East of England Traffic Commissioner Richard Turfitt has curtailed the public service vehicle operator's licence held by Ashwood Travel Ltd by three vehicles for two weeks from 18 December 2025, following a Public Inquiry in Cambridge. The inquiry examined whether the operator met obligations under the Public Service Vehicles (Open Data) (England) Regulations 2020 and wider compliance on maintenance, drivers' hours, tachographs and governance. The Commissioner also considered the repute of former transport manager Darren Thomas Murphy, who has been disqualified from relying on his Certificate of Professional Competence until he can demonstrate capability to a Traffic Commissioner.
As a matter of law, operators of registered local bus services in England (outside London) must publish timetable and fares data and supply vehicle location data via the Department for Transport's Bus Open Data Service. Implementation was staged: January 2021 for simple fares and timetables, January 2023 for complex fares. Real-time vehicle location must be provided at intervals between 10 and 30 seconds. These requirements arise under the Public Service Vehicles (Open Data) (England) Regulations 2020 made under the Bus Services Act 2017.
For school transport, scope depends on registration. The Department for Transport's implementation guide states that school services required to be registered with the Traffic Commissioners under section 6 of the Transport Act 1985 are in scope for BODS publication. Unregistered closed-door school services, or those voluntarily registered as closed services at a local authority's request, are outside scope. Where a school route is registered as a local bus service, operators must publish timetables, fares and vehicle locations using the prescribed data standards.
The Office of the Traffic Commissioner told the inquiry it had contacted relevant operators six times between February 2021 and June 2022 to set out the new obligations. Ashwood Travel was individually alerted in June 2024. Mr Murphy initially argued that some services were private and therefore not within BODS scope, but the operator did not publish the required data despite reminders issued in June, September and October 2024. By September 2025, the company had registered routes and begun supplying timetable and vehicle location data to BODS.
Governance failures were a central theme. Evidence described disputes between directors and weak oversight of transport operations. After Mr Murphy left the role of transport manager, director Sara Baker and later the new transport manager, Mr Raja, undertook corrective actions. The Commissioner accepted that performance had improved under the new arrangements but recorded concern at the prolonged delay in achieving open data compliance.
DVSA evidence highlighted wider compliance risks. A targeted examination in May 2025 recorded a 'mostly satisfactory' outcome overall, but examiners identified 460 instances of missing mileage, including 27 periods exceeding 30 minutes, where drivers were recorded as operating without a card. The operator pointed to lost or forgotten cards, a fault with its TruTac analysis system during early 2025, and driver retraining undertaken in February 2025. The Commissioner concluded that these problems reflected dysfunction in management.
In determining outcome, the Commissioner said repeated breaches and inaccurate assurances had eroded trust. He made an adverse finding against Mr Murphy's repute as transport manager and disqualified him from relying on his CPC unless and until he can demonstrate capability to a Traffic Commissioner. The operator's licence was curtailed by three vehicles for two weeks from 18 December 2025 as a deterrent.
For operators, the compliance takeaway is clear. Build BODS publication of timetables, fares and vehicle locations into routine governance, use the mandated TransXChange, NeTEx and SIRI-VM standards, and contact the BODS helpdesk early if support is needed. The Senior Traffic Commissioner's statutory guidance on decision making emphasises proportionate regulatory action to promote compliance, underscoring the risks of delay.
Debate continues around closed-door school services. The Confederation of Passenger Transport has urged government to exempt such services from BODS, citing cost and safeguarding concerns, while trade coverage notes uncertainty where local authorities have asked for voluntary registration. As of 19 December 2025, official guidance still sets scope by whether a service is required to be registered.