OPERATORS committed to hires for Pope John Paul's visit to
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Britain this month should check the legal position in case the visit is cancelled.
The growing crisis over the Falkland Islands invasion has cast some doubt over the visit, and it is conceivable that it could be called off at the eleventh hour.
According to the Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport, cancellation of the visit could result in a frustrated contract, in which neither the operator nor the hirer is to blame. CPT is investigating the legal position at present, but advises its members to conduct their own checks on individual contracts with church groups.
A spokesman said that one or two days' notice of the visit being cancelled would be far too short for operators to be able to find alternative work, and she said that CPT would prefer at least 10 days' warning.
Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Transport says it expects more than half a million passengers to use its special services during the Pope's visit to Heaton Park on May 31. It is proposing to ban all traffic except buses and certain authorised vehicles from within three miles of the venue.
GMT hopes to run shuttle buses to Heaton Park from 7.30pm the night before. Services will serve coach parks, rail stations, off-street car parks and all parts of the city.