The Newcomer's FIRST HURDLE
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A Step-by-step Introduction to the Stages Through Which an Application for a Carrier's Licence is Taken, With Advice on Bringing Witnesses and Documentary Evidence
could drive a lorry for anybody. Now the law is different and before a licence is granted all sorts of things have to be proved."
In a previous appeal the president had remarked on the "increasingly slipshod, incomplete and vague information which applicants now think it is sufficient to supply." He went on to say: "We think that it is high time that applicants were made to realize that, if they want to be afforded the valuable profit-making opportunity which a licence affords, they must be prepared to take some trouble in formulating and supporting their applications."
Ritual Step
In this particular appeal the applicants had produced one letter from a customer to support their application. The president referred to this letter in the following words: "Although we have repeatedly said that we are quite unable to attach any weight to such letters, the practice of procuring and adducing them is apparently regarded as a ritual step in the presentation of any application and I can only say once again that everybody who is concerned in procuring such letters, and having copies made, is wasting time and money."
The attitude adopted by both these applicants to their respective applications is one that is becoming common in traffic courts. Some experienced and old-established hauliers are just as guilty as the newcomers. They put in an application and start to look for the evidence at the last moment.
As often as not, an exasperated Road Haulage Association solicitor finds as to the type of evidence they would require to support an application. The Licensing Authorities' offices supply similar information. '
A newcomer — the description usually applied to anyone who has not previously held an A or B licence— is required to prove that there are persons ready and willing to employ him. One of the principal objects of licensing was to prevent wasteful cornpetition by providing that suitable transport facilities should not be licenced in excess of requirements.
Relative Efficiency
Under the Transport Act, 1953, the Licensing Authority, in considering whether existing transport facilities are to be treated as suitable, must have regard to the relative efficiency, reliability and adequacy of the existing facilities at the date of the application and the facilities which the applicant would provide if the application were granted.
He must not compare the efficiency of the applicant's existing facilities with those provided by the objectors. He must compare the efficiency of the existing facilities with the prospective facilities which would be provided by
present a properly prepared case. There are so many different types of application that I cannot discuss them all here, but as it is generally considered to be easier to apply for a B licence, I will deal with that first.
Various Goods
Generally, an applicant should specify the various goods to be carried, and if the evidence adduced is for only one or two customers, it is usual for the Licensing Authority to limit the licence to work for them.
The most suitable type of evidence is in the form of five or six letters stating that the firms concerned will use the applicant's facilities and that they are suffering inconvenience. In addition, at least two or three witnesses should be called to explain why they wish to use the applicant's services, to outline their experience of getting their own goods moved and, if appropriate, to say why the objectors cannot meet their transport requirements.
Some witnesses expect to find lorries waiting at the end of a telephone wire and others have 'made little or no inquiries as to the available facilities. The Licensing Authorities think it is reasonable to have to arrange for transport the night before and, in addition, to have to inquire from more than one haulier before the goods are accepted for transport.
It is advisable for the applicant to consider seriously whether his licence, if granted, will be a paying proposi tion. The farther he carries goods away from his base, the greater may be his empty running on the return journey. Unless there is a return load available and he is licensed to carry it, he may find that his outward journey does not cover his expenses.
• Too Large a Vehicle
Furthermore, it is no use appearing before the Licensing Authority with an application for an 8-tonner to operate within a 15or 20-mile raiiius, as it is most unlikely that so large a vehicle could earn its keep on so small a radius, unless it was part of a parcels service.
Often the applicant for a new B licence already has the vehicle on a C licence in connection with a seasonal business. It is used for, perhaps, three days a week on that business and the operator wants to keep it employed for the other two or three days.
The applicant may be a coal merchant delivering coal to his customers or a furniture dealer using a van to deliver the furniture he sells. The need for a licence to undertake furniture removals is very difficult to prove and any such application is likely to
attract strong objections. It is usual for the applicant to be in touch with the furniture-removal position locally and his evidence in support would have to show a definite shortage of facilities.
List of Inquiries
He could produce a list of inquiries from prospective customers and of the destinations to which their furniture was to be taken. It is, of course, difficult to produce witnesses who require their furniture removed, as by the time the application is heard they will in all probability have left the district.
As it is essential to produce at least one witness, the most satisfactory person would be an auctioneer who could, from his own knowledge, speak of the transport facilities available in the district and give some indication of the demand that existed for such services by reference to the sale of houses in the area.
In the case of a new A-licence application, the principles are more or less similar, but the objections may be much stronger, possibly on account of the flooding of the haulage industry with special A licences. The onus of proof is much stricter. The Licensing Authority probably believes that his area is well served with A-licence vehicles and is likely to need a great deal of convincing that he should grant the application.
In applying for a contract-A licence, it is necessary to remember the following four requirements of proof laid down by the Transport Tribunal: (1) That there is a contract between the applicant and his customer.
(2) That the customer operates a business (not being the business of carrying or arranging for the carrying of goods).
(3) That the contract is (a) for the carriage of goods for or in connection with the business carried on by the customer and (b) covers a continuous period of not less than a year.
(4) That the vehicle to be licensed will be used exclusively for the purposes of the contract.
Second Thoughts
What happens in practice is that when the contract licence has been in existence for a year or two, there is a change of heart, or the parties have second thoughts. Usually the customer or firm who were responsible for the licence being granted suggest that the lifrangement is not wholly satisfactory and it would be better for all concerned if an open A licence were granted, enabling the haulier to carry return loads and to operate more economically.
The Transport Tribunal have repeatedly pointed out that the customer must prove need for this substitution to open A licence. The return loads are usually sought, after the application has been granted, from a clearing house.