DECISION ON MINERS' ASSISTED-TRAVEL BATTLE
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THE West Midland Traffic Commig
sioners, in a written decision, have granted applications by Kendrick Transport Ltd., Dudley, to operate assistedtravel services for miners at Baggeridge
The applications, which took up two hearing days during September and December, came about as the result of successful lenders. to the National Coal Board. Early last year the.N.C.B. decided. to review ‘the transport facilities provided for the miners and, following this, the .Board found that by a reorganization of routes which had been in being sirke l947 the same number of miners could be carried with less veh.icies. Accordingly, they invited tenders from the three existing operators and a large number of other local operators for the revised services, On inspection the Board found that Kendrick Transport had made the lowest fender for five of the seven services in question whilst W. A. Noakes Ltd. (.another of the existing .operators) had tendered the lowest price for the remaining two services.
The Board offered the contracts to the two lowest tenderers -(Kendrick and Noakes) but, Noakes .having declined the contract for the tWo • services, contracts covering the whole operation were offered to Kendrick,
During the ensuing public hearings, at which the two remaining operators of the • exisiing services objected. the Commissioners were told that the Coal Board would save approximately £4.000 gross per ann In their decision the Commissioners
said it was clear that the reorganization of services proposed by the N.C.B. was a sensible one in that it enabled the miners concerned to be carried in eight instead of 10 vehicles; that the Board had given an opportunity to the existing operators. to tender and had accepted the lowest tenders that as a result the Board would save about .0,400 per annum net, and that as it was paying about 80.per cent of the total cost, substantial weight. Should he given to the award of the Contract to Ken drick a, After going into the basis of the various quotations offered by Kendrick, the Commissioners said they were of opinion that the' rate to be charged was an econorMe one for the work involved overall. The applications were granted with effect from February 1.