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Linking Battles Continue
E North Western Traffic Commis sioners have expressed grave dissatisfaction concerning the extent of the irregular linking by excursion operators. This has been disclosed following the Commissioners proposal to attach conditions to all licences. A number of applications to rectify unlicensed linking, which, according to the operators concerned, has been established practice for many years, has already been heard.
Mr. F. Williamson, chairman, in dealing with applications by Scout Motor Services. Ltd., said that the Commissioners had decided that they must exercise more effective control. After allowing limited linking, both of catchment areas and destinations. on some of Scout's licences, the Traffic Commissioners attached a condition making it clear that on the occasions when such linking took place any vehicle which carried passengers for more than one of the stated destinations must be reckoned as two for the purpose of totalling the number of vehicles to be used on any day. When all these cases have been decided, it is likely that, unless their claims are satisfied, north-western excursion operators will seek a test case to appeal to the Minister of Transport on the ground that it has never been estab lished that linking is illegal. They claim that in trying to limit linking, the Commissioners are thwarting the desire to operate economically by causing wasted mileage. Operators also say that linking is not harmful to other forms of transport.
Express operators are gravely concerned, and say that linking destinations amounts to providing shadow express services, whilst the railways' contention is that linking saves vehicles and allows more destinations to be served.
Unless Mr. Williamson can achieve a position which will resolve the conflicting points of view of all parties, one or other of the contestants seems bound to take the matter to Ministerial level.
Private-car Menace
DEVELOPMENTS in the neverending fight by companies with unremunerative services to make ends meet may help to bring home to the public that the only way to retain such services is to use them whenever possible.
When Otterburn and District Coaches
applied to the Northern Traffic Commissioners to delete certain journeys and points on stage-carriage services between Catcleugh and Newcastle upon Tyne, it was stated that on only one occasion during the past three years had the firm been asked to do priv.ate-hire work.
The president of a Women's Institute told the Commissioners that when they used hired coaches they chose the most comfortable vehicles.
Mr. J. A. T. Hanlon, chairman, pointed out that if a particular operator were chosen for private outings because he had a more comfortable coach than the dayto-day operator, local people ran the risk of having no bus service at all. On November 11, Mr. George Brook, general manager of the North Western Road Car Co., Ltd., commenting on the withdrawal of a workmen's bus ,service between Congletou and A. V. Roes aircraft works at Woodford, said that it was because of unfair competition by " pin-money pirates "—the owners of private vehicles.
Mr. Brook said the service, introduced
by request in 1957, had been run off the road by owners of private vehicles who regularly gave lifts to aircraft workers. They had reason to believe that at least one private vehicle with eight seats was running daily on the route.
It was scandalous that a public service
should' be made uneconomic by "sparetime chauffeurs" who were jeopardizing the jobs of workers in another industry. For months the company had run at a loss to keep faith with two or three workers who had no regular private transport.
If operators of unremunerative services
who are suffering in the same way took steps to -draw the attention of the public in the areas concerned to the danger, it might have a beneficial effect. So far as private parties are concerned, however, the only satisfactory solution might be to bring them under licensed control.