FEW1606 - Transport Focus Bus Surveys

As part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP funding), the Department for Transport (DfT) have advised that a condition of the funding is to use Transport Focus Surveys to monitor bus passenger satisfaction. The DfT has advised the following: It is a policy decision that Transport Focus are best placed to deliver a consistent comparable national survey. Because using Transport Focus is a condition of the grant funding, we consider this to be a data-sharing arrangement rather than a direct commissioning relationship. On this basis, we believe standard procurement rules would not apply. We believe this mitigates the need for each authority to seek expensive and time-consuming procurement and legal advice and supports a national policy direction.