Licensing Authority "Demolishes" His Own Plan-
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Railw_ 1-1
y Submission
WHETHER co-ordinated road-rail vit services or through coach journeys were the best means for transport for R.A.F. personnel was a question again ;considered in a number of appeals on ,hich the Minister of Transport has -given decision. In one case, in which the Railway Executive appealed against the decision of the Western Licensing Authority to permit 12 express services to be run from various stations, seven licences have been revoked.
The licences had been granted to Messrs. Ellis and Bull, Moreton-inMarsh, Pulliam and Sons (Coaches), Ltd., Messrs. Fluck and Sons, Notgrove, Cheltenham, and G. and K. Barnes, Ltd., Dauntsey, Wilts. The Ministry inspector, Mr. R. L. H. Hiscott, recommended that the appeals be dismissed in each case, but the Minister was unable to support the decision of the Licensing Authority in its entirety.
• The case for the respondents was that the coach fare was less than that of the road-rail service, with one exception, and that the coach timings were more convenient. The Railway Executive claimed that no evidence of need had been called for these services, and that illegal operation by private hire did not prove need. It was added that the Licensing Authority had • created the road-rail system and was demolishing it in his decisions.
Refused Renewal
Similar points were raised by Coach Services 1947 (Thetford), Ltd., in appealing against the Eastern Licensing Authority's refusal to allow an express service from Barnham (R.A.F. Station) to London. The R.E. and Eastern Counties Omnibus Co., Ltd., were respondents.
A licence for this service was granted in June, 1949, expiring in 1950. When the application for renewal was heard, the respondents objected and decision was deferred until appeals on other similar cases had been decided. The service continued until the grant was refused in October, 1951. The appeal was dismissed with costs.
The appeal of Messrs. A. F. Braybrooke and Sons against the decision of the Eastern Licensing Authority whereby a West Raynham (R.A.F. Station)-London service was excluded from licences held, also failed. The RE. and Eastern Counties Omnibus Co., Ltd., indicated that their services were adequate, and the inspector expressed the opinion that a single coach was wasteful when so many people were travelling.
Comfort, convenience and cost were ancillary and subordinate matters, declared Mr. W. Tudor Davies in his, observations on the appeal of Morley's Grey Coaches, Ltd., against the refusal of the Eastern Licensing Authority to authorize services to London from Feltwell, Lakenheath and Mildenhall aerodromes. The appeal was dismissed. Whether a three-day tour was, in fact, a "'disguised express service" was a point raised in an appeal against a decision of the Western Licensing Authority, granting Taylors Central Garages (Exeter), Ltd., two extra threeday tours and. another seven-day tour on existing licences.
The appellants (Railway Executive, Southern and Western National Omnibus companies, on behalf of Royal Blue Express Services, and Greenslades, Tours, Ltd. argned that the additional tours competed with existing facilities and would take the cream of the traffic, whereas the existing express services had to be run all the year round. The R.E. did not object to the seven-day tour, but held that this was a "wicked grant, one of extreme gravity because it might be done again."
The respondent dweltupon the popularity of the all-in tour. On this point, the Minister's inspector declared . that although •evidence showed there was a desire for all-in tours, this was no more than a desire, and so did not justify a grant. The appeal was upbelcl and the licence variations revoked.: `.
Two appeals concerning express SerT vices in Scotland also failed. In the first, the appellants were the LE., Scottish Omnibuses, Ltd., W. Alexander arid Sons, Ltd., David Lawson, Ltd., and David MacBrayne, Ltd. The respondent was Neil Beaton, Ltd., Portree, which operates a Portree (Isle of Skye)-Glasgow service, The inspector held that by modern standards the Isle of Skye was not adequately served, but the addition of one coach a week to the existing services made little difference.
In the other case, Mr. R. G. McKeand appealed against the refusal of the Scottish Licensing Authority to grant a licence for a Newton Stewart Glasgow service. The appeal failed.