Explanatory note

This Order amends the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/319) (“the 2001 Order”). The 2001 Order is a block exemption order under section 6 of the Competition Act 1998 (c.41) (“the Act”), which gives effect to the recommendation originally made by the Director General of Fair Trading that public transport ticketing schemes (as defined in the 2001 Order) for local transport services constitute a category of agreements which are likely to be agreements to which section 9(1) of the Act applies. Agreements which fall within the category specified in the 2001 Order are exempt from the prohibition in Chapter 1 of the Act.

The 2001 Order was amended by the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3347) and the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/227) to extend its duration for a further 10 years in total so that it would cease to have effect at the end of the period of fifteen years from 1st March 2001. On the recommendation of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) this Order extends the period of the 2001 Order to twenty-five years commencing on the same date.

Article 2 makes some further amendments to the 2001 Order. It amends the definition of “multi-operator travelcard” to simplify it and to ensure that schemes with fewer than three operators can be established as long as they operate in practice as schemes for multi-operator travelcards and not multi-operator individual tickets or through tickets. In addition, article 4 of the 2001 Order is amended to remove references to tickets having to be purchased “in a single transaction” so that ticketing schemes included in the block exemption can benefit from modern ticketing sales technology and systems.

Article 2 also provides for the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of the 2001 Order and publish a report containing the conclusions of that review before 28th February 2021.

Guidance on the block exemption is available from the CMA at www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-transport-ticketing-schemes-block-exemption. A full Impact Assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as no adverse impact on business, charities, voluntary bodies or the public sector is foreseen.