Holland tours for old age pensioners only 'unique application' succeeds
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WT was described as a "unique application"—for an excursions and tours licence solely to convey old age pensioners on trips in Holland—was granted by the Northern Traffic Commissioners at Penrith, Cumberland, last week.
Ernest Titterington and Son, The Garage, Blencowe, near Penrith, applied for a licence for two vehicles to start at Whitehaven and call at various pickingup points en route to Rotterdam via Hull Docks. Mr. T. H. Campbell Wardlaw represented the company.
There were seven objectors—Ribble Motor Services Ltd., East Yorkshire Motor Services Ltd., Cumberland Motor Services Ltd., United Automobile Services Ltd., G. E. Brown and Son, Northern General Transport Co. Ltd., and Florence Motors Ltd. Mr. J. L. R. Croft appeared for all the objectors except Florence Motors which was represented by Mr. Richard 0. Sutton.
During the hearing Ribble, EYMS and Brown withdrew their objections on the grounds that what was being asked was not a facility to and from the docks but for vehicles going on to the Continent.
Mr. Gordon Titterington, a partner in the firm, said he was prepared to restrict passengers to old age pensioners and their wives. The intention was to leave the two vehicles at Arnhem for the season and take the elderly people on tours in conjunction with Senior Citizens Holiday Ltd.
Mr. George Gordon Hepburn, managing director of a Carlisle travel agency and Senior Citizens Holiday Ltd., said the Holland tours would be operated from 1968. He had already been to Holland and provisionally booked 700 beds for that year.
The cost would be about £33 all in, he said, adding: "We turned to Titterington because of its complete integrity and reliability.” Supporting evidence was given by three women members of old people's welfare committees who spoke of difficulties in providing a variety of holidays for the elderly. They needed a tour on which they would be cared for and a great many of them wanted to go abroad.
Mr. William Jones, general manager of Florence Motors, said his company was prepared to operate tours specially for old people. "This is part and parcel of our service and we would give drivers instructions to take special care of the passengers." Mr. Keith Holmes, Northern General traffic manager, said his company was probably the largest operator of excursions and tours in the Newcastle and Sunderland areas. It had had a licence to use the Hull ferry since 1965 but as yet had not done so because there had not been the demand it had expected.
Mr. Croft said Titterington was a local operator within a limited radius and was now seeking to operate an express service of some considerable magnitude in a territory which it had not served in any way throughout the life of the Road Traffic Act. It proposed to draw on the catchment areas of other companies and only 33 per cent of its passengers would come from Carlisle and West Cumberland.
Mr. Campbell-Wardlaw said that, as far as he was aware, the application was unique in the Northern area.
Mr. Hepburn also put in letters of support from the secretary of the Northumberland Old People's Welfare Committee and the chairman of Carlisle Old People's Welfare Council.
Mr. Herbert Bewick, deputy chairman of the Traffic Commissioners, said they had concluded from the evidence that there were old age pensioners who would avail themselves of the service provided by the application.
"We thought that the objectors had not established that they were in a position to offer services such as the applicant was offering. We thought that, as this service was being restricted to old age pensioners, it could not be said to establish a superfluity of transport in the area."