Bus Services Industry (Bus Service Licence) Regulations 2016

Bus Services Industry Act 2015

(Section 49)

Bus Services Industry
(Bus Service Licence)
Regulations 2016

2025 REVISED EDITION

(17 December 2025)

[22 January 2016]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Citation

1.  These Regulations are the Bus Services Industry (Bus Service Licence) Regulations 2016.

Definitions

2.  In these Regulations —

“applicant” means an applicant making an application for or to renew a bus service licence;

“licensed bus operator” means the holder of a bus service licence granted (or deemed granted) under Part 3 of the Act;

“operating schedule” means the schedule that —

(a) is attached to a bus service licence; and

(b) contains a description of every bus service authorised to be provided under the licence;

“scheme B bus service” has the meaning given by the Bus Services Industry (Non‑Regular Route Service) Order 2016;

“temporary bus service” has the meaning given by the Bus Services Industry (Non‑Regular Route Service) Order 2016.

PART 2

LICENCE APPLICATIONS

Class 1 bus service licence

3.—(1)  An application for a Class 1 bus service licence authorising the operation of 10 or more regular route services must be made no later than 3 months before the first of those regular route services is provided to the public.

(2)  An application to renew a Class 1 bus service licence must be made no later than 3 months (or any shorter period that an authorised officer may allow in any particular case) before the expiry of the licence.

(3)  Every application for or to renew a Class 1 bus service licence must be accompanied by an application fee that is determined in accordance with paragraph (4).

(4)  The application fee mentioned in paragraph (3) is an amount calculated as follows:

where A

is the number of public bus services contracts that the applicant is a party.

Class 2 bus service licence

4.—(1)  An application for a Class 2 bus service licence authorising the operation of a single bus service must be made no later than 2 months before the bus service is first provided to the public.

(2)  An application to renew a Class 2 bus service licence must be made no later than 2 months (or any shorter period that an authorised officer may allow in any particular case) before the expiry of the licence.

(3)  An application for or to renew a Class 2 bus service licence must be accompanied by an application fee of $40.

Licence fee

5.  For the purposes of section 13(1)(a) of the Act, the bus service licence fee or renewal fee (as the case may be) for a bus service licence is as specified in the First Schedule.

Amendment of operating schedule

6.—(1)  An application to amend an operating schedule of a bus service licence must —

(a) be made by the licensee concerned in the form and manner the LTA requires; and

(b) where the operating schedule to be amended is in respect of a Class 2 bus service licence, be accompanied by an application fee of $40.

(2)  The fee to amend an operating schedule (called in this regulation the amendment fee) —

(a) is $9.17 for each operating schedule amended; and

(b) must be paid within the time specified by the LTA to the licensee concerned (or any longer period that an authorised officer may allow in any particular case) when approving the amendment to the operating schedule.

(3)  No approval for the amendment to the operating schedule is to be granted until the amendment fee is paid in full within the deadline referred to in paragraph (2)(b).

6A.  [Deleted by S 1068/2020]

Consent to surrender bus service licence

6B.  An application for the consent of the LTA to surrender a bus service licence must —

(a) be made by the licensee concerned to the LTA in the form and manner the LTA requires; and

(b) where the bus service licence to be surrendered is a Class 2 bus service licence, be accompanied by an application fee of $40.

Waiver or refund

7.  The LTA may waive or refund the whole or any part of any fee payable under these Regulations.

Change in management

8.  For the purposes of section 18(a) and (b) of the Act, the prescribed period is —

(a) for a licensed bus operator that is a company — within 5 days after the date of resignation of any director of the company; and

(b) for a licensed bus operator that is a partnership, limited liability partnership or company — within 5 days after the licensed bus operator becomes aware of the death of any partner or director in the partnership, limited liability partnership or company.

PART 3

ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS

Accounts and statements

9.—(1)  For the purposes of section 34(1)(a) of the Act, a public bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence must, in respect of the whole or part (as the case may be) of every financial year, prepare the following accounts and statements:

(a) quarterly and yearly accounts or, if it is a holding company, consolidated quarterly and yearly accounts, prepared in accordance with the form directed by the LTA;

(b) manpower report providing detailed disclosure of total manpower cost and headcount by occupation (such as management staff, bus captain, bus maintenance staff) and by grade (such as chief bus captain, senior bus captain, bus captain), prepared in accordance with the form directed by the LTA;

(c) quarterly and yearly disclosure of fuel economy, prepared in accordance with the form directed by the LTA;

(d) quarterly and yearly disclosure of total maintenance parts bought in the year by major asset class with accompanying utilisation plan, prepared in accordance with the form directed by the LTA;

(e) quarterly and yearly disclosure of bus ridership, prepared in accordance with the form directed by the LTA.

