Express Period Bookings Refused
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ABRISTOL woman coach owner had her application to operate period bookings on an express service, to various holiday resorts in the south and West.of England, refused by the Western Traffic Commissioners, at Bristol last week.
The applicant, Mrs. A. Wild, operating as Eagle Coaches, declared that she wished to run the service weekly, to Brighton, Swanage, Exmouth, Sidmouth, Paignton, Torquay, Weymouth, Southsea and Worthing during July and August, with picking-up points in the Barton Hill district of Bristol, where her business was situated. She had operated for 30 years, and when the Wessex schedule agreement was made some years ago, her catchrrient area was in the Barton Hill district, said Mr. McGregor Johnson, who represented her.
• Rapidly Growing Mrs. Wild did not claim that her fares would be cheaper or that her services would be quicker than -those of other facilities from Bristol to the same destinations, said Mr. McGregor Johnson. Her point was that while Bristol generally was adequately covered, this particular district was. not provided with the service it required: Barton Hill had 28,000 people and was rapidly growing. Mrs. Wild produced a petition signed by hundreds of local residents and called
c22 several witnesses to support the application.
Giving evidence on his wife's behalf, Mr. Wild. answering Mr. T. Come, for 10 independent objectors, said that she had not made application before because she had been badly advised. -He could see no reason why his wife should not get a share of the available traffic. If she were short of vehicles she would make the necessary arrangements when a licence were obtained.
If the application were granted, submitted Mr. Come, it would result in
abstraction from existing operators and a weakening of the present services. Some of these were not well patronized at the beginning and end of the season, he observed.
A representative of Associated. Motorways said that his company already ran a service throughout the year to all the destinations named by Mrs. Wild.
"If the application had come from a newcomer we should have thrown it out straight away," said Mr. S. W. Nelson, chairman. "Even so, we think -it would be wrong to introduce a new licence. If we made even a limited grant we should be doing an injustice to others."