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'Pestered night and day' coach hirer tells court

20th April 1973, Page 25
20th April 1973
Page 25
Page 25, 20th April 1973 — 'Pestered night and day' coach hirer tells court
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Keywords : Greenock

• Wm Caldwell, coach hirer of Dalriada Road, Greenock, had his psv licence revoked by the Scottish Traffic Commissioners at Glasgow last week when he appeared to show cause under Section 127 (7) of the 1960 Road Traffic Act. He was a taxi operator initially in a Greenock housing area with 17,000 population and, Mr Caldwell said, he acquired a coach and operated thereafter as a taxi operator and coach hirer.

He told the Commissioners: "I was pestered night and day by 17,000 people riving in the schemes" but had not undertaken service work under that pressure. He had been convicted four times and in each instance the Sheriff had indicated sympathy for his position, while fining him for breaches. These included taking parties of children to school, under pressure from parents, shipyard workers to Scott-Lithgow's yards and shop workers to their employment. The Provost and Town Council of Greenock gave a letter of support to the court indicating dissatisfaction with the Western SMT service in Greenock; they were, they said, taking up the whole position of town transport with their MP_ Local councillors also supported Mr Caldwell in providing these services.

Mr A. B. Birnie, chairman of the Commissioners, said that they were not there to inquire into the whole question of transport in Greenock: what they were doing was to look into the conduct of Mr Caldwell. He had applied for a licence in November 1971 and had been refused but had not appealed. He had been warned about taking the law into his own hands.

Mr Birnie said that he would emphasize again that they were not there to consider the services in Greenock. That sort of question could be pursued in other ways before the Commissioners. Nor were they considering the need for any service where this operator had operated illegally. They were considering convictions for illegal operation without a road service licence and this after a public warning. Pressure from the public was pleaded and doubtless that was what was put before the Commissioners in 1971 but he had not appealed against their refusal.

The Commissioners had already given a warning and could not repeat that. There could not be a repeated deliberate overriding of the will of Parliament, said Mr Birnie.

The Commissioners decided to revoke the psv licence for one vehicle, licence for which was due to expire on April 20 1973; as from that date he would have no vehicle. They would also refuse his application for a second vehicle.


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