West Yorks doubles winter half-days
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• An application to double the number of half-day excursions authorized for winter operation from Bradford was made by West Yorkshire Road Car Co. Ltd. in Leeds on Tuesday before the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners. It sought to vary a licence by applying an "all the year round" condition to 16 of the destinations already authorized. Wallace Arnold Tours Ltd. and its associates objected.
For the applicants, Mr. J. D. Walker said 36 half-days were permitted from Easter to September 30. Another 16 were authorized all the year but 10 of these were to stately homes which were closed in the winter and so only six excursions were of practicable use. The company had a regular clientele who were dissatisfied with always going to the same destinations.
In the winter 1967 /68 1,675 passengers had been carried on half-day excursions and October 6 1968 to March 30 1969 the figure was 999, said Mr. G. W. Rhodes, West Yorkshire Bradford depot traffic supervisor. There was a nucleus of regulars who travelled whatever the weather and there would be no abstraction from Wallace Arnold because passengers seemed to stay with their favourite operator in Bradford, he considered.
For the objectors, Mr. J. E. Hanson pointed out that when Wallace Arnold had applied to commence tours at 10.30 a.m. instead of noon last year (CM July 12 19681 West Yorkshire had intimated that they would lodge a parallel application. Mr. Rhodes said his clients had indicated they preferred to adhere to the noon start.
Mr. W. Farndale, a Bradford schoolteacher, said he had been travelling regularly with West Yorkshire for two years but was "fed up" with the limited selection in winter. He preferred a noon departure because of stage carriage connection difficulties earlier than that and because a meal could he eaten at home beforehand.
Wallace Arnold had carried 1,150 passengers last winter on 28 excursions, of which 10 had been to Bridlinton, said its licensing of ficer, Mr. W. J. King. About one-third of the total passenger potential was floating and this grant would abstract from their already licensed trips.
The Commissioner granted all destinations except Bridlington for Sundays only, with a vehicle allowance of two on any one day.