The Office of Fair Trading is to launch a formal investigation into claims that dial-a-ride is competing unfairly against the taxi trade.

Bus Vannin’s application to continue dial-a-ride following a 12 month trial was due to be considered by the Road Transport Licensing Committee later this month.

The RTLC is provisionally due to hear the application at its meeting on January 23. One objection has been received to date.

And now it has emerged the Office of Fair Trading is to investigate claims of unfair competition against the ConnectVillages service.

Such an investigation could take months to complete - and it is likely that the RTLC will put off making a decision on the licence application until that process has finished.

Bus Vannin is seeking a regular service licence for ConnectVillages that will cover the whole of Kirk Michael, all areas north of the A3 road between Kirk Michael and Ramsey, and all of the town of Ramsey and Maughold parish.

As with the 12-month trial which began in December 2018, journeys have to be booked in advance although passing minibuses will pick up passengers waiting at a bus stop.

operation

Hours of operation will between 5am and 1am Monday to Sunday. Later evening journeys will initially be provided on Friday and Saturday evenings and co-ordinated with arrivals of standard bus services in Ramsey.

Fares will be charged at the same rate as the regularly scheduled services.

The application by Bus Vannin notes: ’The service is demand responsive and will aid social inclusion while also facilitating new transport links.

’The service under the previous service licence was very successful with passenger numbers increasing significantly since its inception. It will also enable more efficient use of government resources.’

But the taxi trade believes the state-subsidised bus company is providing unfair competition.

John Peet, head of the OFT, confirmed that a complaint had been received by ’a third party or third parties’.

’The board of the OFT has decided that it merits investigation,’ he said. He added that a ’project initiation document’ was being prepared.

Chairman of the OFT Martyn Perkins MHK also confirmed the investigation to the Examiner, referring to it as ’preliminary’.

Minutes from the OFT meeting on November 28, 2019 said: ’The Attorney General’s Chambers had confirmed that the OFT had vires to undertake a premlimary investigation into Bus Vannin’s demand responsive services under section 9(1) of the Fair Trading Act 1996.’

The investigation could take several months to complete, Mr Peet said, and would involve interested parties being interviewed or providing written evidence.

In the meantime, dial-a-ride can continue to operate under the licence it was given to operate the 12-month trial.

A Freedom of Information request from Isle of Man Newspapers has revealed that passenger numbers and revenue rose steadily with the inception of ConnectVillages.

Comparison with scheduled services show the figures then dipped from September to November but Bus Vannin claimed that’s the result of children moving to new schools.

The application lists 28 operating centres where the ConnectVillages’ minibuses will be stabled. These include 12, including Arbory, Andreas, Kewaigue, Rushen and Sulby schools, where Bus Vannin notes an ’assurance’ regarding the suitability of these proposed bases may be required from the planning department.

As we reported last week, Michael Commissioners successfully appealed against a retrospective approval to allow two dial-a-ride minibuses to be parked at the village’s primary school.

The local authority’s appeal against the application (18/00811/C), was supported by a planning inspector and the minister responsible for planning Geoffrey Boot.

Among other bases that may require planning approval are each of the island’s high schools.