THE ".THESIGER: REPORTI
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Committee Recommend Licence for Contract Work at Separate Fares : Minister to Continue to Hear Appeals : No Backing for Unmodified Excursion and • Tour Licence
FEW changes in public service vehicle licensing are recommended by The Thesiger Committee, whose report was published. on Tuesday. They do, however, suggest a new form of licence for contract carriages on which separate fares are paid.
• With the exception of Mr. R. F..Lyne, the committee believe that the MiniSter of Transport should continue to have jurisdiction on appeals. They recommend, however, that a bulletin of selected decisions should be published. Mr. Lyne thinks that appeals should be heard by a tribunal siinilar, to that set up under the 1933 Act.
No recommendation is made on the question whether the Minister should require the British Transport Commission to divest themselves . of their holdings in bus companies.
The committee recommend that no backing should be required on the
• renewal of an excursion and tour licence without modification. When existing servfces are to be altered, operators should be required to give notice of the changes in the vehicles engaged on the services affected. In cases involving major fare changes, depositions and the main documents should be circulated in advance of the hearing. Decisions on fares should be reached speedily and the control by the Licensing Authorities of fares on municipal services should be placed on the same _basis as for other operators' services. In respect of fares and stopping places, trolleybus and tram services should be subject to the Licensing Authority.
Reasons should be given for decisions by Licensing Authorities and Joint sittings should be possible.
The committee have deliberately avoided recommending changes unless completely satisfied that they are well justified and would effect worth-while improvements. Their policy has been to let well alone. They agree that the licensing system as a whole has worked well and continues to do so.
No changes in the traffic areas are proposed. Smaller areas are thought to be unlikely to speed up working. The retention of the present composition of the Licensing Authorities is advocated, including the local-authority members in all areas except the Metropolitan.
It is admitted that administration might be speeded up without the panel members, but the committee believe that the presence of local-authority members has contributed to the flexibility of the licensing system and to the maintenance of public confidence in it.
It is regarded as impracticable to include nominees of rural district councils.
The committee are entirely opposed to the view that any of the members of the Authority should have -special qualifications, such as that of an accountant. A specialized outlook is More likely to be a hindrance than a help, says the report.
To enable local-authority members to make a more valuable contribution, the report suggests they should be nominated more frequently from persons who are not members of the council, so that, among other considera D4 tions, two panel members should, whe ever possible, be present at publ sittings. Moreover, the power to mai appointments for up to three yea should, after the initial appointment, 1 more frequently used. . Nominations the panel should normally last for thr years.
Road service licences should contim almost unchanged •and should I renewed every three years, as at preset No restriction should be placed on tl present discretion of a backit Authority, but no backing should I required on a renewal of an excurSit and tour licence without modificatio The present limit of 15 minutes durit which a vehicle may stop in a corridi area should be extended to at least z hour.
No Unfettered Right Proposals that there should be I unfettered right to apply for a variatic of a licence and to appeal against ti refusal of a variation are reiecte Instead a compromise suggested by tl Public Transport Association has be accepted. This is as follows:—
Where a Licensing Authority ente tains a proposed variation, but aft consideration refuses it the Iieen holder or anyone making represent tions under Section 72 of the Raz Traffic Act, 1930, should have a rig of appeal. If the Authority refuses consider the application, there shou be a right of appeal, subject to the co sent of the Licensing Authority or tl Minister, but only against the refusal hear the application, as distinct from tl refusal to grant it. If the appe succeeded, the Authority would 1 ordered to hear the application.
The committee are satisfied thE except in connection with changes existing services, the present arrang ments for ensuring that all who need know do, in fact, know of licensing pr posals, are as good as can reasonab be expected. Changes in services at however, not well enough publicized advance and notice of them should 1 given in vehicles engaged on the se vices affected.
Additional Representations
Present procedure concerning repr sentations and objections is, broad speaking, regarded as satisfactory, b Joint planning boards for nation parks and local authorities in ti Metropolitan area should be added the list of local authorities enjoying t1 right to make representations. The tin allowed for entering objections shou be 14 days for both original applic Lions and variations, instead of 21 da and 14 days, respectively. In any new legislation, an attem might be made to use the terms " repr sentations " and " objections " rno consistently.
"We are agreed that the now we. established and understood, thot4 ,formal, procedure of the Licensing ,uthorities at public sittings is equitable ad fitting for its purpose, and that the itroduction of a procedure on the lines I that of a court of law would be 'appropriate," says the report. "Mr. eid is in favour of giving a Licensing ,uthority the power to award costs ;ainst a party to an application by hose action the other party have been at to unnecessary trouble and expense. he remainder of us do not think that le need for such a power has been fablished."
It was opposed both by the operators' ;sociations and the chairmen of Lieens g Authorities. •
"We think," the report goes on, that it would be an advantage if objecons were required to be in more lecific terms, but recognize that no :w formal requirement is likely to thieve this, In cases involving major re changes, we consider that there tould be advance deposition and cirdation of the main documents inthe se.
