Early bus was always late
Page 22
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• Although several factories at Atherstone, Warwicks, commenced work at 8 am, a Midland Red stage carriage service which catered mainly for the factories' employees had for many years not been scheduled to arrive until 8.02 am. This was stated at a public sitting of the W. Midland Traffic Commissioners last week in Birmingham when Mr M. V. Blower and Mr P. Crowley, trading as Chris's Cabs, applied for a new stage service licence to authorize an early morning service between Birchley Heath and Atherstone, and to bring the fare scale into line with that of Midland Red, which was contesting the application on the grounds of passenger abstraction.
In support of the application letters from three of the companies concerned were produced in which it was stated that the Midland Red service often arrived late and that even when running to schedule employees were still late for work on many occasions.
Giving evidence on behalf of Midland
Red, Mr P. Kirby said that, if granted, the proposed service would cover much of the existing Midland Red route and he added that Midland Red had recently applied for, and been granted. authority to operate an earlier service with an arrival time of 7.54 am. However, it was pointed out in court that the Midland Red application had, in fact, been lodged after that made by Chris's
Cabs.
At this stage • the chairman of the
Commissioners, Mr John Else. said that he felt that when Midland Red had made its application, Chris's Cabs had not been notified, and therefore have had no chance of lodging an objection.
The Commissioners decided to grant Chris's Cabs a licence to operate the service, leaving Birchley Heath at 7.30 am and arriving at Atherstone at 7.52 am, on the understanding that a licence of a similar nature held by Chris's Cabs would be surrendered and the fare structure brought up to the Midland Red scale.