Yorks bus blockade brings inquiry call
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TRANSPORT Minister William Rodgers has been asked to intervene in West Yorkshire PTE's plans to dispose of its loss-making coach subsidiaries, but negotiations have already reached an advanced stage over the sale of one company.
Prospective Labour Parliamentary candidate for Huddersfield West Richard Faulkner wants Mr Rodgers to hold an inquiry into WYPTE's handling of the Metro-Hanson company which, along with Baddeley Brothers Ltd, lost 000,000 in one financial year.
His call followed a protest last week by 23 Hanson drivers who used their vehicles to block Huddersfield bus station for an hour.
One of the drivers said: "We are not strikers. We want to work. We have got the potential, and we have got the vehicles. We have got the contracts, but we have not got the right management." He alleged that the company is viable, and said that "plenty of work" has been booked for the coming season, including Continental tours.
Meanwhile, negotiations for the sale of Hanson's to an unnamed party are now at an advanced stage, and the PTE hopes a deal will be clinched shortly. A spokesman declined to say whether an existing operator is interested. Metro-Hanson has already sold its nine Volvo B58 coaches to a dealer for "a substantial price", as the prospective purchaser of the company is not interested in them. The dealer declined to discuss the prices paid for the Volvos when CM spoke to him this week.
Negotiations to sell Baddeley's business are also in progress, but are not so advanced as those for Hanson's.