Public Transport Act 2016

Public Transport Act 2016 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 2016 Public Transport Act 2016 Public Transport Act 2016 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Open PDFOscail PDF Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 3 of 2016 PUBLIC TRANSPORT ACT 2016 CONTENTS Section

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

Section 9

Section 10

Public transport infrastructure functions of National Transport Authority 1. The Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 is amended— (a) in section 2— (i) by substituting for the definition of “public transport infrastructure” the following: “ ‘public transport infrastructure’ means infrastructure constructed or provided, or proposed to be constructed or provided, in connection with the provision of public passenger transport services, which includes but is not limited to railway infrastructure, metro railway infrastructure, light railway infrastructure, bus infrastructure, rolling stock, buses, busways, bus lanes, bus garages, cycleways, cycle and pedestrian facilities, interchange facilities or such other class of infrastructure, facility, building or vehicle, whether of the same kind as the aforementioned or not, which the Authority has prescribed to be public transport infrastructure under section 44(13);”, (ii) in the definition of “public transport operator” (inserted by section 74 (a)(iii) of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 ) by substituting for paragraph (e) the following: “(e) a person providing a public bus passenger service in accordance with a licence granted under the Act of 2009;”, and (iii) after the definition of “RPA” by inserting the following definition: “ ‘statutory body’ means a body established by or under statute;”, (b) in section 44— (i) in subsection (2)(a) by substituting for subparagraph (iv) the following: “(iv) other public transport infrastructure owned or under the control of a public transport authority, by that public transport authority.”, (ii) in subsection (2), by inserting after paragraph (d) the following: “(e) The Authority may secure the provision of public transport infrastructure not referred to in paragraph (a) by such arrangements as it sees fit, including securing such provision itself or providing such public transport infrastructure itself.”, (iii) by substituting for subsection (6) the following: “(6) Where— (a) a decision is made by the Authority under subsection (2)(b) or (5)(a) for the performance of a particular function otherwise than through a public transport authority or statutory body, or (b) the Authority is performing its function of securing the provision of public transport infrastructure in accordance with subsection (2)(e), the following provisions have effect— (i) the Authority shall be empowered (notwithstanding any other enactment) to perform the function, including the acquisition of land for that purpose, and to do any other thing which arises out of or is consequential on or is necessary for the purposes of or would facilitate the performance of the function,

(ii) for the purpose of paragraph (a) or (b), land may be acquired by agreement or by means of a compulsory purchase order made by the Authority in accordance with Part XIV of the Act of 2000, (iii) the provisions of any enactment concerned apply in relation to the performance of the function subject to such modifications as may be necessary and as if the Authority was named in such enactment in each place where a public transport authority or other statutory body entitled to exercise the function is named, and (iv) any contract or agreement in writing made between the public transport authority or statutory body concerned and any other person which is not fully executed and completed shall continue in force but shall be construed and have effect as if the Authority was substituted therein for that public transport authority or statutory body.”, and (iv) by inserting after subsection (13) the following: “(14) The carrying out by the Authority, on its behalf or at its direction of— (a) a proposed road development (within the meaning of the Roads Act 1993 ) that has been approved by An Bord Pleanála under section 51 (as amended by section 9 of the Roads Act 2007 ) of that Act, or (b) a proposed development that has been approved by An Bord Pleanála— (i) under subsection (9) (inserted by section 34 (c) of the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 ) of section 175 of the Act of 2000 pursuant to an application for approval made by the Authority under subsection (3) of that section, or (ii) under subsection (8) of section 177AE (inserted by section 57 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 ) of the Act of 2000 pursuant to an application for approval made by the Authority under subsection (3) of that section, shall be exempted developments for the purposes of the Act of 2000.

56A. (1) Subject to subsection (8), bye-laws may be made by the Authority in relation to the performance by the Authority of any function conferred on it in connection with the provision of public passenger transport services (other than in respect of a rail passenger service, including light railway and metro) whether pursuant to a public transport services contract or a direct award contract under section 52, other than in respect of such a contract awarded by the Authority to Dublin Bus or Bus Éireann, in relation to any one or more of the following matters: (a) the general regulation, subject to any statutory provisions in that behalf, of the travelling by way of or use of such means of transport services, (including a requirement to travel with a valid ticket or pass and the issue of such); (b) the prevention of the commission of nuisances in or upon such means of transport services; (c) the prevention of damage to such means of transport services; (d) the removal from or the prohibition of the use on such means of transport services of any vehicle or thing which is or may become a danger to life, health, the provision or the operation of public passenger transport services or would otherwise interfere with the proper provision or the operation of such transport services; (e) the safe custody and return or disposal of any property found on a vehicle or equipment used in the provision of public passenger transport services.

