68.Sections 13 to 18 amend provisions on quality partnership schemes in sections 114 to 123 of the TA 2000. As section 114 stands, before making such a scheme, the local transport authority must be satisfied that it will benefit the users of local bus services by improving the quality of such services, or will reduce or limit traffic congestion, noise or air pollution. These sections extend to England and Wales.
*A quality partnership scheme is a scheme made by a local transport authority under which that authority provides particular facilities at specific locations along the routes used by local bus services, and operators of local services who wish to use those facilities agree to provide services of a particular standard.