Substitution Case Requires No "Need," Tribunal Reminded
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A PPEALING to the Transport r-V Tribunal in London, last week, A. T. Marriott, Ltd„ Bridport Road, Sheffield, 9, claimed that the Yorkshire Licensing Authority had been side-tracked into an irrelevant issue when deciding on their application. Mr. M. V. Argyle, for the company, said they had sought to substitute a 71-ton articulated outfit on A licence in place of a 2i-ton vehicle and atrailer on special-A licence.
By giving up an 11-year-old petrol vehicle and using a modern oil-engined articulated outfit, they would have an increased payload of only 15 cwt. They had in mind the smallest vehicle of its kind it was possible to buy, which would giye more efficient and economical service than the present one.
Marriolt's did specialized work, he explained. Their main customers were a Rotherham boilerrnaking concern, for which they carried large, unwieldy loads, usually comparatively light for their bulk. The weights of these loads seldom approached the payload of the vehicles.
In his decision, the Licensing Authority appeared to have applied the test which would be necessary for an entirely new A licence. Marriott's merely sought to do the same work with a more modern and efficient vehicle, so the question of customer need, into which the Authority had been side-tracked, did not arise in this case.
For the British Transport Commission, Mr. J. R. C. Samuel-Gibbon contended that the application involved a considerable increase in carrying capacity which had to be justified. The evidence showed that out-of-gauge loalis had decreased, and that last February—one of the two months for which records were available concerning the vehicle in question-33 per cent. of outward loads consisted of general traffic.
Allowing the appeal, Mr. Hubert Hull, president, said two matters had turned the scale in favour of Marriott's. First, the increased carrying capacity had not been Sought and, secondly, although they were gaining a small increase, they were not at the moment using the whole available capacity.