1 Introduction
1.1 This Guidance document is issued by the Scottish Government and is intended to be used as a toolkit for local authorities and bus operators who are considering developing a Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnership ( BPIP).
What is a BPIP?
As bus punctuality and reliability climb higher up the agenda, local authorities and bus operators have a joint responsibility to deliver improvements to ensure that aspirations for growth in public transport use become a reality.
A BPIP is a voluntary agreement between a local authority and bus operator designed to achieve improvements in, and maintain consistency of, punctuality and bus journey times in their area.
A BPIP is a potentially powerful solution to mitigating punctuality problems. It provides a positive and proactive framework for setting improvement targets, identifying barriers to achievement, with actions to overcome barriers, all set within an appropriate monitoring regime.
A BPIP can also form an important component of a statutory Quality Partnership ( sQP).
1.2 This Guidance provides a framework by which local authorities, bus operators and Regional Transport Partnerships ( RTPs) can develop their own BPIPs, applying Scottish solutions within the Scottish legislative framework and drawing on similar principles and useful developments from wider UK experience.
1.3 This guidance document has drawn on experiences gained through the recent development of the Dundee and Angus BPIP, which commenced on 1 st January 2009, and the Glasgow initial BPIP which commenced baseline monitoring in autumn 2008. As the Dundee and Angus BPIP is the within Scotland, its development was also intended to form the basis of these Scottish-specific guidelines.
1.4 There are several integral elements to the partnership agreement, and this document will consider each one in turn. The BPIP guidance is not intended to be overly prescriptive in its requirements as it is recognised that partners will want to guide their own partnership agreement according to local needs and issues. The important issue is that the BPIP should encourage good working relationships to be developed based on co-operation, trust and understanding amongst those involved.
1.5 A glossary providing an explanation of the terms used within this guidance can be found in Appendix A.
Information Box
In addition to the main commentary within this guidance, 'Information Boxes' are contained throughout this document.
These highlight best practice examples and provide additional information.