LICENSING E. National Wins Appeal
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A N appeal by Eastern National Omni
1 bus Co. Ltd. against the refusal of the Eastern Traffic Commissioners to grant a variation of the conditions of a road Service licence for excursions and tours starting from Southend-on-Sea, so as to enable lower fares to be charged to passengers joining and leaving coaches at Rayleigh, has been allowed by the Minister of Transport.
The Minister felt bound to conclude that there were not sufficient grounds for depriving the public of the advantage of the lower fares from Rayleigh which the appellants had proposed and which had brought no objection from any quarter. This appeared to the Minister to be a case which justified departure from the general policy that the Commissioners had adopted in relation to fares on excursions and tours in their area. He agreed with his inspector that this policy originated in a genuine and sound concern for maintaining important safeguards, such as a fair balance between excursions and tour operators, but should be regarded as capable of adaptation to particular circumstances.
Like the inspector, the Minister gave no decisive weight to arguments about the practice in other traffic areas.
APPEAL REFUSED
THE Minister of Transport has dismissed an appeal by Clevedon Motorways Ltd. against the Western Traffic Commissioners refusing the grant of a road service licence for excursions and tours starting from Portishead (West Hill) and granting to A. H. Fielding (trading as Empress Coaches) a road service licence for excursions and tours starting from Portishead (Stoke Road).
Confirming that road licences were not transferable, the Minister said that in his view, an agreement for the purchase of the goodwill of an undertaking gave no right to the grant of a licence in substitution for that held by the undertaking, and there were dangers in relying too heavily for decision on the existence of such an agreement.
Regarding the respective claims of Empress Coaches and Clevedon Motorways to operate excursions and tours from Portishead, the Minister had found no over-riding considerations in favour of either operator as against the other.