Further Traffic Commissioners are not a disinterested party, as they are effectively part of the existing system, and whose strategic objectives are to minimise regulatory burden on operators rather than to provide the best possible 1 passenger service. On a non-technical point, we would point out that it appears strange that the system presently being proposed by the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament appears to undermine the devolution settlement by giving the final decision on the franchising of Scotland’s bus services to Traffic Commissioners – who are appointed by the UK Government over the heads of the Scotland’s Government and Parliament.