Appendix 2

Guidelines for Total Mobility transport operator contracts

• Appendix 2 (PDF, 40KB)

Contents

Definitions

1. General conditions

• 1.1 General conditions
• 1.2 Contract term and termination
• 1.3 Health and safety of employees and safety of passengers
• 1.4 Resolution of disputes
• 1.5 Audit provision
• 1.6 Fare schedule
• 1.7 Licensing requirements

2. Rules of operation

• 2.1 Fares
• 2.2 Voucher rules
• 2.3 Invoices and payments

3. Safety standards

4. Driver training

5. Hours of service

An operator must have a contract with the local authority in its region and be an approved Total Mobility operator before it can accept Total Mobility fares.

The following list outlines the basic requirements that must be covered in each contract. All clauses covered in the template Contract for the provision of Total Mobility services must be included in the final contract.

Definitions

Standard definitions are included in the contract template.

1. General conditions

1.1 General conditions

At the discretion of each local authority.

As a guideline, they may include clauses such as:

• 'A Total Mobility vehicle should be no more than 7–10 years from its date of first registration when entering the Total Mobility scheme.'
• 'Total Mobility vehicles should not remain in service beyond 15 years from first registration.'

1.2 Contract term and termination

At the discretion of each local authority.

As a guideline:

• existing Total Mobility operator contracts currently have an average term of five years
• an average of 30 days' notice is required from either party to terminate the contract.

1.3 Health and safety of employees and safety of passengers

Standard clauses are detailed in the contract template.

1.4 Resolution of disputes

At the discretion of each local authority.

As a guideline, it may cover issues such as:

• good faith negotiations, eg 'The parties agree to use their best efforts to resolve any dispute that may arise under the agreement through good faith negotiations'
• notice of dispute, eg 'Neither party shall commence any arbitration in relation to this agreement unless it has notified the other party in writing that there is a dispute and invited the other party to meet for the purposes of endeavouring to resolve the dispute'
• mediation, eg 'If a request for mediation is made, the parties shall try to agree upon a mediator. If the parties fail to agree on a mediator within 14 days of the request for mediation, the mediator will then be appointed by __________________. All discussions in mediation shall be without prejudice and may not be referred to in any subsequent proceedings'
• arbitration, eg 'Any dispute arising under this agreement that cannot be settled by negotiation or mediation shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Act 1996. The arbitration shall be by one arbitrator to be agreed by the parties and, failing agreement, to be nominated by _________________. The award in the arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.
• 'Each party shall bear its own costs in relation to any mediation but they shall meet equally the costs of the mediator. Costs in relation to any arbitration shall be borne as directed by the arbitrator(s).'

1.5 Audit provision

At the discretion of each local authority.

As a guideline, it could include a statement such as:

• The Council will be allowed to conduct audits of the transaction process for verification of Total Mobility transactions. The transport operator will make available to the Council all information in its possession that shall be reasonably necessary for such audits. The Council may audit an organisation giving no less than five working days' notice before the audit. These audits are optional and at the Council's discretion.

1.6 Fare schedule

Standard clauses are detailed in the contract template.

1.7 Licensing requirements

Standard clauses are detailed in the contract template.

2. Rules of operation

2.1 Fares

Standard clauses are detailed in the contract template.

2.2 Voucher rules

Standard clauses are detailed in the contract template.

2.3 Invoices and payments

At the discretion of each local authority.

As a guideline, this section might cover:

• when the transport operator should submit invoices to the Council
• what information should be supplied by the transport operator, eg:
  • cab number
  • client ID number
  • Total Mobility card expiry date
  • date of trip and number of passengers
  • full fare and Total Mobility subsidy
  • transport operator code
  • hoist/non-hoist trip
  • location (from/to)
  • tariff number
• any additional information collection/monitoring the Council wishes to request from the operator.

3. Safety standards

Standard clauses are detailed in the contract template.

4. Driver training

Standard clauses are detailed in the contract template.

5. Hours of service

At the discretion of each approved organisation.

The general rule is that each transport operator should ensure at least one Total Mobility service is available seven days per week, 24 hours per day. However, it is understood that this is not practical for all areas.