The PTA is a joint authority and comprises sixteen representatives of the five local authorities in the (former) metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear.  Those representatives must be members of those five authorities and Schedule 10 of the 1985 Act (as amended from 1 April 2006) specifies the numbers to be as follows:

• Newcastle   4
• Sunderland  4
• Gateshead  3
• North Tyneside  3
• South Tyneside  2

These numbers can only be changed by an Order made by the Secretary of State, who before doing so must consult the five constituent councils and must also have regard to the number of local government electors in their respective areas.

The Secretary of State made such an Order in 2006.  The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (Increase in Number of Members) Order 2006 came into force on 1 April 2006.  That Order altered the composition of the PTA by increasing the number of North Tyneside members from 2 to the present 3.

To properly understand the role of the PTA, it is important to appreciate the status of the Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) which is effectively the operating body for public transport in the Tyne and Wear area. The PTE trades under the name of Nexus.

The PTE has its origins in section 9 Transport Act 1968.

The PTE is a separate statutory body.  Section 9 Transport Act 1968 provides that the PTE will comprise a Director General and between 2 and 8 other persons appointed by the PTA after consultation with the Director General.

SUMMARY OF GENERAL FUNCTIONS OF PTA AND PTE
UNDER SECTION 9A TRANSPORT ACT 1968

1. PTA must determine which public passenger transport services it considers would be appropriate for the PTE to provide to meet public transport requirements in the area which would not, in the PTA’s view, be otherwise met.In determining this, the PTA must have regard to the advice of the PTE.


2. PTE must secure those services considered appropriate by the PTA.


3. PTE has power to provide service subsidies to secure any such service, but only where the service would not be provided otherwise and subject to sections 89-92 Transport Act 1985 (tendering for local services, etc.).


4. Where the PTA consider it appropriate for the PTE to take measures to promote the availability and integration of non-subsidised services in conjunction with subsidised services or the convenience of the public in using all services (whether subsidised or not), the PTA may formulate general policies on measures to be taken by the PTE and the PTE shall take such measures as it considers appropriate to carry out those policies.


5. The PTA in formulating its policies, and the PTE in carrying out such policies, must have regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
6.  The PTA and PTE in exercising the above functions must have regard to the transport needs of the elderly or disabled and to the bus strategy made jointly by the PTA and its five constituent local authorities.

SUMMARY OF TYNE TUNNEL POWERS

The Tyne Tunnel Order 1986 (SI 298) transferred to the PTA all property, rights and liabilities and all statutory operational responsibilities in the existing road, cyclist and pedestrian tunnels previously undertaken by the former Tyne and Wear County Council.  Those tunnels were provided under the Tyne Tunnel Acts 1946, 1956 and 1960, and subsequently governed by Part 2 Tyne and Wear Act 1976.

The Tyne Tunnels Act 1998 has given the PTA power to take all necessary steps to facilitate the provision and operation of a new tunnel.

The Counties of Durham and Northumberland Tyne Tunnel Byelaws made in 1967 regulate use of the road tunnel and the Tunnel Manager has certain specific powers under those Byelaws

This note was prepared by Helen Wilson, solicitor,
for the PTA Legal Adviser and Monitoring Officer

8 May 2006