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Cosmos chief slammed for
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'old boy' attack by Martin Hayes
INDUSTRY REJECTS 'WILD' STATEMENT
• Strong condemnation was voiced this week by all sides of the coach operating industry of a statement attacking the system of road service licensing. The attack was made by Mr W. H. Jones, managing director of Cosmos Tours Ltd. An application on his company's behalf to operate coach tours in the UK has recently been dismissed by the Metropolitan Traffic Commissioners. Predictably, his statement has been branded as "sour grapes" by leading representatives of the British industry.
Mr Jones bitterly attacked the "old busmen" and their "old boys' clubs" for their failure to provide a good deal for British coach passengers. "We have fought for years to be allowed to operate coach tours in Britain. We have revolutionized and revitalized that business on the Continent where we are now taking over 100,000 British people on coach tours every year. We have virtually run our British rivals off the road and are now achieving a fantastic growth in attracting overseas passengers but not for Britain", said Mr Jones.
When the Cosmos application came before the Commissioners existing operators reported hard times so the application
was rejected because of insufficient evidence of demand, said Mr Jones. Another reason for its refusal was because its estimated nightly hotel rates of £3.23 and lunch charges of 60p were claimed to be unrealistic, said Mr Jones. Existing operators provided evidence that they were paying £4.50 to £.5 per night and 80p for lunch. "I only wish we had had a Sunday School teacher there with some experience of the cost of outings to laugh those 'old busmen' and the Commissioners out of court. What a fiasco!", declared Mr Jones. He then said: "The old boys' clubs must be broken".
Appealing
Cosmos is appealing against the Commissioners' decision and at the hearing expected to be in late August or September will according to Mr Jones, produce evidence which will "shame the existing operators for their failure to bargain and keep prices down", "We are determined to break into domestic tour operating and build a great business here", he concluded.
Reaction to the statement came fast and furious. Mr Denis Quin, director of the Passenger Vehicle Operators' Associ ation, told CM that he thought the statement too important to dismiss lightly and a detailed answer to it would appear later. However, he went on to say that road service licensing "is too important to the stability of the industry and as a medium of protecting the public to be regarded as a whipping boy by any disgruntled entrepreneur".
Operators were even more outspoken in their comments. Mr Malcolm Barr, chairman and managing director of Wallace Arnold cited by Mr Jones in his attack told CM that it was "rubbish" to say that British operators did not bargain with hotels. "It is absurd to compare costs in Britain with those in Spain", said Mr Barr. He went on to say that when comparing British and foreign tour operations it should always be remembered that there were far fewer complaints and let-downs in Britain.
Mr Barr, who said that he did not wish to comment on the details of the case or the licensing system until after the appeal was heard, described Mr Jones' statement as "very wild". There was no "club" of any kind and the Traffic Commissioners were always very fair. He rejected the allegation thPt British operators on the Continent were being run-off the road by Cosmos. "Our foreign bookings have been steady for years and show a 10 per cent improvement this season", he said. The Cosmos application had been accompanied by "poor evidence" which was why it had failed, said Mr Barr. Mr Jones' statement was "sour grapes".
Mr W. A. Varney, immediate past chairman of the PVOA, and general manager of Biss Bros Coaches, also emphatically denied that there was any old boys' club. Mr Varney said he had written to Mr Jones advising him to travel on his own tours to understand what economy meant. Mr Varney told CM that it was "ridiculous" to suggest that there was a closed shop in British coaching. For this allegation to come from someone who was "not even a bloody coach operator" was all the more annoying.
Mr Varney said that "Cosmos lives off the back of coach operators" and he had a poor opinion of the standard of operator employed by Cosmos. He did, however, admit that the present licensing system was old-fashioned and could do with some modification.
A spokesman for National Travel (NBC) Ltd said on Wednesday that his company "feels that the decision of the Metropolitan Traffic Commissioners with their long experience in these matters must surely ' refute the Cosmos comments. The programme of existing London operators is a constantly changing one and will always, we hope, keep abreast of changing trends while still supplying long-standing requirements".
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment told CM that the matter was still sub judice pending the appeal hearing and declined to comment beyond saying that Cosmos would presumably raise the same points then.
Mr N. S. Pugh, Cosmos sales director, rebutted the criticisms, saying that his company had been successful because it operated economically. Asked if this meant coach operators hired by the company would receive lower rates than those working for other companies, he said "not necessarily". Cosmos got higher utilization of vehicles than its competitors, said Mr Pugh.