'ewer seek licences
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ERF was a 27 per cent fall he number of applications new road service licences L) in 1984/85, according figures just published by 1)epartment of Transport. he annual reports of the tile Commissioners for the r to March 31, 1985 show the number of new RSL lications fa from 8,326 in 3/84 to 6,041. Applicais to vary RSL increased n 11,981 to 22,293.
'here also was a reduction notifications of new ex;s coach services, down n511 to 415.
'he greatest number of applications was in the tern Traffic Area (1,537), owed by the Scottish ffic Area (970), although figures have been ined by the reorganisation of 0011 al Bus Company and ittish Bus Group comics into smaller units.
'lore express service notilions (74) were lodged in North-Eastern area than where else. The South;tern and Scottish areas ie next with 68 each.
;codand held most public ings (46), representing 16 cent of the 295 sittings ionally. The West Midd area (21) held the 'est.
['here also were more apIs lodged against the Scott Commissioners' decisions n anyone else's, with six teals (five against the grant
or refusal to grant an RSL) out of 26 lodged nationally.
Immediate and deferred vehicle prohibitions have fal len — partly owing to a re duction in enforcement as police manpower was di verted during the miners' strike — (from 1,793 immediate to 1,488 and 1,587 de
krred to 1,318. Of those in 1984/85, the greatest number (37 per cent immediate: 35 per cent deferred) was in the Metropolitan area.
Courts dealt with 3,177 summonses and 1,780 convic tions of operators and drivers for of related to operator licensing. Most of these were for drivers' hours offences.
But nobody was even summonsed, never mind
convicted, of running an express service which has not been notified to the Traffic Commissioners.
Two operators' licences (West Midland) were sus
pended, 29 (10 in the
Western area) were curtailed, 24 (15 in the North-Western area) were revoked and 13 (five in the West Midland area) had their fleets reduced for disciplinary reasons.
In the North-Western area, Commissioners' chair
man Roy Hutchings reports a successful enforcement effort at Manchester airport which revealed "irregularity by operators and drivers, particularly affecting the use of
minicoaches-. But Hutchings suspects that checks on buses And coaches at seaside resorts like Blackpool have been reduced as they are becoming predictable and counter-productive.
West Midland chairman Ronald Jackson says a flood of complaints from passengers and rival operators in Rugeley and South Staffordshire led to a blitz check of all operators' starting points and terminals. Only minor infringements were discovered.
Eastern chairman Ken Peter says only two prosecutions tiillowed 28 allegations of illegal operation, Although seven complaints were outstanding at the year-end.
"Established operators who complain about unfair competition from alleged unlicensed operations are usually unable themselves to provide information that would justify prosecution," he says.
South-Eastern chairman Randall Thornton says peak holiday time checks on coaches at Dover Eastern Docks showed that British operators complied with hours and records rules more rigorously than their foreign counterparts.
• The annual reports are available Ihr 3.65 from the Department of Transport, Publications Sales Unit, Building 1, Victoria Road, South Ruislip, Middlesex 11A4 ()NZ.