RHA may ground
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0-licence pilot scheme
WILL the Road Haulage Association give the go-ahead for a nationwide scheme of objecting to operators' licence applicants? Its policy is hanging in the balance this week as an area pilot scheme draws to a close.
The trial run—in the North West (Eastern) area—comes up for assessment at the next meeting of the RHA's licensing committee, due shortly.
In a six-month experiment which finishes at the end of this month, the NW(E) area has been free to go ahead with objections to 0-licence applications in the North West on the grounds that the applicant's operating centre is unsuitable. The Association has meanwhile not been accepting recom mendations from other areas for objections on this basis alone, but where an additional cause for objection arises, the objections sub-committee (two members of the RHA executive committee and the chairman of the licensing committee) will still consider objections raised in any area.
Misunderstanding
During the experimental period in the North West, objections have been lodged in 75 cases, of which 37 were withdrawn after it became clear that applicants had misunderstood the 0-licence application form and had given their home address instead of their operating base.
Of the remaining 38, 23 went to public inquiry and nine of the RHA objections to these were successful. The other 14 disputed applications were granted wholly or in part. Fifteen objections are pending.
The RHA is appealing to the Transport Tribunal against three of the grants—to Cash and McCall, 3. Shepherd, and B. and S. Transport.
The results of these appeals it is understood, weigh heavily in the Association's decision whether or not to continue the objection scheme, extend it nationwide, or abandon it.
A spokesman for the North Western traffic area of the DoE told CM this week that enforcement staff no longer inspected applicants' premises before a licence application was dealt with. Instead, more information about the size and equipment of the premises was sought on the form requesting supplementary information about financial position and so on, which is sent out by LAs with the application form.
And, following the amend ments in the 1974 Road Traffic Act, a further question, concerning premises, has been added to the new print of application form GV79.
The requirement concerning suitable premises was included in the 1974 Act largely at the instigation of the RHA, which considered that the possession of a proper base should have been made a prerequisite of licence application right from the first.
Warnings
Even in the Northern traffi area, where the LA and hi deputy have issued repeate warnings to operators an drivers about basing or parkin; vehicles in unsuitable place5 it appears to require deter mined objection for lack of ; suitable base to result ii refusal of an application. Here as elsewhere, information oz the whereabouts of the named base is requested on the supple mentary information form, bu lack of a suitable base doe not lead to refusal unless ai objection is pressed.
Even then, success is no guaranteed. In a recent Nor them case involving a sof drinks company which had con verted its drivers to owner operation, a local authorit objection on the grounds tha the vehicles would be " based' on the street or other unsuit able places was not successfu —though here the issue wa: not clearcut, because of ttu effects of an earlier grant.
Whatever the RHA licensini committee recommends, nc early policy decision is likely CM was told this week thai the RHA national council will not now meet until January so no decision about extending or abandoning the scheme can be taken before then.