Authorised persons 56B. (1) The Authority may appoint in writing such and so many persons as it considers necessary to be authorised persons to perform any or all of the functions conferred on an authorised person under section 56C or 56D.

Powers of authorised person 56C. (1) If an authorised person appointed in accordance with section 56B reasonably suspects that a person— (a) is contravening or has contravened or is failing or has failed to comply with a bye-law made under section 56A which is stated to be a penal provision, (b) is assaulting or has assaulted or is causing or has caused deliberate harm to another on a public passenger transport service to which section 56A applies, (c) is obstructing or has obstructed or is impeding or has impeded an authorised person exercising a function of an authorised person under this section or under any bye-laws made under section 56A, (d) on any public transport service to which section 56A applies is intoxicated or is committing or has committed an offence under section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 , or (e) if requested by an authorised person to cease such contravention or action or to so comply, fails to comply with the request, he or she may— (i) using such reasonable force as the circumstances require, remove or escort the person from the public passenger transport service or any part of it, (ii) in circumstances where the authorised person considers it to be justified, arrest the person without warrant, or (iii) require the person to give his or her name and address and, if the person fails or refuses to do so or gives a name that the authorised person reasonably suspects is false or misleading, arrest that person without warrant, and, if he or she is not a member of the Garda Síochána, deliver, as soon as practicable, the person, if arrested, into the custody of a member of the Garda Síochána to be dealt with according to law.

Fixed payment notice 56D. (1) Where an authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence under section 56A(9) (for a contravention or failure to comply with a provision of a bye-law made under that section) or section 56C(2), he or she may serve personally or by post on the person a notice (‘fixed payment notice’) in the prescribed form stating that— (a) the person is alleged to have committed the offence specified in the notice, (b) the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the Authority at the address specified in the notice a payment of €100, or such other amount standing specified in regulations made by the Minister, accompanied by the notice, duly completed, (c) the person is not obliged to make the payment, and (d) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice under paragraph (b) and, if a payment specified in the notice is made during the period so specified, accompanied by the notice, duly completed, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

Amendment of Taxi Regulation Act 2013 2. The Taxi Regulation Act 2013 is amended— (a) in section 2— (i) by substituting for the definition of “dispatch operator” the following: “ ‘dispatch operator’ means a person who provides for reward— (a) a booking service for an intending passenger to contact him or her to arrange for the hire of, and carriage of the intending passenger in, a small public service vehicle operated or driven by another person (other than an employee of the first-mentioned person), or (b) a service allowing an intending passenger to arrange the hire of a small public service vehicle, but does not include a person employed by the first-mentioned person to take or manage the taking of bookings in the course of that service or a person marshalling in a public place (within the meaning of the Act of 1961) the services of small public service vehicles; ‘driving licence’ means a driving licence (within the meaning of the Act of 1961) which is for the time being in force;”, and (ii) by inserting after the definition of “licence” the following: “ ‘licence to drive a small public service vehicle’ means a licence to drive a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward;”, (b) in section 3(1), by deleting “made under this Act” after “made under section 6 or 24”, (c) in section 7(2) — (i) by substituting for paragraph (c) the following: “(c) the requirement for a person to hold a licence to operate as a dispatch operator;”, (ii) by inserting after paragraph (f) the following: “(fa) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence that he or she has not been convicted of any of the offences referred to in section 30(3) or the Schedule; (fb) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence to drive a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence that— (i) his or her health or mobility does not affect, to a material extent or to the extent specified in the regulations, his or her ability to drive a small public service vehicle, and (ii) he or she holds a driving licence permitting him or her to drive the vehicle, accompanied by details of the licence and any penalty points endorsed on the entry in the licence record (within the meaning of section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 ) relating to him or her; (fc) the requirement that an application for a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence as to the roadworthiness of the vehicle and the compliance with vehicle standards specified in SPSV regulations;

