Request to Welsh Government for internal review of ATISN 12498 – TrawsCymru T2 service January 2018 changes

Dear Ken Skates,

On 15/07/2018 I made a request for information to the Trawscymru Network Manager.   The request for information was in relation to the contents of an unsolicited letter that I had received from the Trawscymru Network Manager on 09/07/2018.  On 07/08/2018 I received a reply,  not from the Trawscymru Network Manager but from Simon Jones, your Director.   The reply from Simon Jones stated that no information was held by the Welsh Government and even if information had been held then he would not have released it as the request was “vexatious”.

I therefore request an internal review be carried out of the response by Simon Jones.

Firstly I cannot see how a series of questions regarding the contents of an unsolicited letter from the Trawscymru Network Manager can be construed as “vexatious”.  I did point out an incorrect statement in the unsolicited letter that I had received from the Trawscymru Network Manager on 09/07/2018. That  statement by the Trawscymru Network Manager was “”In January 2018 we had to retime the arrivals and departures of most T2 journeys at Aberystwyth in response to additional running time needed for the T2 as a result of the start of a major programme of road works between Machynlleth and Dolgellau””.   After pointing out that this was incorrect I went on to provide detailed evidence from the published timetable that this statement was completely incorrect. There was no “vexatious”.behaviour

Secondly with respect to the “No Information Held” on any of these questions , I would ask the reviewer to consider the following in relation to the questions..

The Trawscymru T2/T3 Service Delivery Group Meeting minutes contain information on T2 timetable changes.   Simon Jones has requested in the past that the Information Commissioner withholds copies of Trawscymru Service Delivery Group Meeting minutes from me.  He obviously believes that no information whatsoever on Trawscymru services should be released to me.   The Trawscymru T2/T3 Service Delivery Group Meetings discuss Trawscymru service performance monitoring by Bus Compliance Officers and Simon Jones has refused to release this information to me in the past.  The Trawscymru T2/T3 Service Delivery Group Meetings also discuss Trawscymru T2/T3 Service timetables and changes to the timetables.   I would ask the reviewer to examine the 2 T2/T3 Service Delivery Group Meeting minutes, the one before and the one after the 1^st January 2018, and provide a copy of those 2 sets of minutes to me to illustrate that no information is held on the questions that I raised.

The T2 timetable itself could answer some of the questions. The local authority managing the T2 contract, (Gwynedd Council), have gone on record as saying that the 2 changes (there were only 2 not “most” that were changed) to the T2 timetable in Aberystwyth were made by the Trawscymru Network Manager.  I would suggest that he should therefore have some idea of why he did this .   It should also have been easy enough for him to recognise by looking at the T2 timetable that the statement he made on 09/07/2018 that “”we had to retime the arrivals and departures of most T2 journeys at Aberystwyth””  was incorrect.  I would ask the reviewer to ask Simon Jones whether he consulted the T2 timetable before giving his “No Information Held” verdict.

I would ask the reviewer to consider the above in relation to the response  “No Information Held”  and “vexatious” request to the following questions:-

(1) Could you tell me the number of T2 arrival/ departure changes, and the detail of each change,  that were made in Aberystwyth in January 2018.?

(2)  Could you tell me the number of T2 departure changes that were made in Bangor in January 2018 ?

(3) Could you tell me who proposed that the 10.05am T2 departure in Aberystwyth was changed to 10.00am in January 2018..

(4) Could you give the reason why the 10.05am T2 departure was changed to 10.00am in January 2018.

(5) Could you give the reason why the 18.40 pm T2 arrival in Aberystwyth was changed to 18.50pm in January 2018 ?

(6) Could you tell me who proposed that the 18.40 pm T2 arrival in Aberystwyth should be  changed to 18.50pm in January 2018 ?

(7) Could tell me who proposed that the 17.35pm T2 departure from Dolgellau to Aberystwyth had a 5 minute delay inserted in Machynleth in January 2018  ?

(8) Could you give the reason why the 17.35pm T2 departure from Dolgellau to Aberystwyth had a 5 minute delay inserted in Machynleth in January 2018 ?

(9) Could you give the reason why the 17.35pm T2 departure from Dolgellau to Aberystwyth had a 5 minute diversion inserted off the A487 on the edge of Aberystwyth through the village of Comins Coch and the Aberystwyth Waunfawr estate in January 2018 ?

10) Could you tell me who proposed that the 17.35pm T2 departure from Dolgellau to Aberystwyth had a 5 minute diversion inserted off the A487 on the edge of Aberystwyth through the village of Comins Coch and the Aberystwyth Waunfawr estate  in January 2018  ?

(11) Could you give the reason why the current 10.00am T2 departure cannot be  changed back to 10.05am.as Edwina Hart directed you to do in May 2016 ?

(12) Could you give the reason why the 5 minute delay inserted in the timetable at Machynleth on the 17.35pm T2 departure from Dolgellau to Aberystwyth cannot be removed ?

(13) Could you give the reason why the 5 minute diversion off the A487 on the edge of Aberystwyth through the village of Comins Coch and the Aberystwyth Waunfawr estate cannot be removed  ?

Yours Sincerely

Dr John McTighe

—-Original message—-
From : FOI.EconomyandInfrastructure@gov.wales
Date : 07/08/2018 – 11:13 (GMTST)
To : john.mct@btinternet.com
Cc : FOI.EconomyandInfrastructure@gov.wales
Subject : ATISN 12498 – TrawsCymru

Gweler gohebiaeth ynghylch eich cais am wybodaeth.  Cyfeiriwch unrhyw atebion at: RhyddidGwyb.EconomiaThrafnidiaeth@llyw.cymru.

Please find attached correspondence regarding your request for information.  Please direct any replies to FOI.EconomyandTransport@gov.wales.

Cofion/Regards,

Uned Busnes y Llywodraeth / Government Business Unit
Adran yr Economi a Thrafnidiaeth / Department for Economy and Transport
Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government
QED Centre, Treforest, RCT, CF37 5YR