(2)  In this regulation, “accounts” means profit and loss accounts and balance‑sheets and includes notes (other than auditors’ reports or directors’ reports) attached or intended to be read with any of those profit and loss accounts or balance‑sheets.

Supply of audited accounts

10.  For the purposes of section 34(1)(c) of the Act, the prescribed period (after the end of an accounting period) within which a public bus operator holding a Class 1 bus licence must give the LTA the duly audited accounts and statements referred to in regulation 9 is 3 months after the end of each financial year of the licensee.

Quality of service records

11.—(1)  For the purposes of section 35(1)(a) of the Act, a public bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence to provide bus services must (subject to regulation 13) keep a record, for each financial year beginning on or after 1 April, for the bus services, of the matters set out in the Second Schedule.

(2)  The record referred to in paragraph (1) —

(a) must be in the electronic form determined by the LTA; and

(b) must be submitted to the LTA by the means determined by the LTA.

(3)  For the purposes of section 35(1)(a) of the Act, a public bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence must retain every record referred to in paragraph (1) for 2 years after the end of the financial year to which the record relates.

Giving information on quality of service

12.  For the purposes of section 35(1)(b) of the Act, the period within which a public bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence must give (subject to regulation 13) the LTA the record referred to in regulation 11(1) is 5 days after the LTA gives notice to the public bus operator.

Bus service subcontractor’s quality of service records

13.—(1)  A public bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence need not comply with regulations 11 and 12 about a matter, if a bus service to which the matter relates is provided for by a bus service subcontractor under an agreement with the licensee.

(2)  Every bus service subcontractor who provides a bus service under an agreement with the public bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence must comply with regulations 11 and 12 about the matter as if any reference in those regulations to the licensee were a reference to the bus service subcontractor.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Regulation 5

Fees

1. Class 1 bus service licence	For each public bus services contract for the provision of regular route services that the licence authorises to be operated during the whole or part of any of the following years:
	(a) 2016	$39,200 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(b) 2017	$34,100 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(c) 2018	$35,600 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(d) 2019	$37,300 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(e) 2020	$39,200 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(f) 2021	$40,900 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(g) 2022	$42,900 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(h) 2023	$45,100 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(i) 2024	$47,300 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(j) 2025	$49,700 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
	(k) 2026	$52,200 (to be pro‑rated on a daily basis if less than a year)
2. Class 2 bus service licence for a temporary bus service	For each bus service authorised to operate under the licence during the whole or part of any of the following years:
	(a) 2025	$90 for each month (or part of a month)
	(b) 2026	$90 for each month (or part of a month)
3. Class 2 bus service licence for a scheme B bus service	For each bus service authorised to operate under the licence during the whole or part of any of the following years:
	(a) 2025	$90 for each month (or part of a month)
	(b) 2026	$90 for each month (or part of a month)
4. Class 2 bus service licence for any other bus service	For each bus service authorised to operate under the licence during the whole or part of any of the following years:
	(a) 2025	$90 for each month (or part of a month) in 2025 or $1,000, whichever is the lower
	(b) 2026	$90 for each month (or part of a month) in 2026 or $1,000, whichever is the lower

SECOND SCHEDULE

Quality of service records

Regulation 11(1)

1.  Demand for each bus service

(a) Bus passenger ridership.

(b) Number of passengers boarding and alighting.

2.  Bus operation information

(a) Operated trips details.

(b) Scheduled trips details.

(c) Extent, hours and general level of services provided by the licensee to members of the public.

3.  Safety of bus services

(a) Number of accidents.

(b) Details of each accident.

4.  Buses

(a) Condition and use of the buses.

(b) Details of bus breakdown.

(c) Size of bus fleet.

(d) Types of buses.

COMPARATIVE TABLE

Bus Services Industry (Bus Service Licence) Regulations 2016

This subsidiary legislation has undergone renumbering in the 2025 Revised Edition. This Comparative Table is provided to help readers locate the corresponding provisions in the previous version.

2025 Ed.	S 33/2016
—	4—(2) [Deleted by S 93/2020]
4—(2)	(3)
(3)	(4)