Reasons for Decisions "We are in favour of the giving of asons for decisions and suggest that e Minister should use his powers of rection to secure this, with the right an operator to ask for reasons in riling where they have not been given a public sitting. We recommend that int sittings should be made possible." A suggestion that it should not be iripulsory to hear and determine, at italic sittings, unopposed applications, pecially those for the renewal of :enees, has been rejected.
"Representations to the effect that
e onus of proof should be shifted, or mild be made lighter or heavier, aded to cancel each other out," the mmittee say, ". and we do not believe at any change in this respect is needed would be likely to have any signiant effect. We think that the conlerations relating to co-ordination of ad and rail and to the provision of remunerative services are wide and xible enough to allow of the adopin of whatever policy circumstances ty require, so far as it is within the ape of the licensing system to do so.
e do not consider that camp services
call for special consideration or recommendations."
Camp services, they believe, cannot be dealt with in isolation by separate and specific recommendations. "Such services," the report declares, " are simply a modern illustration of the 'growing pains' of passenger transport services, aggravated, no doubt, by the confusion o-ver what constitutes a private party on a special occasion."
It is thought unlikely that existing services would be maintained at maximum efficiency unless there was 'always the possibility that a newcomer would be admitted. If at any time it seemed that the Licensing Authorities should authorize more or fewer new services, the best result would, in the committee's opinion, be achieved by decisions of the Minister on appeal and by a general direction under Section 63 (1) of the 1930 Act.
An extension of any existing practice of granting licences for less than three years to test the need for a new service is not recommended, On the subject of road-rail coordination, the committee say that much has already been done, but they doubt whether, having regard to the great disparity between road and rail fares, anything further can be achieved in this direction without some form of common ownership.
They have considered the general question whether, because of that disparity, it is still in the public interest for Licensing Authorities to have regard to road-rail co-ordination. They believe that any future policy on this matter must take into account the causes of the present disparity.
"Now that the Transport Act, 1953, has given the railways greater freedom to adjust their fares to meet competition," the committee observe, "it may be advisable to gain some experience of how that freedom is applied in prac
tice before any new policy or emphasis is written into the Act."
The influence that a difference in fares may have on any decision will,, they add, vary in relation to the other circumstances of the case.
The need for maintaining and developing unremunerative services_ and the difficulty of providing them in present circumstances are recognized, The committee do not think, however, that any alteration in the licensing system could in itself solve the problem,
A suggestion that Licensing Authorities should have regard to an applicant's reliability and financial standing, to his maintenance facilities and to his conduct and past record as an operator has been rejected.
Discretion Wisely Used
The present wide discretion exercised by the Licensing Authorities in fixing fares has, in the committee's opinion, been wisely used. Those who have advocated that their discretion should be restricted or have questioned their competence have failed to establish their case.
"We see no grounds for proposals 'aimed at delaying fare changes, once the need for them has been established," the report observes, "and are more inclined to the view that there is a case for speedier adjustments. Although we have not accepted a proposal for enabling 'interim' awards to be made, we consider it important that fare decisions should be reached speedily."
Proposals put to the committee included a formula for calculating the maximum dividend that an operator should be allowed to earn, detailed rules relating to such Matters as capital, reserves, depreciation and profits, and a suggestion that all the rules should be applied to statutory undertakings. These proposals are regarded as misconceived in principle.
The Municipal Passenger Transport Association wanted the Licensing Authorities to be able to make an interim award of increased fares to produce extra revenue of not more than 10 per cent. The application would be granted in 'private without publication or the opportunity for objections. This proposal was borrowed from Section 23 of the 1953 Act.
Both the Public Transport Association and the Passenger Vehicle Operators' Association welcomed the idea when it was put to them, but it occurred to neither of them to suggest it. . The committee have dismissed the suggestion.
Duplication: No Proposals Restrictions on duplication were considered, buY.no recommendations have been made. Any present dissatisfaction is regarded as a result of specific decisions and does not call• for any modification of the system. •
Compliance with Section 19 of the 1930 Act, which limits drivers' hours, should, the committee find, be made a standard condition of a road service licence.
No recommendations are made on the proposition that the British Trans port Commission should be divested of their controlling interests in bus companies, because it is outside the committee's competence to do so.
On the question of the Commission vis-&-vis the licensing system, the report, however, makes these observations: "We do not consider it established that the Commission's control has in practice materially affected the services provided for the public under the licensing system.
In the Same Boat
"in so far as the Commission's companies have a monopoly or nearmonopoly, in particular areas, of services not competing with railway services, we have no reason to think that that ownership puts them in any different position from those 'independent' companies which have a similar monopoly. In so far as the Commission's companies operate services in competition with the railways and there is no independent operator, the control of such competition previously exercised by the Licensing Authority has largely passed to the Commission.
"The Commission are, it is true, affected in the exercise of such control by the fear that the Licensing Authority may license a newcomer. This fear is itself lessened by the fact that not everyone is waiting round the corner to provide the coaches, advertisement and organization that it would be necessary to secure or set up in support of an application for a service.