(fd) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence to drive a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written undertaking by the applicant for the licence not to drive or ply for hire in a small public service vehicle in contravention of SPSV regulations made in respect of any matter provided for— (i) under section 20(1)(a)(xii) in respect of the regulation of the period of time that a driver of a small public service vehicle may drive the vehicle, or (ii) under section 20(1)(a)(xiia) in relation to intervals of rest between commencing driving the vehicle and having ceased driving another vehicle in the course of other employment; (fe) in the case of a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage of a person with a disability using a wheelchair so that the person may be carried in the vehicle while seated in the wheelchair, the requirement that an application for the grant of the licence be accompanied by a written undertaking by the applicant to give, as far as is possible, priority to the carriage of a person with a physical or sensory disability which affects the mobility of the person and to ensure that the driver of such a vehicle gives reasonable assistance to these persons in entering and alighting from the vehicle;”, and (iii) in paragraph (l), by substituting “granted” for “issued”, (d) in section 8(1) (b), by substituting “an application” for “application”, (e) in section 9— (i) in subsection (1), by substituting “licensing regulations” for “the regulations”, (ii) by inserting after subsection (8) the following: “(8A) The licensing authority may only grant a licence to drive a small public service vehicle to an individual who holds a driving licence to drive such a vehicle.”, and (iii) by substituting for subsection (14) the following: “(14) The holder of a licence shall, during the period of validity of the licence, hold a tax clearance certificate issued to such holder for the time being in force. (14A) Where the holder of a licence for the time being in force surrenders the licence to the Authority, the licence stands revoked upon its surrender.”, (f) in section 10(2) (e), by substituting “, any person who has control” for “any person who has control”, (g) in section 12— (i) in subsection (2) (d) (i), by substituting “or the terms” for “the terms”, and (ii) by substituting for subsection (3) the following: “(3) Where the licensing authority in determining whether to revoke a licence under this section is satisfied that the holder of the licence—

(a) has contravened the obligations applicable to such licence holder (whether or not the holder has been convicted of an offence in relation to the contravention), including the provisions of this Act, any regulations made thereunder or the terms or conditions of the licence, or (b) has— (i) failed or refused to provide information required by this Act, regulations under this Act or the terms or conditions of the licence, or (ii) supplied information that was false or misleading in a material particular which he or she knew or ought reasonably to have known to be so, but decides not to revoke the licence, it may, if it is satisfied it is appropriate to do so— (i) suspend the licence for a period not exceeding 3 months, or (ii) issue by notice to the holder of the licence a reprimand, warning, caution or advice.”, (h) in section 13, by inserting after subsection (14) the following: “(15) Where the Authority proposes to refuse to grant, or to revoke or suspend, a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle as a result of the vehicle not meeting a standard required of a small public service vehicle under SPSV regulations, this section does not apply in respect of the refusal, revocation or suspension, as the case may be.”, (i) in section 15, by substituting for subsections (2) and (3) the following: “(2) In the event of the death of the holder of a licence, his or her nominated representative may, within 9 months of the death of the holder, make an application to the Authority for the grant of a licence of the same category.

(ii) in subsection (5)(a)(iii), by substituting “section 37” for “section 38”, (x) in section 42, by substituting “to that land or those premises” for “to those premises”, (y) in section 49, by deleting subsection (7), and (z) in section 57(9), by substituting “section 53” for “section 54”.

