RECENT LICENSING APPEALS IN SOUTH WALES.
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Some Interesting Points Raised in Hearings Held at the End of August.
ASERIES of appeals by South Wales bus proprietors to the Ministry of Transport, in Connection with refusals of bus-service licences by various local authorities, was investigated by Ministry commissioners during the last week of August.
At Merthyr .Tydfil Mr. N. A. J. Cohen, for the Ministry, investigated the refusal by the Merthyr watch committee of licences applied for by ,Mr. A. W. Harrison in connection with a service between Merthyr and Aber-. canaid, the council justifying its attitude by the fact that its on service passes within a few hundred yards of the centre of Abercanaid. It was stated that the corporation had contemplated running buses through the village, but had dropped the proposal because of a bridge being unsafe for heavy traffic. The building of a new bridge, at an estimated cost of £9,000, was stated to be under consideration.
Mr. Carrol Romer heard at Swansea appeals by a number of bus proprietors, an important one being that of Red and White Services, Ltd., of Chepstow, against Swansea Council's refusal of local plying licences in connection with the company's Swansea-London coach service, by way of Neath Vale, Merthyr, Aberdare, Abergavenny and Gloucester, it being mentioned that every other town on the route had sanctioned the service. The Swansea town clerk stated that existing services were held to be adequate.
Messrs. D. Bassett and Sons, of Goiseinon, appealed against Swansea Corporation's refusal of licences for a proposed Swansea-Carmarthen service and extra licences for the SwanseaLlanelly route. It was suggested for di?: appellants thatpreference was shown by Swansea watch committee to a rival concern, permission to ply for hire within the borough of Caale being refused them, whereas an application by the South Wales Transport Co., Ltd.., was granted. A similar situation was described in connection with the Swansea-Llanelly route. For Swansea Corporation it was contended that there was an adequate service on the routes.
An appeal made under somewhat singular circumstances was that by Messrs. W. Griffiths and Sons, of Craigcefnparc, against Swansea watch committee's refusal of 10 licences for services between Swansea Cldach,
Ystalyfera, Craigcefnparc, Swansea, and Bryuamman.
This was a case in which the appellants had made an appeal some time ago, following a period in which they had been convicted several times for Plying in contravention of the local authority's refusal of licences. At the time of the previous appeal, the Ministry representative had, without prejudice, advised the appellants to drop the matter for the time being, and to abstain in the meantime from unauthorized plying for hire, the idea being to Make a fresh appeal at a later date.
Since then, however, another company had applied for licences for a part of the route, had been refused, and had lodged an appeal against Swansea Council's decision. The other company's appeal was up for hearing at the present sitting and Messrs. Griffiths were, therefore, obliged to re-institute their own appeal rather earlier than they had intended.' It was a case of establishing their priority of claim in connection with the route.
For Messrs. Griffiths it was pointed out that their services, known as the Eclipse Services, on three routes were growing in public utility and, according to a census taken last December, carried 10,000 passengers weekly. In August Bank-holiday week more than 16,000 passengers were carried, the great majority of passengers travelling to and froni Swansea. In the course of evidence that was given by various people, suggestions were made that favour was shown by the licensing authorities to certain operators. The Swansea Corporation's case was that existing travel facilities were adequate and that roads in Swansea were congested by buses. It was stated that the South Wales Transport Co., Ltd., carried 42,000 passengers weekly OIL the SwanseaYstalyfera route and could, with no additional vehicles, carry the passengers transported by the Eclipse Services.
An appeal by Messrs. James and Sou, of Ammanford, in respect of the Swansea-Brynamman route, was adjourned sine die. Decisions in respect of all the above appeals will be announced later, in accordance with the Ministry's usual custom.