Transport revenue, costs, complaints and servicing

Summary

The Department of Infrastructure responded to a request for transport revenue, costs, complaints, and servicing schedules by providing complaint statistics and maintenance guidelines, while refusing to compile financial data or disclose personal information.

Key Facts

• Financial revenue and cost data for 2012-2015 are available in the public domain via government accounts rather than being compiled specifically for this request.
• Complaint data for the bus service from Jan 2012 to Dec 2016 was provided, but 3 months of data from 2012 are missing due to a staffing change.
• The authority does not routinely record whether complaints were upheld or not upheld, focusing instead on resolving them to the complainant's satisfaction.
• Bus fleet maintenance follows UK best practice and manufacturer guidelines, including daily walk-round checks and safety inspections every 8 weeks.
• Personal data of complainants was redacted from the provided complaint table in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2002.

Data Disclosed

• 2012-2013
• 2013-2014
• 2014-2015
• Jan 2012 to Dec 2016
• 3 months
• 4,000,000 passenger journeys
• 8 weeks
• 2017-01-06
• 2017-01-23

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (practical refusal reason)
• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (information reasonably accessible)
• Section 25(2)(a) and (b)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (personal data/Data Protection Act 2002)

Data Tables (16)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Dear

FOI Reference No: IM72877I Request Under The Freedom Of Information Act 2015 (“The Act”)

Thank you for your request dated 6th January 2017.

Your request

You asked for the following information (your clarification is shown in italics below each question):

1. Please provide the total revenue raised from bus/train ticket sales for the financial years 2012- 2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015

Please provide the information for both the buses and the Electric, Steam and Snaefell railways.

1. Please provide the total cost to operate the IOM Bus/Train service for the financial years 2012- 2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015

Please provide the information for both the buses and the Electric, Steam and Snaefell railways.

1. Provide the total number of complaints made against the IOM Bus service broken down by month from Jan 2012 to Dec 2016 to include if the complaint was upheld in favour of the complainant or not upheld in favour of the IOM Bus/Train service

2. Please provide the servicing schedules of all IOM Bus Vannin vehicle fleet from Jan 1st 2012 to 31st Dec 2016

Please provide a generic schedule of what checks are done with what frequency on each type of bus.

Response to your request

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested; the reasons and statutory exemption sections are shown as part of the corresponding answers below.

Questions 1. & 2.

In this instance we do not record information in a format that allows us to answer these questions without extensive analysis (see first exemption section below). However, this information is available in the public domain (see second exemption section below) in a format which should allow you to extract and analyse what you are looking for.

If you go to https://www.gov.im/categories/tax-vat-and-your-money/government-accounts/ and then follow the instructions which are included as Appendix 1 to this letter you will be able to find very comprehensive financial information about this, and other Departments of Government. If you have any problems, please feel free to contact this office.

Under section 11(2)(b) of the Act - (practical refusal reason) referencing s8(3), the Act states that “a public authority is not required to create or derive information from information that it holds; undertake research into, or analysis of, information that it holds; or undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds”

Under section 20 of the Act we do not have to provide you with information if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

1. Please find attached a Table summarising the total number of complaints made against the Bus Service, broken down by month from January 2012 to December 2016. While extensive searches were completed to find all of this information, unfortunately a staffing change in 2013 resulted in the deletion of 3 months of relevant data in 2012 and accordingly, there are some missing values (highlighted in grey). The table has been composed from annual spreadsheets, with the column showing the name of the complainant being redacted (see exemption section below) as it contained personal data, the disclosure of which would contravene the Data Protection Act 2002 and, incidentally, was not part of your request.

It has not been our practice to routinely record whether complaints were upheld in favour of the complainant or otherwise; rather we seek to resolve each complaint to the satisfaction of the complainant wherever possible. Accordingly little data exist regarding the second part of your question. Information has, however, been provided where recorded.

Some of the data relate to complaints combining bus and train services - where this is the case a quote from the source document has been inserted for information. To help put the information into context you may be interested to know that the public transport system was used for just over 4,000,000 passenger journeys in 2016.

