Blackburn stops bus stop stops
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• A local council's ban on buses laying over on a busy town thoroughfare has been comfinned by the traffic commissioner. Martin Albu, commissioner for the North West, backed the traffic condition, imposed by Lancashire County Council. This read: "No vehicles used in the provision of a local service, except those services registered between Blackburn and Queen's Park or Shadsworth, may stop along Perry Street, Blackburn, for longer than is necessary for passengers to board and alight." This was opposed by Richard Hilliard, trading as Accrington Coachways, but he withdrew his objection during a Blackburn public inquiry.
The county council said that since deregulation operators had moved the tenniunus of a number of services from the Boulevard to Ainsworth Street and Penny Street. That created traffic congestion difficulties. Discussions were held with the operators and there was a voluntary agreement that Ainsworth Street and Penny Street only be used for picking up and setting down passengers. The county imposed the condition after Hilliard applied to move his terminal from the Boulevard to Penny Street, in breach of the voluntary agreement All the major operators had indicated that if Hilliard moved his terminal to Penny Street, they would wish to do the same.
Hilliard said he wanted to move to Penny Street because often he could not get on the bus stand allocated to him at the Boulevard because it was blocked in. At the Boulevard there were usually two buses belonging to another operator on his stand and he could not pick up. It was the same all the way to Accrington. If he could move to Penny Street, he might be able to pick some passengers up.
Hilliard said he proposed to go to Penny Street for five minutes to load passengers and then go. Albu agreed that there was nothing in the condition that would prevent Hilliard picking up and setting down in Penny Street. Hilliard said he would withdraw his objection.