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LICENSING IN 1960

27th January 1961
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Page 40, 27th January 1961 — LICENSING IN 1960
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Keywords : Business / Finance

PASSENGER: The main problems remained " pirate " operators, irregular 1,rivate hire, increasing costs, express service linking, with illegal minibus operation becoming a national issue, hampered by the difficulty of obtaining evidence.

by G. Duncan Jewell

THE year 1960, in terms of road haulage, was notable in a number of ways, but perhaps the most important feature was the gradual elimination of special A licences, bringing to an end such abuses as increases in unladen weight (with or without insertion of an additional axle), and conversions in type, carried out during the currency of the licences without notification to the Licensing Authorities.

Although some offenders were brought to book and Licensing Authorities took drastic action by way of revocation and suspension, they were not supported by the Transport Tribunal. The Tribunal interpreted the law as allowing that which it did not expressly forbid, and, in a number of appeals, either inflicted nominal suspension or ruled that there waS nothing in the Disposal Act to prevent such things as alteration in weights and type of trailers, or conversion of flat vehicles to tankers.

As special A licences gradually disappear, trading in licences is also coming to an end, and the situation now seems to be under reasonable control.

This is not to say that licensing law is entirely satisfactory. Although it continues to work reasonably well, there is creaking at the joints and a widening of loopholes as the Transport Tribunal and the Licensing Authorities seek to adjust an Act of 1933 to the needs of 1961.

The year's main developments included:— Contract A Licences THE ease with which contract licences could be switched to A or B licence gave rise to much anxiety among established hauliers. The back door trickle of the previous year became a flood, often on evidence which could only be described as flimsy.

The Tribunal made a number of pronouncements on the subject and, to summarize, their attitude seems to be: (a) that the customer's wishes are the determining factor, irrespective of whether there is a need for additional vehicles in the area on A or B licence, limited only by inquiry into whether the customer has sufficient traffic reasonably to employ the number of vehicles sought, in the outward direction; (b) that a normal user confined to the goods of the customer is sufficient protection for other hauliers; and (c) that Licensing Authorities should tighten up on the grant of contract A licences to ensure that contracts conform with the law.

The damage done to existing hauliers and to rates by the hordes of vehicles let loose to seek back-loads seems to be regarded as of no account.

Publication of Outside. Applications A NEED for the publication of applications for new f-s• licences or additional vehicles, not only in the haulier's own Traffic Area, but also in the Area from which the traffic emanates, was clearly indicated in January, when Killingbeck (Transport), Ltd., Blackburn, applied to the North Western Licensing Authority to carry vegetables for a Lancashire customer from Lincolnshire and the surrounding counties.

• The application was adjourned to give Yorkshire and Eastern Area hauliers a chance to object. It was eventually granted, but there are many applications which affect other hauliers in distant Areas which never come to their notice until it is too late. A glaring instance occurred in the Northern Area in March, when an applicant living in Huddersfield sought and was granted a licence for caravan towing with a base at Darlington. At a later stage Yorkshire operators complained of abstraction and said they were unable to object originally because they knew nothing of the application.

Appreciating that it is an impossible task for the majority of hauliers to watch Applications and Decisions" for 12 Traffic Areas, The Commercial Molor started "Expansion Trends in Haulage," in October, with the object of assisting in this direction. Although the information is normally published about seven days behind the Licensing Authorities' publications, it is designed to give operators sufficient time to obect to applications in other areas, provided they take action immediately.

Rates THE doubts expressed whether the question of rates could I ever satisfactorily be raised as an objection to an application have proved well founded, and this portion of the 1953 Act remains a dead letter.

In the McKelvie appeal in March, the Tribunal found that comparatively detailed evidence on the question of rates was far too slight to make possible any useful comparison between road and rail charges. Again in a recent appeal, the president, Sir Hubert Hull, said that the many differences in overheads, maintenance, and so on, between operators, made it impossible to assess whether a particular rate was reasonable or othewise.

Agricultural Produce THE decision of the Tribunal in the Oliver Bros. appeal

(Scottish) in May, that the words "agricultural produce" embrace livestock, has forced Licensing Authorities to tighten up the wording of normal user and B licence conditions, although there are still some areas where this decision does not seem to be common knowledge.

One area not affected was Yorkshire, where the wording, "agricultural produce of any land" has been in use for some time.

Other Items OTHER items of interest in goods licensing included the

campaign by Mr. Hanlon to make the police objectionconscious when applications are made by convicted criminals, and also his revocation of licences belonging to persons serving sentences for larceny involving the use of goods vehicles. Here again the Tribunal, on appeal, reduced the revocation to suspension in one instance. There was also the decision of the Metropolitan Licensing Authority, following the Dormer case, to tighten up on take-over applications, which may well be followed by his colleagues: and the comment by Sir. Hubert Hull that he would like to see an appeal to the High Court on the question whether a B licence was suitable for operators engaged solely on haulage.