Fixed payment notice - small public service vehicles 3. The following section is substituted for section 48 of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 : “Fixed payment notices 48. (1) Where an authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence under section 7(5) or (7), 8(8), 9(6), 11(4), 17(4), 20(4) (b), 23(1) or (4), 24(7) or (9), 25(9) or (10), 26(4), 27(2), 29(6), 31(2), 37(3), 43(1) in respect of a failure to comply with a requirement under section 41, 66(5) or 68(3)(“fixed payment offence”) he or she may serve personally or by post on the person a notice (“fixed payment notice”) in the prescribed form stating— (a) that the person is alleged to have committed the offence specified in the notice, (b) that the person may, during the period of 28 days beginning on the date specified in the notice, make to the Authority at the address specified in the notice a payment of a prescribed amount accompanied by the notice, duly completed, (c) that if the person does not make the payment specified in paragraph (b), during the period so specified, accompanied by the notice, duly completed, the person may during the period of 28 days beginning on the expiration of that period, make a payment as specified in the notice of an amount 50 per cent greater than the prescribed amount referred to in paragraph (b), accompanied by the notice, duly completed, (d) if the alleged offence relates to a demerit offence (within the meaning of Part 5), that if the person on whom it is served makes a payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice, duly completed, or is convicted of the offence concerned, different specified numbers of demerits will be endorsed on the SPSV licence record (within the meaning of Part 5) of the person, (e) that the person is not obliged to make the payment, and (f) that a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the periods specified in the notice under paragraphs (b) and (c) and, if a payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice, duly completed, is made during the appropriate period so specified in relation to the payment, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

Change of name of Railway Safety Commission to Commission for Railway Regulation 4. (1) The name of the body (established by section 8 of the Railway Safety Act 2005 ) the present name of which is, in the English language, the Railway Safety Commission, and, in the Irish language, An Coimisiún Sábháilteachta Iarnróid, shall, on and from such day as the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport appoints by order, be, in the English language, the Commission for Railway Regulation, and in the Irish language, An Coimisiún um Rialáil Iarnróid.

Bye-laws - light railway 5. Section 66 (inserted by section 134 of the Railway Safety Act 2005 ) of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 is amended— (a) in subsection (4) — (i) by substituting for paragraph (a) the following: “(a) the National Roads Authority or the undertaking, as the case may be, shall, publish notice of the proposal— (i) on its website, and (ii) in at least 2 national newspapers circulating within the State or in the area to which the bye-laws relate,”, and (ii) in paragraph (b), by substituting for subparagraph (ii) the following: “(ii) an intimation that— (I) a copy of the draft bye-laws is open for public inspection at the principal offices in the State of the National Roads Authority or the undertaking, as the case may be, and (II) that the draft bye-laws are published on the National Roads Authority’s or the undertaking’s, as the case may be, website, and”, and (b) by inserting after subsection (4) the following: “(4A) The National Roads Authority or the undertaking shall publish on its website bye-laws made by it under this section. The failure to publish such bye-laws is not a defence to a contravention of or failure to comply with such bye-laws.”.

Fixed payment notice - airports 6. Section 27 (inserted by section 51 of the State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014 ) of the State Airports Act 2004 is amended— (a) in subsection (2)(b)(ii), by inserting “a copy of the notice” before “served personally”, (b) in subsection (3), by substituting for paragraph (b) the following: “(b) the person may make to the relevant company or the Minister, as the case may be, at the address specified in the notice a payment, accompanied by the notice, duly completed, of the relevant amount, during the period of 28 days beginning on the date of the notice, and”, (c) in subsection (4)(a) by substituting “accompanied by the notice, duly completed,” for “accompanied by the notice,”, and (d) in subsection (4), by substituting for paragraph (c) the following: “(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment so specified in the notice accompanied by the notice, duly completed, is made during the period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.”.

Declaration - airport 7. Section 27A (inserted by section 51 of the State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014 ) of the State Airports Act 2004 is amended in subsection (1) by inserting “or an offence under section 47

Amendment of section 106 of Road Traffic Act 1961 8. The Road Traffic Act 1961 is amended— (a) in section 106(3) (as amended by section 17 of the Road Traffic Act 2014 )— (i) by deleting “on summary conviction”, (ii) in paragraph (a), by inserting “on summary conviction,” after “injury is caused to person,”, and (iii) in paragraph (b), by inserting “on summary conviction,” after “in any other case,”, and (b) in section 26(3)(b)(i) and in paragraph 12(a) of the Second Schedule, by substituting “paragraph (a), (aa) or (b) ” for “paragraph (a) or (b) ”.

COTIF to have force of law in State 9. (1) In this section “Convention” means the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980 appearing in the Annex to the Protocol of 3 June 1999 for the Modification of the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980 (Protocol 1999).

Short title and collective citation 10. (1) This Act may be cited as the Public Transport Act 2016.

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