The Cambridgeshire Bus, Coach and Taxi Association (CBCTA) is calling on the Traffic Commissioner (TC) to not grant O-Licences for 45 vehicles to two new organisations, due to a catalogue of allegations about their conduct.
The CBCTA has already made allegations of illegal profit making while operating under Section 19 permits, and potential fraudulent fundraising practices, by Fenland Association for Community Transport (FACT).
Now two new organisations have been created, each applying for separate O-Licences: Fenland ACT Trading Ltd (34 Vehicles) and Huntingdonshire ACT Trading Ltd (11 Vehicles).
The directors for these private companies are Joanne Philpott, Steven Shannon, David King and Eric Cornish and the sole shareholders are FACT and HACT respectively.
The CBCTA says that in 2015 new minibuses were fully-funded by Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC), which then made direct contract awards for the entire funded fleet, in breach of Department for Transport (DfT) guidance.
An investigation into the allegations by CCC’s auditor has yet to report. The CBCTA argues that until all the allegations are thoroughly investigated, O-Licences should not be granted.
The CBCTA also claims that FACT has been illegally claiming fuel rebates on educational contracts while claiming that only OAPs and the disabled were being carried. FACT refutes all the allegations.
