Tours grant to rural operator of unprofitable stage routes
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ADEVON coach proprietor was granted an extension to his excursion and tours services at an all-day sitting of the Western Traffic Commissioners at Exeter on Monday.
Mr. Daniel Perrie, operating with his wife as D. and M. Perrie from Market House, Hatwill, Beaworthy, Devon, applied for licences for 24 additional tours, together with further picking-up points at Cookworthy Moor, Bradford and Dun sland Cross and a deletion of vehicle allowance
Objecting to his application was Mr. F. R. ,Guscott, of Station Road, Hatwill, who also applied for licences for 26 excursions and tours from Hatwill. Mr. Guscott's application was in turn the subject of objections by Mr. Perrie and a third coach operator, Borns Tours.
Objections were also made by D. and M. Perrie to an application by W. J. 0. Jennings Ltd., of Bude, Cornwall, for request stops on their express bus service from Bude to Okehampton.
.Mr. B. Knox, for Perrie, said the business had been bought five years ago from a
• Mr. Ashton, who had operated it for 35 years. The existing 24 tours and excursions had been running for the whole 40 years and, in addition, he operated five stage caliage services in the same neighbourhood which were run at a loss.
Mr. Perrie said he wished to extend his tours and excursions facilities because he was serving a sparsely populated area and his customers' destination requirements had altered. Replying to Mr. E. Chegwin, for Mr. Guscott, he denied that he had duplicated Mr. Guscott's application. He produced his p.s.v. 66C for January to November, 1966, to show that on many tours his coaches were half-empty. Following requests from customers he had obtained a special dispensation to run an excursion to the Bath and West Agricultural Show at Shepton Mallet, but had to cancel it as he had received only one booking.
Mr. Guscott said he operated his two coaches for private hire and under contract with the education authority to provide a school bus service. He had been operating for 12 months on his own, following 10 years as a driver for Borns Tours. Five residents of Beaworthy and nearby villages, giving supporting evidence, said they knew him personally and four that they had not heard of Mr. Perrie's tours. A general objection—on the grounds of road safety, to the further use of narrow unclassified roads by coaches—was made by Sgt. Biggs, for the Devon Police. This brought an intervention by Mr. W. J. Knapman, clerk to Okehampton RDC, who said his council felt that additional excursions would be of considerable benefit to the aged people in the isolated villages and hamlets.
Mr. Perrie said he had been in touch with the police on the road safety question and had a 12-seater minibus on order for picking.-up purposes where narrow roads were involved.
Mr. G. Stephenson, managing director of W. J. 0. Jennings Ltd., said his company operated an express bus service as a replacement for the closed Bude to Okehampton railway line. He was applying for request stops as a result or representations from inhabitants of the villages en route who had no reliable means of getting to and from work. In his objection, Mr. Perrie maintained that several of the proposed stops duplicated his own stage carriage services which would then be completely unviable. Support for the application was given by Mr. H. C. England, for Devon County Council, Mr. D. E. J. Veale, for Holsworthy RDC and Mr. Knapman for Okehampton RDC.
The chairman of the Traffic Commissioners, Mr. J. R. C. Samuel-Gibbon, said with regard to Mr. Guscott's application they had to bear in mind that he did not hold a road service licence and, in particular, he did not provide a stage carriage service. "One of the things we have been required to do is to preserve these services, many of which are unremunerative in rural areas." he said. "We feel that if we did make a grant it would be at the inevitable expense of the existing operator, whose returns from existing tours and excursions would then have to be divided between two people, neither of whom would be gratified at his share of the spoils. We are not able to grant Mr. Guscott's application."
In granting the additional tours applied for by Mr. Perrie, Mr. Samuel-Gibbon said they would also accept Cookworthy Moor and Dunsland Cross as picking-up points. Bradford would be permitted as a pickingup point, but would be limited to the use of the minibus. "We feel here the proper course is to proceed cautiously and see how Mr. Perrie gets on with this. If this limitation does give rise to difficulties then he can always come back and tell us about them. Then we shall probably have to go and have a look at these roads with the assistance of Sgt. Biggs." The Commissioners could not agree to deletion of vehicle allowance limitations.
Dealing with the application by W. J. 0. Jennings Ltd. for request stops, Mr. SamuelGibbon said they would be granted in respect of Burnards House Cross and Cookbury Forestry Houses and refused in respect of Anvil Corner and Chestermoor Cross. A Monday-Friday limitation would be granted in respect of Lanend Cross, Henderbarrow Cross and Pattacott Cross.