Roses war over coaches to Poland
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• An application for a coach service from the North to Harwich en route to Poland met with strong opposition from 14. Lancashire and Yorkshire operators last wed.. At a joint sitting of the North Western and Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners in Manchester, Carrierways Ltd. of London, .applied for an express service with picking-up points in Bradford, Manchester, Nottingham and Leicester for passengers travelling to or from points in Europe on the route of the applicant's Poland Express Service.
One single-decker would run daily from May 17 to September 30, with a duplicate vehicle in the peak season, and one coach during the weekends in winter.
The service was for Polish people in England and Poland to visit relatives, said Mr. C. Fay. for the applicant. At present passengers from the North had to go to London, stay overnight and join the train at Liverpool Street Station for onward travel to Parkeston Quay. The journey continued via the day-ferry to the Hook of Holland. There were no direct connecting facilities with this ferry but Carrierways would undertake to withdraw its coach should British Rail introduce such a service. The night-ferry could not be used because of the early morning arrival and departure times in Poland.
In addition to those going on the cheaper Poland Express to Poznan and Warsaw, Carrierways wished to carry in its coach passengers going to West Germany on the Express and those travelling via the firstclass train service to Poland. Also to be included were passengers on the Moscow Star Express to Russia and customers of its competitor's Anglo-Polish Enterprises coach service to Poland.
Captain T. A. Kutek, chairman of Car
rierways, said he was negotiating with the West Yorkshire Road Car Co. Ltd. to hire the coaches but he wished to hold the licence for ease of surrender and greater control.
Some 5,000 Poles visited their homeland yearly and 3,000 came here. In 1967, 1,235 people travelled from Bradford and Leeds and 1,015 from Manchester. The Moscow Express carried about 600 people. Many passengers were elderly, unable to speak English and the overnight stay in London was a daunting prospect. Community responsibility among the Polish people would ensure private-car lifts for passengers wishing to catch the coach service at 2.30 a.m. in Bradford and 3.30 a.m. in Manchester, he said. Mr. F. D. Walker for Yelloway Motor Services Ltd. and Premier Travel Ltd. pointed out that they operated a Manchester-Harwich service to the night ferry and that as existing operators they should be allowed to introduce any new facilities.
Mr. S. Kalinowski, a Manchester textile researcher, said he had returned to Poland in 1966 and 1967 by car but this year was using Carrierways. He would prefer to get his children up to catch a 3.30 a.m. coach than to travel via London, he said.
The hearing was adjourned.