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'Phantoms' appeal lost
Page 23
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An Essex opera-tor who was relying on 'phantom transport managers' has lost his appeal against the refusal of his licence application.
Barking-based Mark Cray. trading as M&M Delivery Services & Light Removals, had appealed against the refusal of South Eastern & Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner Christopher Heaps to grant his application for a one-vehicle international licence.
Cray's licence application had run into trouble almost straight away when his nominated transport manager, Elaine Dowton, of Bishops Stortford, failed to declare that she was specified as transport manager on five other licences. The day before the Public Inquiry Cray applied to change his transport manager to Robert Barden, of Frome, Somerset, who was also nominated as transport manager on five other licences.
Barden failed to attend the Public Inquiry due to ill health and the TC adjourned the Proceedings after Cray had said he was considering appointing a
third person as his transport manager. Cray duly nominated Gary Newman, of St Neots, listing another four licences on which Newman was the nominated transport manager.
The TC questioned Newman about 11 licences on which it was thought he was nominated as transport manager. Newman disputed this list and said he had resigned all his other transport manager commitments apart from one, which accounted for eight hours a week, in addition to his full-time employment as a PSV driver for Whippets Coaches of Huntingdon.
Refusing the application, the TC said that given Newman's responsibilities as a transport manager, and in particular his fulltime employment as a PSV driver over 70 miles away, he could not provide continuous and effective responsibility for the management of the transport operations. He had concluded that Cray was not treating the requirement of professional competence with sufficient importance.
Appealing to the Tribunal. Cray argued that the TC should have given him another opportunity to find an alternative transport manager He had not been told that Newman was working full time, or that he was the transport manager for five other operators. He had now found a new transport manager and had a contract in place with him.
The TribunaJ said it was for Cray to satisfy the TC that he met the requirement in relation to professional competence, and he had plainly failed to do this. All three transport managers nominated by Cray during the course of the application had substantial commitments elsewhere and the TC's concern about 'phantom transport managers' was well founded.