151Co-operation and assistance regarding public transport
(1)As respects any area of a local authority, other than an area which has been designated for the purposes of Part II of the Transport Act 1968 by an order under section 9(1) of that Act, it shall be the duty—
(a)of the local authority, acting in consultation with persons providing bus services within their area and, so far as appropriate, with the Railways Board, to develop policies which will promote the provision of a coordinated and efficient system of public passenger transport to meet the needs of their area and, for that purpose, to take such steps to promote the coordination, amalgamation and re-organisation of road passenger transport undertakings in their area as appear to the local authority to be desirable; and
(b)of each of the persons providing bus services within such an area and of the Railways Board to co-operate with one another and the local authority concerned in the exercise of their respective functions for the purpose of co-ordinating the passenger transport services within the area and to afford to one another and to the local authority such information as to proposed changes in their services as may be reasonably required for that purpose.
(2)For the purpose of such co-operation as is referred to in subsection (1)(b) above, the Railways Board and each of the persons providing bus services as aforesaid shall have power to enter into such arrangements with one another with respect to the exercise and performance of their respective functions on such terms as may appear to them to be expedient, including arrangements for the establishment under the Companies Acts of, and the transfer of assets to, one or more companies controlled (severally or jointly) by the parties to the arrangements.
(3)A local authority may make grants towards any costs incurred by persons carrying on public passenger transport services (whether by land, water or air) wholly or partly in the area of the authority.
(4)A local authority may, in respect of any financial year—
(a)make a contribution out of rates towards the expenditure which they estimate they will incur in that year in discharging functions relating to public passenger transport services under any enactment or instrument made thereunder; and
(b)notwithstanding the provisions of any such enactment or instrument, take into account the amount of such contribution in fixing for that year the fares and charges for the public passenger transport services in respect of which the contribution is made.
(5)In this section " local authority" means a regional or islands council and other expressions have the same meaning as in the [1968 c. 73.] Transport Act 1968.