Little to choose between services: appeal dismissed
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• An appeal by Keith Garages and Mr J. A. Dickson against decisions of the East Midland Traffic Commissioners to allow a grant to Mr T. L. Radwell of an express carriage service between Aylesbury and Hayes, and to grant only in part a licence for an express carriage service between the two towns, has been dismissed in a written decision of the Secretary for the Environment.
The licence had been granted to Mr Radwell for a Saturday service with a Wednesday service for Keith Garages. The main ground for appeal was that the appellant, an established operator in Aylesbury, should have been granted the Saturday licence. The application by Mr Radwell gave the appellant the first opportunity to object because of the respondent's private hire arrangements.
The second appellant company, Mr Dickson, trading as Dickson Luxury Travel, argued that as an established operator of excursions and tours out of Stoke Mandeville it was entitled to have picking-up points in Wendover and Stoke Mandeville excluded from the respondent's licence.
Mr Radwell stated that he had asked for a road service licence to establish, because of proven demand, a regular service instead of his private hire journeys to Hayes. He added that neither abstraction nor competition would result on the Saturday service because Keith Garages discontinued this service 12 months ago. As for Mr Dickson's ground of appeal it was argued that his company did not operate to Hayes and since Keith Garages had applied to pick up at Wendover and Stoke Mandeville there was no reason why the respondent should forego these points on his own licence.
The Secretary of State decided to dismiss the appeals. It was stated that there was little to choose between the services to Hayes and that the Commissioners were entitled to take customer preference into account and decided that the grant of identical licences to either operator on different days therefore constituted an equitable solution.