Taxpayer on-island travel subsidies (FOI)

Request

I wish to know the total amount that the taxpayer is subsidising on-island travel.

Therefore, please inform the following:

A

The total cost of routine road maintenance and projects per year protecting roads from wear and tear (not including pavements, if possible).

B

The total cost, if any, of any public subsidy on vehicle fuel, fuel imports and other subsidies to buying motor vehicles.

C

Is the taxpayer subsiding parking? By that I mean whether the revenue raised for the States by parking fees and other sources of revenue such as fines and advertising outweighs the total cost of car parking to the States, e.g. car park maintenance, deals (e.g. with PayByPhone), the cost associated with selling Paycards & parking enforcement.

D

The total subsidy provided by the States for those buying cycles or riding them as an alternative to other transport.

E

The total subsidy provided by the States to the bus company, including charges like discount cards & school buses.

Response

A

This information is partially exempt under Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as figures for 2015 - 2020 are already available for you to view through a previous Freedom of Information response.

Budget allocation to roads, bus shelters and cycle routes (FOI) (gov.je) 

Reactive maintenance figures for 2015 – 2021, as well as road surfacing costs for 2021 and budget allocation for 2022 are set out in the table below:

Note: Some minor roadside footpath maintenance, where work is done ahead of resurfacing schemes, is included in the Planned Road Maintenance figures.

These figures are for the Government of Jersey Class 1, 2 and 3 networks, and do not include maintenance works to Parish Byroads.

B

There are no subsidies on vehicle fuel or vehicle imports.  There are however reliefs from tax duties on certain fuels as well as a relief from the payment of GST for disabled vehicles. More information about these can be found via the links below:

Excise Duty (Relief and Drawback) (Jersey) Order 2000 (jerseylaw.je)

No GST on disabled vehicles (gov.je)

C

The Car Park Trading Fund uses the receipts from parking charges and fines to pay for the construction, administration, enforcement and maintenance of the States of Jersey's public car parks.  This also includes the maintenance of free States operated parking facilities across the Island, such as beach car parks.

In addition, the trading fund accumulated surplus is utilised to fund the construction of new car parks such as Ann Court and major maintenance schemes.  The States Assembly considers such capital expenditure as part of the Government Plan (formerly Medium-Term Financial Plan and Budget) debates.

The Fund is also now utilised to provide free bus passes for disabled people as well as road safety and sustainable transport schemes.  This is done via a financial return to the Infrastructure, Housing and Environment department (prior to 2019 some or all of this return was made to the central States of Jersey fund).

In previous years transfers have also been made at the request of the Assembly to fund the Eastern Cycle Network project and additional half deck at Green Street car park.

D

There are currently no subsidies or incentive schemes in place relating to bicycles or electric bikes.

Whilst there have been incentive schemes in previous years this information is exempt under Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as the information is already available for you to view on the government website and through a previous Freedom of Information response.

Carbon emissions and incentives (FOI) (gov.je)

Further information relating to parish roads and projects many be held by the parishes and so you might wish to also send your request in writing to:

FOI@comite.je

or to:  

Parish FOI, East Wing, RJA & HS, Trinity, JE3 5JP

You can also find out more about making an FOI request to the parishes at: How to Make an FOI Request | Comité des Connétables (comite.je)

E

The Second Amendment to P.52/2019 refers to "the overall £4.6 million contract for buses" which would was based on the 2018 and 2019 revenue budgets.  This figure represents a subsidy to the passenger rather than to the bus company, in that the Government investment in the service enables fares to be held below the break-even level and covers the reimbursement of concessionary pass usage for senior citizens and disabled persons.  The contract is integrated, which means that the net operational cost of the school bus service is included within the Government of Jersey expenditure.

The £4.6 million stated remains broadly unchanged in 2021.  However, there was a mutually agreed adjustment to the level of services provided as a consequence of pandemic-related Government emergency restrictions from March 2020, and in that year the States Assembly authorised additional contract support funding in recognition of the significant fare revenue shortfall which resulted from reduced passenger demand.  Fare revenue at present remains below 2019 figures and it may be several years yet before it returns to that level, so providing contemporary expenditure figures would not be representative of the public transport network's normal financial situation.

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.