Stately homes v.

20th September 1968, Page 94

20th September 1968

Page 94

Page 94, 20th September 1968 — Stately homes v.

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rugger matches

• West Yorkshire Road Car Co. Ltd. applied in Leeds on Tuesday to the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners for 19 additional excursions from Bradford to stately homes and other places of interest and to smaller rugby matches played away by Bradford Northern Football Club: Wallace Arnold and Associated Companies objected to the application.

Mr. W. R. Hargrave, for the applicant, said that in September 1967 the company took over Ledgards of Bradford which Was authorized to serve some of the club's away matches and the present application was being made to complete the list, but with a two-vehicle limitation.

Mr. G. W. Rhodes, deputy traffic superintendent, Bradford, West Yorkshire, said that, in addition to stately homes, he had heard requests to run half-day tours to the Lake District and to view well-dressing in Derbyshire.

The company had lost football passengers through being unable to operate to every away match. He had seen 200 to 300 people at Morley Street, one of the two picking-up points being applied for, waiting in the rain to board Wallace Arnold coaches and passengers could not understand why West Yorkshire could not carry them.

Mr. N. Beaumont, West Yorkshire licensing officer and ex-traffic manager of Ledgards, said the applicant's football licences had not been allowed completely to lapse before the take-over but only one or two football excursions from Bradford had been operated in 1966 /67.

Mr. J. T. Harker, a club supporter, said he had travelled four or five times to away matches with Wallace Arnold but having now joined the supporters' club he wanted to travel with the group by West Yorkshire. He preferred, however, to go in a private party direct from its headquarters.

The licensing officer of Wallace Arnold, Mr. W. J. King, said it held licences to all destinations applied for except two. It had had poor response to its own stately home excursions but the football ones were well patronized and over seven vehicles had been operated to each away match last season.

Bradford's match record had deteriorated this year and from experience it was to be expected that support for away matches would drop rapidly if play did not improve immediately.

Mr. Hargrave suggested that passengers would prefer a designated seat but Mr. King said that so long as people did not have to queue this was not a necessity. He agreed that, due to loading difficulties, passengers might have to wait up to 15 minutes on occasions before boarding Wallace Arnold coaches in Morley Street.

The Commissioners said that West Yorkshire should be allowed greater variety of destination to stately homes and granted that part of the application. They limited the football excursion grant to one vehicle for an experimental period of one year.