A failure to operate two local services have led to the revocation of the 11-vehicle international licence held by Bridgend-based Parrott Motors and the company being ordered to pay a financial penalty of £1,100 by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Jones.
The TC also disqualified sole Director Richard Parrott from acting as a Transport Manager (TM) until he has undertaken a two-day TM’s refresher course.
The firm had been called before the TC at a Public Inquiry but failed to attend.
The TC said that an application was made to cancel two registered services with an end date that was less than the required 56 days’ notice. The company was reminded of its obligation to continue operating until the 56-day notice period had ended. However, the services ceased almost immediately.
Mr Parrott explained that in November 2017 a taxi that the operator leased to a driver was involved in an accident which involved a fatality.
That raised the company’s insurance premium by 100% with only 48 hours’ notice prior to the insurance renewal date. It was felt that the business was no longer viable and as a result he made the decision to cease the services.
He claimed that an attempt was made to ensure replacement services so that local students would not be inconvenienced. That claim was contradicted by Bridgend County Borough Council which reported that services stopped running on 22 June 2018 leaving students stranded.
Inevitably that resulted in the local authority having to go to the time and trouble of sourcing alternatives, which would have resulted in expenditure for the public purse.
The requirement to give proper notice was set down in law for good reason, it afforded an opportunity for local transport authorities to seek alternatives if appropriate, and importantly it gives the travelling public notice of changes.
Withdrawing services without notice was something that reduced public confidence in local bus services and did nothing to encourage greater public use of buses.
He had no problem in an operator ceasing to operate but it was essential that that was always done in a controlled manner with proper notice. The failure to give proper notice was sufficiently serious for him to consider that it went to the issue of trust and repute.
Other operators in the past had issues with drivers and/or insurance premiums, but they had accepted their legal responsibilities and ensured that any decision to close was a measured response to problems. Indeed, operators had in the past lost out financially when closing as a result.
He accepted that Mr Parrott attempted to take steps to ameliorate the effects on the local public. However, the steps taken were clearly insufficient.
The financial penalty sent a message to operators who did not give proper notice of timetable changes and or cessation of services would be dealt with firmly and that notice that the law relating to registered services must always be applied.
