Bus tax plan scrapped

THE Swan Valley Tourism Council has scrapped plans for a levy on bus and coach operators during the Spring in the Valley festival after opposition to the move.

The council's executive officer, Geraldine Riggir, wrote to bus operators last month informing them they would be required to pay a registration fee of $3 a day for every seat, whether or not their bus was full.

In the case of large coaches, this could mean a fee of up to $225 per day.

"As antisocial behaviour has become a serious problem, the Swan Valley Tourism Council needs to take measures to ensure the public's safety," the letter stated.

"These measures come at a significant cost."

However, a meeting between council representatives and about 10 bus companies led to a decision to cancel the proposed registration fee.

The general consensus from bus owners and operators was that something needed to be done about anti-social behaviour, but they did not want to be singled out.

Bus companies already face an annual state government charge of $4 for every seat on every bus to drive on Western Australian roads.

Nightcruiser Party Buses managing director Roland Ott said forcing the levy onto bus operators was unfair.

"The levy targeted buses only and did not apply to participants of Spring in the Valley across the board," he said.

Mr Ott said he was generally supportive of what the Swan Valley Tourism Council was putting forward and agreed the event was a unique tourism offering highly valuable to the state.

"It is important being such a large event that it really requires the services of a professional events management company," he said.

"Nightcruiser Party Buses has up to 20 buses in total, all attending Spring in the Valley, and we're well and truly booked out, well in advance."