Referral of Bus Users Cymru /Welsh Government for refusal to supply Trawscymru Performance monitoring data for services in Aberystwyth

Reply-To: john.mct@

ICO Ref. FS50705920   Referral of Bus Users Cymru /Welsh Government regarding refusal to supply Trawscymru Performance monitoring data for services in Aberystwyth (ATISN 11497)

Dear Information Commissioner ,

Simon Jones of the Welsh Government has written to me on 12/06/2018 at your request and re-iterated his previous statements that the Welsh Government do not hold information on Trawscymru service performance monitoring.  He went on to say that Trawscymru is not a body in its own right and so does not monitor performance. These statements are incorrect .  On 9th September 2017 Mr Barclay Davies, Deputy Director of Bus Users Cymru, confirmed that Mr David Hall, the Trawscymru Network Manager,  did hold the information when he presented me with the statement:-  ”THE FOLLOWING TRAWSCYMRU SERVICES WERE MONITORED. T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 AND T9.   REPORTS OF THE PUNCTUALITY MONITORING WERE SHARED WITH THE RELEVANT OPERATOR AND THE TRAWSCYMRU NETWORK MANAGER.”

THAT IS NOT THE ONLY INCORRECT STATEMENT IN SIMON JONES’S LETTER. OF 12/06/2018

(1) The letter covers questions 2,3, and 4 but ignores question 5 which was _“”. IF MONITORING HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT IN ABERYSTWYTH ON WHICH TRAWSCYMRU SERVICES AND WHAT PERCENTAGE OF TRAWSCYMRU SERVICES ARRIVED WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF THEIR PUBLISHED ARRIVAL TIME? “.  Simon Jones ignored this question because he knows that these percentage figures are the ones that are provided to the Trawscymru Network Manager by Bus Users Cymru.

(2) Simon Jones refers to his previous letter of 05/06/2018 and a contextual explanation regarding questions on changes to the T1C timetable   Simon Jones explained in his letter of 05/06/2018 that

“THE WELSH GOVERNMENT WERE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR TRAWSCYMRU OPERATIONS AND TRAWSCYMRU BUS TIMETABLES AND THAT THE LOCAL AUTHORITY WHO MANAGE EACH TRAWSCYMRU CONTRACT ARE RESPONSIBLE. “

This is pure fantasy as the Welsh Government employ a Trawscymru Network Manager, who (as you would guess from his job title) is responsible for Trawscymru operations and Trawscymru bus timetables.    The Welsh Government also employ a consultant, Professor Stuart Cole, to advise on both these issues.

On  30/05/2018  the Leader of Ceredigion Council in response to similar questions regarding the T1C timetable said ”THIS ROUTE IS PART OF A STRATEGIC SERVICE AND IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF KEN SKATES AM, CABINET SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORT, I SUGGEST THAT YOU REFER THIS MATTER TO HIM DIRECTLY.”

In a recent article, published on May 25 2018, Professor Stuart Cole ,Chairman of the Wales Transport Strategy Group from 1999 to the present (co-authoring the Welsh Government Transport Strategy) , stated that he had been employed by the Welsh Government since 2010 in a consultancy role as a specialist advisor on the creation of a new Traws Cymru national coach network, and on Traws Cymru operations and Trawscymru route development.  Today on 14/06/2018 Professor Stuart Cole gave a lecture (“All Aboard” Emerging bus policy in Wales”) to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Cymru Wales, assisted by Mr David Hall, the Trawscymru Network Manager.

The Welsh Government employ Professor Stuart Cole and Mr David Hall to develop the Trawscymru Network and are therefore responsible for Trawscymru bus operations ,Trawscymru bus timetables and Trawscymru route development  .The Trawscymru Network is frequently praised by Government Ministers in the Welsh Assembly and lauded as a successful Welsh Government enterprise .   There is no hint in the statements made n the Welsh Assembly that the Trawscymru bus Network operations and timetables are the responsibility of Local Authorities.

My complaint (ICO Ref. FS50705920) covered both organisations (the Welsh Government and Bus Users Cymru) .  Bus Users Cymru are funded by the Welsh Government and work hand in hand with the Trawscymru Network Manager in joint meetings held with the public on Trawscymru services and deal with such issues as complaints about Trawscymru bus service connectivity and timetables.   Bus Users Cymru have also refused to supply Trawscymru Service Performance information.    I would therefore ask that the Information Commissioner issues a Decision Notice to both the Welsh Government and Bus Users Cymru to provide the requested Information.

YOURS SINCERELY

DR JOHN MCTIGHE