Joint service wrangle
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• A row between the Berks Bucks Bus Company, trading as The Bee Line, and London Country Bus (North West), over a jointlyoperated service in High Wycombe, has led to their appearance at a public inquiry.
South Eastern Traffic Commissioner Brigadier Michael Turner said the service had been registered in 1986 by The Bee Line in its previous guise as Alder Valley (North). It was registered as a joint service and the registration was accepted on the understanding that vehicles from both operators would be authorised to operate on parts of the route, though the timetable lodged did not show the exact split.
By early 1990 The Bee Line decided that, as co-ordinator, it could operate the whole of the service itself. LCB (North West) did not agree, and continued to operate its section of the route in competition with The Bee Line.
Turner suggested that the original registration be cancelled and at the same time the two operators give 42 days notice for whatever part of the service they wished to operate in the future.
Barry Prior, for The Bee Line, said his company had already done that and the 42 days notice period had now expired.
Turner then said he was prepared to accept a registration from LCB (North West) immediately, waiving the 42 days notice requirements.
The Commissioner said that in future, when joint services were registered, he would need a timetable for each operator and a copy of a written agreement between the two operators.