Passenger Problems 1N passengerlicensing the main problems were still the " pirate " operator, increasing costs, and, from the excursion operators' point of view, express service linking. Illegal minibus operation caused anxiety to many operators, and has become a national issue. Although the Traffic

Commissioners took action wherever possible, the difficulty of obtaining concrete evidence of the unlicensed carriage of passengers for hire or reward resulted in only a comparatively small number of prosecutions, the majority of which were successful.

On the question of irregular "private hire" and express linking, two controversial matters which were constantly aired in the courts during the year—we cannot do better than quote the opinions of Mr. A. Robinson, managing director of W. Robinson and Sons (Great Harwood), Ltd., one of the country's leading excursion operators, and of British Railways.

Regarding " pirate " operation, Mr. Robinson told The Commercial Motor in May, that licensed operators suffered a great deal from the inroads made into their traffic by the small private hire men, usually owner-drivers with one, two or three coaches, using part-time additional staff and having regular school or works contracts (often at a very low rate) to take care of hire-purchase payments. They bought their way into clubs and public houses to get the work of conveying dart teams and supporters of local football clubs to home and many away matches. Usually, quite legitimately, they get the works picnics and nearly always, illegitimately, have two or three touts to organize parties when required, particularly during local and general holidays and Sundays.

Long Date Bookings THE,SE outings are offered at cut prices and a further 1 fruitful source of revenue is long date bookings to resorts Established "pirates " accept all bookings offered no matter where to, and then interchange with others, the result being that in Laneashire where the Wakes Weeks follow on, there is a tie-up in different towns for a sixor seven-week period.

Business for the Robinson concern's Great Yarmouth weekly service, which had to be refused because of vehicle limitation, went to such operators, and on occasions as many as 15 or 16 Lancashire coaches followed their route and timings.

" Pirate " operators have firmly established themselves in private weekly tours to southern coastal resorts. The majority are done under the guise of old age pensioners' outings, Blackpool and Morecambe landladies' trips, and tours organized and sold to the general public through the Co-operative and other travel services. Operators have long contended there is an element of illegality in many of these, but they are allowed to continue.

Prices charged are so low that excursion operators could not justify them in any traffic court, nor satisfy their constant opponents, British Railways and the combine companies, that they were not cutting authorized journey fares.

The Railway View nN this subject, British Railways say they are satisfied

that most of the operations are conducted in conformity with the law, but there is reason to believe that there arc extensive operations, particularly by smaller operators, where the requirements governing contract carriages are not fully observed. Unfortunately the ease and secrecy with which the law can be evaded make it difficult to detect irregularities, which in many cases are believed to be well established.

In the view of _British Railways, it is entirely wrong that thz large proportion of passenger business carried by road

vehicles should be left outside the direct control of the Traffic Commissioners, particularly in so far as fares ar,2 concerned, and since the war they haVe constantt advocated that legislation be so amended as to give them a greater measure of control.

Express Linking SO far as express linking is concerned, Mr. Robinson

believes excursion operators are the victims of outdated legislation. In the " fantail " decision of 1937 the Commissioners said that long-distance journeys to and from holiday destinations were, in many cases, in direct competition with the railways and express operators. There was considerable force in the argument that if a person desired to spend a holiday of some duration at a distant pleasure resort it was, generally speaking, the function of the railways or an express operator to take him to his destination and to bring him home, and of the local operator of excursions to provide him with facilities for exploring the surrounding country. These words have been used very widely, in fact they have been quoted whenever an application was made.

The combine companies in particular have used them in objections to any increase in vehicle strength in the catchment area, or period of operation, that an operator of this type of tour has sought. They have used them in justifyine constantly successful applications for the removal of conditions limiting their express carriage licences; and also to justify the link-up of various short-distance express. servic.:s to provide other long-distance services, which the decisi-t protected in 11937.

Protection Overdone T T is palpably unfair that, because of a decision made 1 more than 23 years ago, express operators should be able to go on extending services at the expense of excursion operators. In effect they are being held down while the combines, by building up licences. through linking those held by various separate companies, 'get new express services outside the control of the Traffic Commissioners. The traffic growth of the express service network since 1937 has shown that protection has been overdooe.

Robinsop's have regularly applied for relaxation of the conditions attached to their Great Yarmouth service, but the results have been negative on the grounds that the railways must be protected.

Yet during the same period it has been established that the finking of Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., BlackpoolManchester express licence; North Western Road Car's Manchester-Nottingham; and Trent Motor Services Nottingham-Great Yarmouth services, which has been advertised as a through service, has abstracted a considerabh• amount of traffic out of the pool.

Traffic Court applications should be judged by presentday standards and not those of two 'decades ago. Excursion operators are entitled to a little more freedom to help combat the depredations of unlicensed operators and the road-rolling tactics of the combines.


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