Under section 25(2)(a) “Information is Absolutely exempt personal information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject; and” and (b)(i) “falls within section 1(1)(a-d)… of the Data Protection Act 2002”

1. The Isle of Man Transport bus fleet is maintained in accordance with UK best practice in the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness (see link below) and the manufacturer’s guidelines for each individual model.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment data/file/321988/guide-to- maintaining-roadworthiness.pdf

We also use the manufacturer’s computer based diagnostic system which links each vehicle back to the manufacturer for fault diagnostics, system upgrades and changing of various settings, some of which can be set by us and others only changed by the manufacturer.

a) Daily walk-round check and vehicle defect report (see Appendix 2 for checklist)

Each day, a daily walk-round check is undertaken before use and any defect categorised as needing immediate attention is attended to, or if the bus is fit to run, it then runs until remedial action can be taken.

b) Safety inspection (see Appendix 3 for checklist)

Every vehicle is inspected around every 8 weeks to ensure roadworthiness, measure wear, undertake remedial repairs and ensure parts are ordered for larger items, so as to be in stock when they are needed.

c) Lubrication service (see Appendix 4 for checklist)

A lubrication service takes place in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidance in both time and miles. Most vehicles are now on synthetic or semi-synthetic oil products. Currently, Citaro requires an oil change every 6 months and a Volvo double decker every year. The City 45 and the Streetlites also have an annual oil change.

The lubrication service does not determine other oil changes, as, for example, a rear axle is supposed to need an oil change, on manufacturer’s recommendation, every 4 years. Based on experience, we undertake this every 1 to 2 years.

d) Annual PSV inspection (see Appendix 5 for checklist)

A bus is subject to an independent annual test and when the bus is prepared for this, a more thorough inspection and maintenance takes place in accordance with the schedule in Appendix 4.

e) Inspection of buses as they age

As buses age, they receive periodic inspections for signs of deterioration. For example, the 2009 Volvos are currently being re-trimmed, having water ingress issues resolved with the manufacturer’s help, and they are being repainted. Similarly, the first batch of Citaros have reached 500,000 kilometers at which point the air systems need an overhaul and the compressors need to be changed – effectively, the air pipes are upgraded to a later standard.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your Freedom of Information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically to foi.doi@gov.im or by delivery/post to Mr Ian Harris, Department of Infrastructure, Sea Terminal Buildings, Douglas, IM1 2RF. An electronic version and paper version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/

Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on;

1 Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act; or

2 Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.

In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your rights to review is on the Information Commissioner’s website at: www.inforights.im/

Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Further information about Freedom of Information requests can be found at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/

APPENDIX 1 To be able to filter the information, make sure you are in Cell A1 - highlight all the data (Shift+Control+End). Select the DATA tab in the ribbon and click on FILTER symbol

To use the filter, click on the drop down arrow to the left of the column - either deselect All, then put ticks into the areas you wish to include OR type into the ‘Search’ box, for instance, if you wanted everything for Public Transport, type this into the box.

PLEASE NOTE that any code starting with 1 in the GL column is Income.

TABLE 1 Table 1 Number of Bus complaints by month. Information on validity where available. January 2012 to December 2016. Year Month N Bus Complaint N Valid Bus Complaints 2012 Jan 93 -- Feb 52 -- Mar 21 -- Apr 16 -- May 21 -- Jun 32 -- Jul 28 -- Aug 36 -- Sep 29 -- Oct -- -- Nov -- -- Dec -- -- 2013 Jan 5 -- Feb 9 -- Mar 14 -- Apr 6 -- May 22 -- Jun 15 -- Jul 1 -- Aug 3 -- Sep 4 -- Oct 16 9 (total - 7 rejected) Nov 15 10 (total - 5 rejected) Dec 15 12 (total - 3 rejected) 2014 Jan 3 -- Feb 1 -- Mar 3 -- Apr 20 -- May 38 -- Jun 28 -- Jul 20 -- Aug 21 -- Sep 37 -- Oct 31 "Buses 31; Railways 2. 15 of the complaints were justified" Nov 27 "Buses 27 ; Railways 1. 16 of the complaints were justified" Dec 18 "Buses 18; Railways 1. 9 of the complaints were justified" 2015 Jan 17 "Buses 17; Railways 0. 6 of the complaints were justified" Feb 7 "Buses 7; Railways 2. 5 of the complaints were justified" Mar 21 "Buses 21; Railways 5. 11 of the complaints were justified" Apr 25 -- 2015 cont. May 16 "Buses 16; Railways 1. 12 of the complaints were justified" Jun 21 -- Jul 25 "Buses 25; Railways 3. 16 of the complaints were upheld" Aug 22 "Buses 22 ; Railways 5. 16 of the complaints were upheld" Sep 36 "Buses 36 ; Railways 2. 16 of the complaints were upheld" Oct 36 -- Nov 18 "Buses 18; Railways 0. All 18 of the complaints were upheld" Dec 22 "Buses 22; Railways 1. 9 of the complaints were upheld" 2016 Jan 32 -- Feb 23 "Buses 23; Railways 0. 6 of the complaints were upheld" Mar 28 "Buses 28; Railways 3. 18 of the complaints were upheld" Apr 20 -- May 29 "Buses 29; Railways 3. 12 of the complaints were upheld" Jun 40 -- Jul 41 "Buses 41; Railways: 3. 12 of the complaints were justified" Aug 26 -- Sep 39 -- Oct 27 "Buses 27; Railways:7. 13 of the complaints were justified" Nov 32 "Buses 32; Railways: 1 9 of the complaints were justified" Dec 27 -- -- Missing data

