Special 'hover-coach' operation takes off
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ALLEGATIONS that poorstandard coaches supplied by East Kent Road Car Co Ltd on a special service between London and Pegwell Bay Hoverport has damaged the development of the Hover Lloyd Ltd cross-Channel hovercraft service were made before the Metropolitan Traffic Commissioners.
The Commissioners were hearing an application last week by Evan Evans (Tours) Ltd to operate a Special service from the Euston air/coach terMin& on behalf of Hover Lloyd. Carriage was to be restritted to pre-booked passengers on the Hover Lloyd hovercraft services to the Continent. The application was opposed by National Travel (South East) Ltd, East Kent and Orange Luxury Coaches Ltd.
For Evan Evans, Sir Frank Marshall said East Kent had provided a special service for Hover Lloyd since 1968. At that stage first-class vehicles were not necessary because of the class of passenger carried. However, over the years the service had become a viable alternative to air travel and Hover Lloyd now had an investment of some -£20m. It was regarded very much as an Inter-capital service, London to Paris/Brussels, and Hover Lloyd required vehidles on the UK road-link of the same standard as those used on the Continent. Although modern luxury coaches had been promised by East Kent, they had never been forthcoming. The standard of vehicles provided had led to a volume of complaint from Continental customers and this had had an inhibiting effect upon the service.
The principle of protecting the existing operator ought not to mean that the travelling public had to continue to suffer from an inferior service.
Mr A. De Maeyer, a Belgian tours operator, said he had experienced complaints about old buses and poor service on every journey between Pegwell Bay and London on which his clients were booked. Hover Lloyd sales in Belgium had not advanced. This was due to a lack of enthusiasm on behalf of Belgian agents to sell the service because of the complaints about the UK road-link. The situation was such that unless there was any improvement he would discontinue offering the service.
Questioned by Mr M. A. Thorpe, for East Kent and National Travel, Mr De Meyer was unable to give specific instances of complaint, He accepted that on the face of his booking figures there did not appear to be a failure of service.
The ammissioners adjourned the hearing until November 10 when the objectors' case is to be heard.