19-03-10 Lothian Buses to open first ATF in Scotland
Edinburgh and the Lothians based bus operator, Lothian Buses, signed the first Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) contract in Scotland this week.
VOSA is transforming bus and lorry testing by establishing a network of Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs). VOSA staff will carry out testing at ATFs which will be located at fleet operators, owners and maintainers’ premises.
The introduction of ATFs aims to:
- Move testing closer to the customer and the point of vehicle maintenance and repair
- Provide greater customer choice and flexibility and reduce overall vehicle ‘downtime’.
The company will operate three ATFs from its main bus depots (Marine, Central HQ and Longstone) where they will offer testing facilities to other operators. They expect to be fully operational at the beginning of May 2010.
Project Director Richard Smith said: “I’m delighted that we’ve already got these first three ATFs for Scotland, and the opportunities this will offer to both Lothian and other operators in the area. There is some work to do with Lothian over the next few weeks to get the ATFs up and running, and then we will start to see the benefits.”
Bill Devlin, Lothian Buses Engineering Director said:
“We are delighted that we are one of the first to operate ATFs in Scotland. With a fleet of over 600 buses to maintain, it will make the job more efficient for both our own engineering staff and VOSA.”
Jeremy Tinsley from the CPT said: "The Confederation of Passenger Transport fully supports VOSA's Authorised Testing Facility scheme which shall deliver testing to all operators at a much more local level than currently experienced, reducing transit costs and emissions."
The contract is available on the Business Link website at www.businesslink.gov.uk/ATF .
Notes to Editors:
What we do:
VOSA (Vehicle & Operator Services Agency) is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. It is responsible for:
- Processing applications for licences to operate lorries and buses and registering bus services
- Operating and administering testing schemes for all vehicles, including the supervision of the MOT testing scheme
- Enforcing the law on vehicles to ensure that they comply with legal standards and regulations
- Enforcing drivers' hours and licensing requirements
- Supporting Traffic Commissioners to help them make informed decisions on operator licensing, vocational drivers and bus registration requirements
- Providing training and advice for commercial operators
- Investigating vehicle accidents, defects and recalls
For media inquiries about VOSA, please contact: Luke Bigwood on 0117 954 3208
or Libby Cottingham on 0117 954 2561 or e-mail: press@vosa.gov.uk
Page last updated: 01/04/2010