Northern Roadways' Triple Win : Picking-up Ban Removed
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THREE appeal decisions in favour of Northern Roadways, Ltd., have I been given by the Minister of Transport. In one, he upheld the Scottish Licensing Authority's grant of a licence for a GlasgowBirmingham service, and deleted the condition imposed by the West Midland Licensing Authority that only passengers originating from Glasgow could be picked up in Birmingham.
In the second appeal, he again supported the Scottish Authority, who sanctioned file operation of a Glasgow-Bournemouth service, but disagreed with the inspector who heard the case. In the third, he dismissed submissions against the operation of tours from Glasgow and Edinburgh to an hotel in Ramsgate owned by the principals of the concern.
The first appeal had three parts. The Railway Executive, Western S.M.T. Co., Ltd., W. C. Standerwick, Ltd., Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., Scout Motor Services, Ltd., Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd.. North Western Road Car Co., Ltd., and Majestic Express Motors, Ltd., con tested the Scottish Licensing Authority's sanctioning of a GlasgowBirmingham service to be operated by Northern Roadways, Ltd.
Northern Roadways sought the withdrawal of the restriction imposed by the West Midland Licensing Authority that only return passengirs could be picked up in Birmingham. B.M.M.O., Ribble and North Western appealed against the West Midland Authority's refusal to allow them to run a joint CoventryGlasgow service.
Inspector's Report Sir Robert Tolerton, the inspector who heard the case in Glasgow on March 24-26, held that there was need for the road services as sought by both sides to the case, and recommended that the restriction applied by the West Midland Authority be deleted.
The Minister dismissed the appeal against Northern Roadways' service, ordered that the fare-table be amended to provide for passengers starting from Birmingham, and allowed B.M.M.O., Ribble and North Western to operate a Coventry-Glasgow service subject to the same frequency and vehicle allowance as those applicable to Northern Roadways' BirminghamGlasgow service.
The appellants in the second case were the Railway Executive, Western S. M.T.. Standerwick, Ribble, Scout, B.M.M.O., W. Alexander and Son, Ltd., D. Lawson, Ltd., Western National Omnibus Co., Ltd., Lowland Motorwar s. Ltd., Cotter's Motor Tours, Ltd., Yelloway Motor Services, Ltd., and Associated Motorways, Ltd. They opposed the Scottish Licensing Authority's grant to Northern Road
s for a Glasgow-Bournemouth service.
After holding an inquiry in Edinburgh on December 4-5, 1952, Mr. J. G. Leechman, Q.C., came to the conclusion that the rail facilities were reasonably adequate. The proposed
service, he reported, was not desirable unless it was held to be in the public interest to run a direct service to any south-coast resort to which periodically 30 or more passengers wished to travel from Glasgow, a service which would by-pass London and abstract traffic from existing facilities.
Minister Disagrees The Minister considered that a sufficiently strong case had been made out to support the Authority's decision, and dismissed the appeal, despite Mr. Leechman's recommendations.
The third appeal was by the Railway Executive, Western S.M.T. and Scottish Omnibuses, Ltd., against the Scottish Licensing Authority's decision to allow Northern Roadways to run tours from Glasgow and Edinburgh lo Ramsgate.
Mr. W. Grant, Q.C., who held an inquiry in Glasgow on April 20, recommended the dismissal of the appeal. He said that the people who would patronize the tours were those to whom travel by existing services would he of little interest. Therefore, the abstraction of traffic would be small. The Minister rejected the appeal.