Fosse Travel forgiven
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• No action has been taken against Belgrave Coaches of Leicester, trading as Fosse Travel, for the admitted nonoperation of a local service. Eastern Traffic Commissioner Brigadier Compton Boyd has decided that the loss of a county council subsidy amounted to a reasonable excuse.
David Smith, public transport team leader of Leicestershire County Council, said that on Monday 18 April the council had found out that Fosse Travel had not operated a service between Leicester and Rearsby on the previous Friday and Saturday, and that it had not been operating on the Monday. A service had operated at 17:20hrs, however, and the council had assumed that the company had been able to sort out its immediate problems. No service had been operated on the Tuesday (19 April) either and Midland Fox had been asked to take it over from 12 noon on a "free of fares" basis.
A letter had been sent by recorded delivery to Fosse Travel, giving immediate notice of the withdrawal of subsidy for the contract on the basis that the service had not operated. Smith agreed that the letter was dated 18 April and that Fosse operated other contract services for the council.
Belgrave director N Jackson said the company had operated the first three scheduled runs on the Friday, but the two drivers allocated to the service had refused to make any furth er journeys because they had felt the running time had been insufficient.
Boyd commented that it was the company that had registered the service. Jackson replied that any alteration to the timings would have to be approved by the county. He had had lengthy negoitiations with the two drivers but they had wanted extra money there and then and had left. The company had attempted to find new drivers over the weekend, and it had been able to find a part-time driver who had operated the 17:20hrs journey on the Monday. His wife had spoken to the county council on the Monday morning, and she had understood that it would hold the contract in abeyance until lunchtime.
Unfortunately, said Jackson, he personally had not been available until 14:30hrs. He had told a county council representative what had happened.
He had thought he had restored the situation, but on the Tuesday morning the company had received the recorded delivery letter. It had had no choice but to cease operating because it had not been in a position to operate without subsidy for 42 days.