Scottish Green Bus Fund enquiry: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/18/03180
Date received: 31 October 2018
Date responded: 13 November 2018

 

 

You asked:
 
Under the Freedom of Information Act (2002), I wish to acquire the following information on the Scottish Green Bus Fund:

 

The answer to your question is: Information on how much has been paid out under the Programme and a breakdown of spend is available from the Transport Scotland Website -

https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-green-bus-fund/#45456

 

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.  If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

The number of applications received since the beginning of the Scottish Green Bus Fund is 41, and the number approved is 38. A number of applications have also been withdrawn by the bidders.  
 
The percentage of awards is 93%. This figure does not take account of the number of withdrawn applications.
 
The breakdown of time between application and approval of application for all rounds is not available.This is because no analysis of the time taken to process each round of the Scottish Green Bus Fund was undertaken.  Timescales for each round of funding were published within the bidding document for each funding round. These timescales were adhered to. This detailed the relevant dates for the application process and the subsequent steps for bus operators to allow for the funding to be issued. Details of the current bidding document are on the Transport Scotland website at

https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-green-bus-fund/#overview

Local Authorities can apply for the Scottish Green Bus Fund, and details of the successful applicants are on the Transport Scotland website at

https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/scottish-green-bus-fund/#45456

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. Commercial operators run routes which can span several local authority boundaries. Therefore we cannot provide a full breakdown of the allocation of Scottish Green Bus Fund by local authority. You may wish to contact the relevant commercial bus operators who may be able to assist further with the information you require.