Yeowarts off roa d
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THE GOVERNMENT'S pro-private enterprise bus policies took a hard knock last week when the Lord Chief Justice ordered the immediate suspension of Yeowarts Coaches' stage service licences in Whitehaven.
Lord Lane, who was sitting with Lords Justice Ackner and Oliver, accused former Transport Secretary Norman Fowler of having given Yeowarts the go-ahead on the basis of "bald statements" and ordered the Department of Transport to bear Cumbria County Council's appeal costs.
The licences were revoked with effect from Friday last week, although Yeowarts continued to provide free services that day to draw regular users' attention to why the services are stopping.
The long-running debate on the issue, a key test case for Mr Fowler's 1980 Transport Act, will be revived in March when the Northern Traffic Commissioners will hear a new application for three Yeowarts services. One is for a modified version of the now banned route.
Last week's Court of Appeal decision, against a Divisional Courts ruling last year that the service could stay (CM, May 22), means that two of Yeowarts' full-time drivers are being laid off, although the three buses reserved for the service are being kept for contract work, pending the March hearing.
Lord Lane agreed with the Divisional Courts' view that Mr Fowler's decision to allow the service to run was contained in a letter of bald statements. This was unfair because Cumbria County Council and Cumberland Motor Services could not challenge the decision when no reason was given. But he went on to say that the paucity of reason led him to believe that Mr Fowler had not considered the matter properly.
He said that Yeowarts had never seriously challenged Cumberland's contention that the competing stage services would cost it £56,000 and necessitate the withdrawal of unprofitable rural services.
It was only logical that if unprofitable rural services were offered at large no one in their senses would take them up at a loss. The only way other operators could be found would be to offer a subsidy.
The county was adamant that it was unable to increase the total amount of subsidy paid so any such subsidy could only be found by reducing the subsidy paid to Cumberland.
Lord Lane said the Transport Secretary was entitled to differ in fact and opinion from the Department of Transport inspector if he had proper grounds. But in this case he felt there was no basis for doing so.
Whitehaven's Labour MP, John Cunningham, welcomed the decision, and told CM that local people had suffered badly because the Yeowarts services had forced rural buses off the road.
He added: "This is a bloody nose for the Government. It demonstrates how Tory Ministers are prepared to abuse their authority and misuse their position to impose their political dogma, regardless of the consequences."
National Bus made no immediate changes to its service pattern, but a spokesman said that Cumberland Motor Services was looking forward to early discussions with Cumbria on future policy.