Short hire: new rule
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VEHICLES hired to bus and coach operators for short periods viii remain the responsibility of their regular operators and viii not count against the maximum number of vehicles Bowed to the hirer.
This is made plain by an mendment to the Transport Bill ut forward when the Lords took s last look aat the measure last veek.
Parliamentary Secretary for he Environment, Lord Bellwin vho successfully asked for this hange to be accepted, mphasises that there would be o loophole which unauthorised eople could exploit.
The new provision would over only temporary hiring, not ore permanent leasing irrangements, and only hirings )etween two operators' licencelolders. .
The Confederation of British load Passenger Transport had been worried about points like this — Bus and Coach operators frequently hired vehicles from each other for very short periods. This happened when, for instance, there was a breakdown, or to enable an occasional large contract to be fulfilled by someone whose own fleet of vehicles was insufficient.
Often, noted Lord Bellwin, the vehicle would be hired with the driver, and then, under the Bill, the person for whom the driver worked would remain the operator.
But often the person who hired the vehicle would provide the driver, and under the Bill as it then stood, he would become its operator and would have to put his disc on it.
The CPT had pointed out that this was unrealistic, that the hirer-out would remain responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle, and that it would count against the maximum number of vehicles permitted to him.
Dealing with grounds for disciplinary action by the Traffic Commissioners, Lord Bellwin pointed out that if the Bill only stipulated "owners', there might be a loophole whereby the person really responsible in the case of a hired vehicle, the one whose disc was on it, avoided the possibility of action against him.
Lord Bel!win noted that the minimum age of 21 for drivers imposed by EEC Regulations applied on international operations to vehicles of more than nine seats overall, and on national operations to vehicles of more than 15 seats overall.
So it was only for national operations that a lower minimum age for vehicles of 15 seats or less could be set.
The Government also introduced new rules relaxing operator's duties to co-operate and exchange information in trial areas.