimated to be equal to, but not less than 85% of the sum Torbay Council estimates to be due to the operator will be made as close to the mid point of the respective period as possible. Settlement periods at the end of which the provisional payments made will be reconciled with actual payments due, will be no later the 3 months in all cases.
19. Subject to Paragraph 22, the Authority will make a further payment to operators, not later than 3 months after the end of the relevant payment period, equal to the difference (if any) between:
20. If the amount paid under Paragraph 18 exceeds the calculated payment, such that the Authority has made an overpayment for the relevant period, it shall either:
21. Although it is generally the intention to pay the full amounts due on payment dates, the Authority reserves the right to pay a proportion of this. This may arise, for example, where there is uncertainty in estimating provisional payments due to the late receipt of claims from a recent change in service. A delay in the receipt from an operator of the information required to calculate the actual payment may lead to a corresponding delay in the appropriate payment.
22. Retrospective claims for reimbursement will only be considered if the Council is notified of such before 31st March of the given year in which the claim corresponds.
23. If the operator fails to provide the required information as set out in this document or fails to allow access to surveys, then the Authority may at its discretion defer all or part of any payment otherwise due to the operator until such omission is fully rectified or may reimburse the operator on the basis of such estimated reimbursement as it considers appropriate.
24. Each operator will be required to provide information on all journeys undertaken by all Passholders. Operators will have to demonstrate to the Scheme Administrator that they have in place sufficient controls to ensure the accurate recording of concessionary journeys.
25. The precise specification and format of the required data shall normally be a matter of agreement between each Participating Operator and the Travel Concession Authority but the Travel Concession Authority reserves the right to reasonably specify the content, manner, form and method by which such information has to be extracted and provided in cases where they consider it necessary to do so. The information normally required will be as follows for each data return period:
26. Additional detail may be requested from time to time to verify data returns.
27. Data returns are normally expected to be in spreadsheet form (unless some other form is agreed between the Operator and the Travel Concession Authority), drawing on data extracted directly from electronic ticketing machines (ETMs). Those machines must be configured such that relevant journeys made by Scheme passholders can be separately identified. Participating Operators expected to receive Total Reimbursement totalling £50,000 or more in respect of a Financial Year must provide data based on such ETM records. Participating Operators expected to receive Total Reimbursement totalling less than £50,000 in respect of a Financial Year may provide data returns based on an acceptable alternative to ETM data, subject to the prior agreement of the Travel Concession Authority.
28. At the discretion of the Authority, additional administration charges may be made for non-smartcard systems data. This is set at 3% of the total payment period.
29. The information provided by an operator will be treated in strictest confidence. However, an operator may request details of any survey information, obtained on its services, or the details of the calculation of its payment, at any reasonable interval.
30. In exceptional circumstances (where for example some ETM data has been irretrievably lost) an agreed level of reimbursement could be determined jointly by the Scheme Administrator and the operator concerned, provided this is consistent with the principles of the standard method and previous payment precedents.
31. Any current “smartcard” concessionary fares pass issued by any local authority in England and conforming to the layout determined by the Department for Transport will be valid for journeys in and around the Torbay area under the National Scheme.
32. Specimens of the concessionary fare passes to be recognised in connection with the scheme have been provided to operators. Any operators shall have the right to refuse to offer the travel concession to any person who fails to present a pass, or presents an expired, defaced or altered permit. Any such passes may be withdrawn and returned to the Concessionary Travel Administrator at the address on the back of the card.
33. The Scheme Administrator will require 56 days’ notice by operators of their intention to withdraw from voluntary participation in respect of any service in the scheme, and the operators will be expected to provide travel concessions until the period of notice has expired.
34. Operators must allow free travel for Scheme Administrator’s staff on their vehicles on which concessions are available for the purpose of surveying the number of concessionaires and fares paid in connection with the reimbursement arrangements. In appropriate circumstances, the operators may be required to supply the Scheme Administrator with the corresponding information obtained from ticket machines for the surveyed journeys and their equivalent at other comparable times.
35. For operators supplying information by means of electronic ticket machines, the Scheme Administrator will require at the end of each financial year a certificate of accuracy and completeness given by a responsible person as defined by regulation 16 (5) of the Travel Concessions Schemes Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/77) (“the Regulations”); and from time to time a measure of proportion of on bus or total revenue for the routes within the scheme (in aggregate) which is accounted for by concessionary travel; and to co-operate with the Scheme Administrator when conducting ad hoc on-bus checks for the purpose of audit.
36. In connection with the reimbursement arrangements, operators will be required to notify the Scheme Administrator in writing of details of any fare changes, not later than 7 days after such change takes effect, on services where concessions are available.
37. The content of any notice relating to compulsory participation in the scheme, or any other matter relating to the administration of the scheme, which may be issued under Section 96-99 of the 1985 Act by the Scheme Administrator or an operator, shall comply with the Regulations.
38. The Scheme Administrator shall not give less than 28 days’ notice in writing to operators of its intention to vary the scheme or reimbursement arrangements for operators in the scheme.
39. A copy of the scheme can be viewed on the Torbay Council website bus pass page or can be obtained by emailing publictransport@torbay.gov.uk, or writing to:
Public Transport team
c/o Town Hall
Torquay
TQ1 3DR
40. The TCA reserves the right to amend the scheme in line with any further DfT guidance released after the 1 December 2024. The TCA will notify operators of any proposed changes with the correct notice period, as defined by the DfT.
Published by Torbay Council Public Transport Team