Easyway a 'bizarre' ban
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• Blackpool bus operator Easyway Bus has become the first independent operator to be banned since deregulation last October.
Easyway was banned this week by North Western traffic commissioner Roy Hutchings after a series of bizarre incidents between the company and competitor, Blackpool Transport Services.
The disagreements between the two companies first came to the notice of the traffic commissioner last month. They appeared before him following an incident in which Jonathan Leach, Easyway's traffic assistant, was said to have deliberately driven a bus at a Blackpool Transport Ser vices bus inspector, knocking him out of the way, before nudging a BTS van out of the bus station.
On that occasion Hutchings adjourned the hearing, but warned he would prohibit services if there were any more stupid incidents.
The following day he heard that Leach had to be removed from the bus station by police on four separate occasions after lying down in front of BTS vehicles.
Hutchings imposed a condition on Easyway, prohibiting its use of the Talbot Road Bus Station, and cancelled the registration of the services operated from there by Easyway. On December 24, Leach deliberately drove his bus on the wrong side of the road to prevent a BTS bus from turning right. He claimed the BTS bus driver had made an obscene gesture at him, and admitted two earlier incidents in which he had twice doubleparked his bus alongside a BTM inspector's van that had been following him.
Hutchings said many private operators seemed to have misunderstood the 1985 Act. They seemed to feel that they could come in and take traffic without any reaction from the established operator and when they experienced competition they thought it was unfair.
Blackpool Transport's initial reaction was unfair in the way it operated duplicate vehicles, but that had stopped following a ruling from his office on the meaning of 'duplication'.
Easyway's boss Jack Mather was not prepared to discipline Leach, and if the situation continued there would be a state of anarchy on the road.
Consequently Hutchings imposed a condition on Easyway's licence prohibiting the use of any vehicle on any local service and he cancelled all Easyway registrations. In view of their financial situation he made no direction under Section 111 of the Act.
El Leach, of Green Hays Avenue, Carleton, Blackpool appeared before Blackpool magistrates on January 9, charged with wilful obstruction of the highway at Springfield Road, Blackpool on December 18. He was not represented and denied the charge. The trial was fixed for February 2.