More Coach Tours in Late Season Allowed
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LATE season coach tours are becoming LATE
popular with old age pensioners, the North Western Traffic Commissioners were told last week. Mr. A. Robinson, managing director of W. Robinson and Sons (Gt. Harwood), Ltd., said elderly people liked them because resorts were less crowded and things were cheaper.
Robinson's wanted to extend the period of operation for excursions and tours so that those which started at the end of September could finish in October. They faced strong opposition--Ribble Motor Services, Ltd.; Yelloway Motor Services, Ltd.; W. C. Standerwick, Ltd.; Scout Motor Services, Ltd.; and the North Western Road Car Co., Ltd.
For the objectors. Mr. F. D. Walker said that in his experience most holiday
facilities had finished by the beginning of October and he could not understand people wanting to take their holidays then.
In reply, Mr. H. Backhouse, for Robinson's, called four elderly witnesses who said they liked to take their holidays late in September because of the concession rates and because the resorts were cooler and less, crowded. Given the opportunity they. would use Robinson's to go away on holiday in the last week of September.
Mr. FL Allen, Yelloway's general manager, and Mr. G. Dawes, Ribble traffic assistant, both produced details of their companies' facilities and claimed that there was no difficulty in catering for late season passengers, Mr_ Walker pointed out that the late
tours season was a highly competitive period and no real evidence of need had been put forward by Robinson's. However, the objections would be withdrawn if a grant were restricted to tours covering Torquay, Bournemouth, Brighton, Newquay, Ilfracombe and Folkestone, provided a limit of one vehicle were imposed on each tour,
Mr. Backhouse replied that it was preposterous to suggest that express operators would be in danger of losing traffic.
Mr. F. Williamson, chairman, said the application would be granted for Torquay, Bournemouth, Brighton, Newquay and Ilfracombe. There would be a one-vehicle limit, and all departures in late September must return to base by October 5,