Alt finance probe called for
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• North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Frederick Whalley is to ask for the financial affairs of two ATL Holdings subsidiaries, SUT and Airebus to be investigated by a financial assessor.
Both companies appeared at a Leeds public inquiry where the Commissioner was considering disciplinary action against the 90-vehicle licence of SUT at the same time as Airebus was applying for a new international 60-vehicle licence.
Adjourning the hearing until a date to be fixed, Whalley said that he was dissatisfied with the financial information produced on behalf of Airebus. He proposed to call in the assistance of an assessor to look at the financial affairs of both companies.
Told that Airebus had 26 new minibuses on order and that it was due to start the operation of local services on contract to West Yorkshire on 30 October, Whalley suggested that a prudent businessman would negotiate with West Yorkshire for a different starting date and a different registration, as there was no guarantee that the company would be able to operate from that date, if at all.
Earlier, the Commissioner was also told that since SUT had acquired the West Yorkshire division of National Travel (East) in April 1987, 24 immediate and eight delayed prohibitions had been imposed on its vehicles.
The company had also been convicted of not permitting drivers to take sufficient rest and of using a vehicle with an expired test certificate.
John Gordon, Sheffield operations manager of the Department's vehicle inspectorate, said numerous changes of fleet engineer had adversely affected the maintenance system. He felt the crux of the problem had been a lack of supervision at shop-floor level. He was happy with the steps the company had taken to rectify the position but felt that it was too early to tell whether or not there had been any improvement.
He had been concerned about the company's maintenance for some time, following anony mous complaints from former and current staff of the company, and complaints from angry holidaymakers about ,SUT running unserviceable vehicles. A motorist had complained of difficulty in getting an insurance claim settled after his car had been damanged by a wheel that came off an SUT vehicle.
The Commissioner heard that Airebus was operating 13 vehicles from Kirkstall Road, Leeds under the SUT licence. Vehicle examiner Graham Atkinson said the condition of
the vehicles at Leeds had mu improved since April, but the records were not entirely sat factory and the statutory inte val between inspections had been exceeded on a number I occasions.
ATL director Houston Ramin said Airebus currently operated five local services. The additidonal vehicles were necessary because the company had been awarded additional contracts.
The company had a good reputation in Leeds, which it was seeking to maintain,