"Subject to this, the Commission who, as railway operators, regard the existence of these competitive long-distance road services as wasteful competition n6 with the railways, decide what applications to make and how to provide what should be the fullest service at the lowest cost that is consistent with the public interest.
"In the circumstances, the Commission are not likely to put forward an application which would require the Licensing Authority to exercise their power of controlling competition by modifying the application, nor are they likely to cause the railways to oppose Commission-controlled companies in order to repeat and press the arguments for elimination."
The question of appellate jurisdiction caused more controversy than any other problem. The number of organizations and individuals desiring a tribunal to hear coach and bus appeals was far greater than that supporting the present system, but the committee, by a majority, hold that jurisdiction should remain with the Minister. Mr. Lyne alone maintained his argument that appeals should be heard by a tribunal similar to that established under the 1933 Act.
Decisions Should be Published It is suggested, however, that a bulletin of selected appeal decisions should be published.
Evidence submitted criticized the delay in determining appeals and the lack or inadequacy of reasons given for decisions. The committee are satisfied that appeals to the Minister reach the inquiry stage as quickly as would appeals to a tribunal, but the interval between inquiry and decision is inevitably somewhat longer.
"If it is decided to leave jurisdiction on appeals with the Minister," says the report, "we -uggest that attention might be given to means of speeding up the processes involved, but we do not regard the question of delay as a valid reason in itself for transferring, the jurisdiction, or as a strong consideration in the total ease for that course."
The report emphasizes the value of flexibility in licensing and points out that a tribunal would have to follow a settled policy. Its decisions would become precedents which could be overcome only with . the greatest difficulty and perhaps not at all.
Consultation by Minister
Criticism that the " independence" of the inspector hearing an appeal is not as apparent as it should be might be met if it were either provided by law or accepted in practice that before a person's name was included in the inspectors' list, the Minister should consult the Lord Chancellor in England or the Lord Advocate in Scotland.
There is thought 10 be no reason why, in suitable cases, a committee should not hear an appeal.
A suggestion that the Minister should not reverse or vary a Licensing Authority's decision if the inspector recommends that it should be confirmed, is rejected. .
On the vexed question of contract carriages, the report says that operator are now in a more difficult situatioi than before the 1934 Act was passed.
"The position at the moment i really quite intolerable," it declare "Practically none of the work whic: has been considered to be legitimat private-hire work is now legal. Gray public inconvenience is only avoide by an omission to enforce the law, an it may be that every two or mor persons who agree together to run vehicle, charging separate fares subjec to the conditions of the 1934 Act, by on what has been held not to be special occasion, might be liable to b indicted for a criminal conspiracy." .
Licensing for Contract Work
In the committee's view, the prope and wise course is to build on the inter lions underlying the 1930, 1934 an 1937 Acts, taking into account th experience gained in the meantime. I the case of motorcars, they think tha the unduly restrictive effect of the tenr "special occasion" should be modifiet In the case of public service vehices, relatively simple form of licence shout] be devised to govern the occasion when they are used as contract cai riages, but separate fares are charged.
The licence would be granted autc matically and a nominal fee would b charged. Certain conditions would b attached to it. These would includ statutory conditions on the lines set ot in Section 25 of the 1934 Act an another requiring compliance with ti' law an drivers' hours,
In addition, the Licensing Authorit might prohibit the use of a contra carriage at particular periods betwee certain points or on a specified rout. or limit the frequency of operatic between those points or on the rout The object would be to prevent wastefi competition with rail and regular ma services.
Advertising Might be Permitted
The Licensing Authority would t able to vary the statutory condition For instance, he would be allowed, i suitable cases, to waive the prohibitia on advertisement. The licence could t suspended or revoked for wilful or cm sistent breaches of the condition subject to the right of appeal by holder. . . .
The operator would be obliged • 'notify the person who hired the col tract carriage of the conditions attach: to his licence, and he would be respoi sible that they were observed.
It is not proposed that trolleybus ar tram services should be placed on ti same footing as motorbus services, b. in respect of fares and stopping placc they should be subject to the Licensit Authority.. Moreover, the report sa.5 existing powers of the Minister to ma] regulations for public service vehicl relating to standing passengers, tl conduct of drivers, conductors at passengers and lost property should 1 extended to apply to trams and trolle buses.
Requirements applying to the licensng of motorbus drivers and conductors hould be extended to the drivers and :oaductors of trolieybuses and trams.
The control by the Licensing authorities of municipal services hould not be abolished or reduced, but he need for applying for consent to merate outside municipal boundaries ;hould be removed, Control by the _icensing Authorities of fares on muni
cipal services should be placed on the same basis as for other operators by the repeal of Section 72 (7) of the 1930 Act.
No recommendation is made on the , suggestion that local authorities should have general power to run contract carriages, although the proposition is discussed in the report.
The sufficiency of the present enforcement staffs of the Licensing Authorities should, it is thought, be examined. A proposal to require the keeping of records of drivers' hours by public service vehicle operators is regarded as unjustified.
Finally, the committee advocate that Section 93 of the 1930 Act should be amended to compel contract-carriage operators to observe the appropriate Wages and conditions for private-hire work in the district.