Variation of Expired Licence Invalid
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THE Metropolitan Traffic Commis sioner granted Lewis Cronshaw, Ltd., a variation of a licence which had already expired. This fact comes to light in an appeal decision by the Minister of Transport issued on Wednesday. The Eastern National Omnibus Co., Ltd., appealed against the variation of Cronshaw's licence for an express service from LondOn to 13Iackbusheto give an additional 'terminal at Southend Airport, and against the Commissioner's refusal to allow Eastern National additional terminals at 40 Edgware Road and Connaught Square on a LondonSouthend express service. Cronshaw's licence expired on February 28, 1959, and was stated at the inquiry to have been "allowed to run on because it was known that the application to run-to Southend.was.pending." As the Minister points out, the law does not allow. a licence -to. be extended pending variation proceedings. An -application for a new licence to continue the service was not lodged until March 6, 1959. Consequently, the licence had expired and the variation granted was invalid.Therefore, the Minister had nothing to decide on the appeal relating to Cronshaw. He has dismissed the appeal concerning the refusal to grant Eastern National additional picking-up points. The Commissioner, he says, was right to decide in favour of Cronshaw. Because either of the rival applicants was capable of operating the service reasonably satisfactorily, the Commissioner was right to give substantial weight to the admittedly illegal carriage of traffic by Eastern National in 1958, which was not disclosed in applications for licences in that year and 1959. The Minister stresses that conditions should always be clearly expressed, which was not the case with Cronshaw's licence. He also points out that the LondonBlackbushe service would have beers fundamentally altered by adding a route from London to Southend. So radical a change should not be made by varying conditions. Cronshaw's should have applied for a newlicence. A route from Ldridon to London Airport should also nor have been added to Cronshaw's licence at an earlier date.