APPENDIX 2

APPENDIX 3 checked for operation, condition, security, function, wear, leaks, tighten & adjust as required NO ✓x NO ✓x 1 51 2 52 3 53 4 54 5 55 6 56 7 57 8 58 9 59 10 60 11 61 12 62 13 63 14 64 15 65 16 66 17 67 18 68 19 69 20 70 21 71 22 72 23 73 24 74 25 75 76 28 29 77 30 78 31 79 32 80 33 81 34 82 35 83 36 84 37 38 85 39 86 40 87 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 body panels, flaps, covers, edgings bumpers, registration plates mirror arm & ball joints wheel arches & mud flaps wheels & tyres wheel nuts check torque settings legal markings, fleet names & numbers fuel filler cap emergency engine stop UNDER VEHICLE & ENGINE COMPARTMENT EXTERIORS CAB & LOWER SALOON AREA LOWER & UPPER SALOONS head lamps aim destination box - blinds, lights, v/mech internal lights, covers & fixings internal panels & mouldings seat & armrests - security & condition bells handrails, stanchions, straps & racks stair handrails & fixings wheel torque stairs/steps covering & edging stop lamps head lamps chassis & engine compartment exterior legal markings, fleet numbers & notices saloon heaters floor coverings, edgings - access traps windows - vents, hoppers, sliders, seals electric wiring & equipment front lamps (all) rear lamps (all) reflectors - rear & side direction indicators LIGHTING & ELECTRICAL emergency door, window, including warning interior ramp operation licence & 'O' disk fitted & current CLEANLINESS exhaust system - leaks engine & transmission mountings trans - security - prop & aux drives grease all points as required condition of steering wheel & adjustment demisters & cab heater sun visor & night blinds cab floor, step & drivers accommodation cab door cash equipment auto lube check security & top-up drive belts smoke emission - density radiator assembly & attachments DATE: FLEET NO: MILAGE: power steering system - pipes, cups etc. suspension - pins, bushes, tie bars suspension - spring links drivers seat CCTV mirrors interior & exterior speedometer driving controls - accessibility air pressure vacuum warning speed limiter chassis condition, fixing, welds steering box steering linkages stub axles, king pins & wheel bearings oil/waste leaks fuel tanks, system, leaks cooling system - water leaks ITEM INSPECTED ITEM INSPECTED windscreen wipers & washers audible warnings, horn & rev horn check steering wheel & column for lift/play dampers attachment springs, sub-frame mechanical brake components - rods, levers brake actuators brake system - flex hoses, pipes, etc. add braking - retarders (road test) air pressure vacuum build-up mechanical handbrake lever service brake pedal service brake operation view to front - clear? handbrake control valve condition of all glass doors - entrance & exit fire extinguisher, bracket, glass body security Safety Inspection signature____ date__ S1 NO SIGNATURE DATE DEFECTS FOUND BUT NOT CLEARED DURING INSPECTION any other comments: DEFECT ACTION TAKEN

APPENDIX 4 DATE: NO INSTRUCTION ITEM DEFECT FOUND OK/FAULT RECTIFIED BY 1 top-up/change engine oil 2 change oil filters engine filter 3 change fuel filter fuel system 4 clean fuel sediment bowl 5 top-up/change gearbox oil 6 change filter gearbox oil 7 top-up/change rear axle 8 check/change air filter 9 top-up hydraulic reservoir 10 top-up auto- lubrication 11 lubricate locks & hinges 12 grease grease nipples Lubrication Service √ = serviceable X = defect R = repair N/A = not applicable Signature: FLEET NO: ODOMETER:

APPENDIX 5 FLEET No Odometer Make Typ Date in Date out No Cleand Check Item Cleaned By No By 1 11 Clean lower Deck side panels 2 12 Clean lower Deck Windows 3 13 Clean lower Deck handrails clean upper deck seats & vacuum (g

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