THE MINISTRY AND THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.
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No Further Concession Possible, Says the Ministry, in Reply to Our Suggestion for the Issue of Coach Licences to Cover October.
WE HAVE shown in the columns of The Commercial Motor that the arbitrary division of the year into four quarters does not, in any part of the country, coincide with the motor coach season, creating certain unpleasant alternatives for coach proprietors, none of which is helpful to the coach industry, or advantageous to
the coach user or the employees. One concession has been made this year by which the coach proprietor is given complete liberty with regard to the choice of licensing period up to the end of a quarter, that is to say, he may take out a licence for a period of three, four or five months terminating on a quarter day. But this still leaves the month of Ootober alone unprovided for.
Recently we addressed a letter to Mr. Arthur Neal, ?1,11., Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, in which this matter was raised.
We said:— " The period during which proprietors of motor coaches may expect profitably to keep their vehicles B4 on the road is from some time in June to the end of September, and not unprofitably during part of April, the month of May and part of October.
"Coach proprietors are now enabled to take out licences for their vehicles covering any period they desire, whether a complete quarter or less up to the end of September, but should they desire to keep a vehicle on the road during the whole or part of the month of October they -must, under the Finance Act of 1921 and the Ministry's Regulations, take out a licence for the complete last quarter of the year and, in many cases the outlay represented (the quarterly licence fee ranging from £9 to £21 12s. in the Metropolitan Police district and from £7 4s. to -218 in other districts, according to the carrying capacity of the vehicle) is not justified by the earning possibilities during October.
"Because of this fact, a number of motor coaches are put out of commission at the end of September, the drivers and conductors are dismissed and garage attendants are reduced in number, whereas, if a licence covering the month of October could be obtained, the Majority of the vehicles would,be kept in commission.
"The suggestion we have to Make is that, for a proportional additional fee (one-tenth of the annual licence fee), the licence for a motor hackney vehicle issuable on July 1st should, if required, be extended to cover the four months, July to October. "We feel sure that,. besides being of advantage to motor coach proprietors, this concession would bring in additional revenue."
To this Mr. Arthur Neal replied as follows :— " I refer to your letter of the lath instant regarding licences for motor -coaches for special periods, such as October, or the four months from July to October. have gone very carefully and fully into this question with a view to seeing whether it would be possible to meet the desires of the proprietors of such vehicles.
• " The taxation scheme as it stainas at present is that a licence may be taken out (except for certain special classes of vehicle) from the first of any month to the end of the current quarter, and any departure from this principle would lead to such demands for variation that the scheme would .rapidly become too complex' for effective and smooth working. "I am afraid, therefore that having regard to these administrative difficulties, which mightgrow to an overwhelming volume, both as regardsrcentral government and the local authorities, Lcannot hold out any hope of introducing such licences as you ask far. I need hardly remind you that we have gone a good way this year in the direction of concessions for portions of a year."
We acknowledged Mr. Neal's letter'as follows:— " We have to thank you for your letter of yesterday's date and for the trouble which you have taken in going into the question of the possibility of permitting licences to be granted for motor coaches for special periods, such as the month of October, or the months from July to October.
"We are sorry to find that you are not able to hold out any hope of introducing such licences, but we do trust that the need for such a concession will not be forgotten, so that should it be found possible to amend the system to that extent, this undoubted improvement in the scheme of licensing will be introduced."