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Fare paying adults on school buses

24th May 1980, Page 6
24th May 1980
Page 6
Page 6, 24th May 1980 — Fare paying adults on school buses
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THE GOVERNMENT has kept its promise to allow local education authorities to carry fare-paying adults on school buses which have room. This change in the Transport Bill was last week approved by the Lords by 101 votes to 91 — after Peers on both sides of the House had expressed fears about possibly safety problems.

Commending the new move, Lord Belimn, Under Secretary for the Environment, pointed out that up to now buses provided on contract to education authorities might pick up adults and charge them, but where the authorities themslves owned the vehicles they had no such powers. The amendments allowed the maximum flexibility — it was not only on journeys to and from school that school buSes would be able to carry other passengers, but also at times of the day and the year when they were not required for the primary purposes. The existing duties of authorities to carry pupils free remained unaffected.

Road service licences would be required, and the traffic commissioners would judge services provided by school vehicles just like those provided by any other operator, pointed out Lord Bellwin. The present status of vehicles owned by local education authorities in respect of public service vehicle licensing would be maintained, and operator's licensing would not be required of them. The Government, he added, had carefully considered and rejected the case for imposing restrictions on such vehicles that they did not have at present.

For the Opposition, Lord Underhill said there was now power for an education authority to run a stage bus service during the day, at weekends and during school holidays. At present, if there was a desire to pick up pupils for payment in addition to those entitled to free transport, the consent of the commissioners was needed, and that consent must not be given if other transport facilities were available. Why were those instructions not going to be given to the commissioners with this greatly extended scheme, asked Lord Underhill. The new scheme did not cover merely rural areas, or isolated areas with limited transport, and this could be another example of adopting what appeared to be a useful innovation in order to provide additional transport, and then finding that could severely damage existing services.

The absence of various provisions was most unsatisfactory and even dangerous, added Lord Underhill. Why were the powers of, and facilities for the inspection of public service vehicles not going to apply to a school bus? It has been said that the need for a PSV to have a certificate of initial fitness would not apply, and also excluded was the power of a certifying officer of a PSV examiner to prohibit the driving of an unfit public service vehicle.

Lord Underhill asked why a school bus which was to be used on a local bus stage service, was not required to have a PSV operator's licence. And why should a school bus running on a local stage bus service not have the requirement which every other stage bus service would require — that a person should not drive a public service vehicle unless licenced to d Existing bus services v! not be damaged becaus( else apart, the commissi< would hardly give a ken that were so.

In the Government's road service licensing gay adequate safeguard ag unfair competition.

It was right that there be concern about safety, Lord Bellwin, but local au ities were fully respon: bodies, and in the Got ment's view could be trust maintain safety standards. in any case annual testing L the road-worthiness dire would apply to these as 1 other large passenger vehic On the point of the dri licences, the Government erred to leave it to the authorities to decide s qualifications to require of drivers. But all such veh involved would require service licences, with al obligations attached to that Lord Teviot thought it In very dangerous area to local authorities to use school transport for other poses — except that per something might be consic whereby existing compe could hire the vehicles if saw fit, and if these vehicle PSV fitness or had PSV dri‘ The Earl of Minto, a cl€ traffic commissioner for tland, said he was very r concerned that the veh would not need to comply PSV standards..

It was really indefensit the education authority w not need an operator's I icen the driver a PSV licence. Ti commissioners had enougf uble already with works' kat though the people on ti were to a certain extent fended by the Health and at Work Act.

But that would not app this particular area. said Minto, and he did not t there was a record of proof the education authorities good operators.

The local authority tram undertakings were extrer good operators and comply with all the restric. of the traffic cornmissior Then suddenly along came education authority, which no operating experience v, ever, and they had these re tions made for them.

Speaking as an indivi traffic commissioner although he knew his view shared by many of his co gues — he did not like amendment one little bit.

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People: Minto, Underhill, Bellwin

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