Ribble Tours Application Granted
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T°protect their rural services, defend their traffic, and provide passengers living in remote districts with improved excursion facilities, Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., applied at Lytham last week for a new licence, relating to various tours starting from Garstang. They wanted to operate to 73 destinations and pick up and set down at Cabus, Forton, Scorton, Catterall, Calder Vale, Claughton, Brock, Bilsborrow, Churchtown, Gt. Eccleston and Winmarleigh, all small villages and hamlets. It was proposed that 12 destinations should be linked, but if a coach were carrying passengers for two destinations, it would be counted as two vehicles for the purpose of assessing the number to be used on aoy one day. The period of operation was to be all the year round.
Mr. G. Dawes, a Ribble traffic assistant, said in evidence that Garstang was already well served by existing stage carriage and excursion facilities, and this was one of the reasons why they had not made their application until now. There had been a certain amount of unauthorized picking up and setting down of passengers by operators in Garstang, many of these being taken from Ribble services. The application would defend this traffic. A counter application by Mr. J. R. Holmes, of Garstang, was before the Traffic Commissioners, but Mr. Dawes said that to his knowledge this applicant had never held a road service licence. Objections had been received from 14 road operators in the Morecambe area.
Replying to Mr. J. Backhouse, appearing for Mr. Holmes, Mr. Dawes said he did not consider there was a strong need for more facilities in Garstang, but the outlying districts would benefit from the new licence. Some of Ribble's rural services were unremunerative, or were ' operated at a small profit, but as they undertook the responsibility for providing them, they should also be allowed to defend them.' Such services would only be impoverished by the type of facilities which Mr. Holmes wanted to operate. Any unauthorized operation in Garstang resulted in a "sort of under-cover infiltration " which would take traffic from Ribble's express and stage carriage services.
Mr. Backhouse told the court that Mr. Holmes wanted to operate to 110 destinations and use 17 picking-up points in the same district as Ribble. The vehicle allowance requested on any one day was eight. Mr. Holmes had three coaches, did some contract work and also hired vehicles for private party operation.
The applicant pointed out in evidence that although his vehicles were fully utilized he would hire more, as occasion demanded from his brother, who was a Preston operator. He told Mr. F. D. Walker. for Ribble, that he was prepared to buy extra coaches if he .could not hire all he needed. If the Ribble application were granted traffic would •be abstracted from his private part:es Several Witnesses supported both applications and many said they did not go on excursions and tours because they had no means of travelling into Garstang, or they did not want to change at Preston and Lancaster.
In submission Mr. Backhouse stated that it was obvious that existing facilities in the Garstang area were inadequate. Although Ribble were the sole operators in the area, Mr. Holmes had provided vehicles for private parties over a long period and should share in the traffic.
The chairman of the North Western Traffic Commissioners, Maj.-Gen. A. F. J. Elmslie, agreed that excursion and tour services were necessary in the Garstang area. He granted the Ribble application, but refused that of Mr. Holmes.