Public service vehicles 1
Page 47
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by Les Oldridge TEng (CEO, MIMI, AMIRTE THE 1972 Road Traffic Act repealed the 1960 Act except that part relating to public service vehicles. The 1974 Road Traffic Bill contained some amendments to the law concerning psv, but these provisions were removed and did not become law. So the bulk of this subject is still contained in the Road Traffic Act 1960.
An operator must decide whether or not a vehicle is a psv because if it is, as well as having to be licensed as• such, it will have to comply with the Certificate of Fitness — to be discussed later — and the driver will have to hold a psv driver's licence. A public service vehicle is defined in • Section 117 as a motor vehicle used for carrying passengers for hire or reward which either (a) is carrying passengers at separate fares, or (b) is not carrying them at separate fares but is adapted to carry eight or more passengers.
So here we have two categories of psv. First, there is the vehicle of any size carrying passengers at separate fares; this vehicle may be a doubledeck bus, a private motor car, a taxi or even a motorcycle combination the criterion is being used for hire or reward and separate fares being charged. Secondly, there is the vehicle big enough to carry eight passengers and being used to carry passengers for hire or reward. This could be a minibus used to transport a party to the Motor Show or a coach taking a party of children on a Sunday School treat where the organizer pays a sum of money for the hire of the vehicle and separate fares are not charged.
"Hire or reward" means that payment is made to the operator either by each passenger separately or as a fixed sum in relation to the hiring of the vehicle. Section 118 states that the following cases are not to be regarded as carrying passengers for hire or reward (so that the vehicles are not psv while being used in this way): (i) when belonging to an education authority and used as a school bus; (ii) when used for certain National Health Service purposes, eg regular collection and delivery of outdoor patients to and from hospitals or clinics for treatment; (iii) when used to carry agricultural workers to and from work during the six months starting on June 1.
Public service vehicles are divided into three types: (i) Express carriages those carrying passengers at separate fares none of which is less than 11p; (ii) stage carriages those carrying pas.sefigers at separate fares, but which are not express carriages; and (iii) contract carriages where the vehicle is hired as a whole and separate fares are not paid. When considering fares, specially reduced rates for children. students, workman's season or period tickets may be excluded.
Weekly contributions
Over the years there have been several stated cases concerning these definitions. In East Midland Traffic Commissioners v Tyler (1938)3 All ER 39, a motor car was used daily by its owner and three friends to take them to and from their place of employment and a weekly contribution was made by each passenger for running expenses. It was held that when the vehicle was used in this way it was an "express carriage". In Hawthorn v Knight (7962) SLT 69 a bus was hired by a club to take its members to work, each member paying the treasurer of the club a weekly sum. It was held that this vehicle was used under a contract of hire as an express carriage.
Wurzel v Wilson (1965)1 Al] ER 26 is an interesting case for here a bus was hired by a firm to take its employees from work to their respective homes. The employees paid a weekly contribution to the firm amounting to half the cost. It was held that the owner was using the vehicle as an express carriage without a road service licence because he had means of knowing (actual knowledge is not necessary) that he could not lawfully carry the workmen if they were in fact contributing to the sum paid by the firm. He had no knowledge of the payments by the employees but knew that they had previously used public transport and why this had proved unsatisfactory; he had not enquired whether the employees were paying.