Free Travel : Host of Appeals
Page 62
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NEARLY 320 operators in the East Midland Area were respondents to appeals by the London and North Eastern, London, Midland and Scottish, and Great Western Railway companies, heard at Nottingham, on Monday, against a decision of the East Midland Traffic Commissioners to permit excursion and tour operators to carry children free of charge up to the age of five years.
Mr. B. de H. Pereira appeared for he appellants. Many of the road opeffitors attended personally-, but a nuffiber of legal representatives appeared for large interests. Mr. A. M. Lyons, ,K:C., anpearecl for the Leicester and District Bus Co., Ltd., Allen's, Ltd., and the various members of the Midlands Area Coach and Transport Association; Mr. S. D. Harrington represented the Birmingham anth Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., Trent Motor Traction Co., Ltd., Lincolnshire Road Car Co., Ltd., and Barton Transport, Ltd.; Mr. T. J, Lewis for the Lincolnshire Road Transport Association, and Mr. Dawson for the Midland General Omnibus Co., Ltd., and the Mansfield and District. Bus Co.
After an all-day hearing, devoted to the opening speech by Mr. Pereira, the inquiry was adjourned.
Mr. Pereira said that, following an inquiry in May, 1934, the Commission2rs reserved their decision on the question of the age-limit, and, in the meantime, operators were told to carry on as previously. Nothing was done until August, 1935, when the Commissioners announced that as from January I, 1936, children up to the age of five years could be carried free of charge on excursions and tours, Mr: Pereira said there should be uniformity in such a matter throughout the country, and, out of a dozen traffic areas, five had established a three-year B44 age limit, two areas a five-year limit, and the other five were still considering the subject. Even the road operatars themselves were desirous of some uniformity, declared Mr. Pereira, who put in a list of 114 of the biggest coach proprietOrs in the country, the larger proportion of which had established the practice of carrying children free of charge under three years old.
For 90 years it had been the railways' practice to put the age limit at three years.