When calling in all bus mitigation requests, the following requirements must be met to have mitigation agreed upon: REMINDER, Mitigation is there to assist controllers, when normal service control measures have been used, but buses are still delayed after using official curtailment points
1. Initial Call to SCC Traffic Desk:
If bus operators are
experiencing delays, the first step is to call the SCC Traffic Desk on 0203
054 3096. After raising the issue, the team will investigate and apply traffic
plans to alleviate delays where possible.
- For low frequency routes, please call SCC once you start to experience
15-minute delays (mitigation agreed once more than one bus has delays
of 20 minutes **)
- For high-frequency routes, please call SCC once you start to
experience 20-minute delays. (Mitigation agreed once more than one bus has
delays of 30 minutes * )
Bus operators must provide SCC with clear and specific information about the delay including the location, the direction the bus is travelling in and the likely cause of the delay.
2. Follow Up If Delays Persist:
If delays have not reduced
and reach ** 30 minutes for high frequency routes and 20 minutes for
low-frequency routes, call the SCC Mitigation request option on 0344 251 0160 (option 3) to discuss mitigation
measures. Please do not call Option 2, as
this is for bus diversions for emergency incidents.
3. Verification of Delays & Providing a Reference:
SCC &
route controller will discuss and record the agreed mitigation to be
implemented. SCC will not provide a reference at this stage in the process; however,
an operator reference will be requested. Please note that any diversions or
curtailments will not be published on the SCC dashboard. Delay and
mitigations will be subject to Transport for London auditors. A reference number will only be provided to
operators when they clear the mitigation.
4. Monitoring & Adjusting Mitigation:
It is the responsibility of the bus operator to continuously monitor their delays and report any changes as the delays either increase or reduce. As soon as delays reduce where official curtailment points can now be used, mitigation must be cleared.
5. Clearing Mitigation and reference number issue
Operators MUST recall SCC to inform when mitigation is no longer required or
has been adjusted. SCC will check mitigation process has been followed as per
agreement and then provide a reference. If the bus operator fails to follow the agreed service levels (eg. 2 buses per hour), no reference will be provided & any resulting appeals will need to be
followed up by Bus Performance.
If this procedure is not
followed SCC will not be able to process the mitigation request.
Reminder:- Mitigation is to be only applied for when normal official curtailment points have been used for service control, but serious delays are still occurring to the specific route. Mitigation is a last resort to be used once this option has been exhausted.