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OFT enters Hull bus war
Page 19
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• The long-running battle between Hull independent Good News Travels and incumbent operator Kingston upon Hull City Transport is to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading following complaints from both companies.
Allegations of predatory pricing are among complaints that have been lodged. Although the allegations refer to "promotional pricing" by KIICT earlier this year, Good News has now deregistered most of the competing routes following an attack on KHCT subsidiary Citylink.
When Good News launched its Hull City services last year, KHCT alleged collusion between other independent operators and complained of passing off against Good News Travel.
GNT complained in turn, when K NCI implemented low fares on competing services and also complained to the OFT when it was served with an eviction notice from the city's bus station.
In March KHCT took over independent operator Citylink and launched directly competing services in May with six double-deckers.
The Citylink routes were registered two or three minutes ahead of Good News and Rhodes Coaches on similar routes with identical route numbers. The independent has now decided to virtually pull out following the halving of its takings.
GNT's Traffic Manager Chris Limbach acknowledges that the OFT investigation is now of academic interest: "With the cut in our takings, there was little point in carrying on" he says.
OFT investigations can take months to conclude.