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a As the operator who provided a coach for our club
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has told us he is intending 'eking it off the road, we are considering -unning it ourselves. Would it be possible !o tax it as a private car if the coach was run by the club and no fares collected on it? 4dditionally would a member only holding 9n ordinary driving licence be entitled to drive it? Also what would be the cost of insurance?
A We must first point out that the official
attitude towards determining whether passengers are carried for hire or reward is more rigorous than usually assumed. Thus any payment made to a club or society which entitles passengers to be carried in one of its own vehicles constitutes hire or reward even though payment is not directly related to journeys made.
It would therefore seem advisable before you become involved in financial commitments in connection with purchasing and operating the coach to discuss your proposition with the clerk to your local Traffic Commissioner.
If, however, it was subsequently established that you would not be carrying for hire or reward then it would be possible to register the coach for excise duty purposes as a "private car" at the new rate of £25 a year which would correspondingly result in it being 'subject to annual "private car" tests as applicable to its age. Similarly only the normal driving licence would be necessary.
As regards insurance, this would obviously depend upon negotiation with your insurance company or broker, the number of passengers you would normally carry and the financial cover you would wish to provide. But as a random example, a 31-seater coach costing £4,120 could incur an annual insurance premium of £102.