Millmans Coaches, trading as Grey Cars and Coaches or Torbay, has had its O-Licence revoked by the Traffic Commissioner (TC) due to mechanical defects.
Eight of 21 recent Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency checks found vehicles that were too dangerous for the road. One minibus had a completely dry brake fluid reservoir and another had a fuel tank dislodged causing Devon County Council to have to re-surface 100m of road.
TC Kevin Rooney heard that the 16-vehicle coach and bus operator had been unable to retain professional PSV technicians.
At the hearing, the commissioner reported, former driver and current transport manager Paul Hamlyn-White demonstrated a “complete lack of the fundamental knowledge required for an engineering role”.
Mr Rooney found the company had acted recklessly in allowing the fleet’s maintenance to be managed by someone who started in the job of fleet engineer with only a few days’ technical training.
The traffic commissioner said: “It is so bad that I need to put the operator out of business. I cannot allow a 16-vehicle operation to continue. The risk is simply too great.
“Every other vehicle inspected by DVSA whilst in service is so dangerous that an immediate prohibition is issued…
“The person in charge of the fleet has no relevant qualification and demonstrated in the hearing a lack of even the most basic understanding of vehicle systems and the physics that lies behind them.
“This is an operation that, for the safety of schoolchildren in south Devon and other road users must be brought to an end.”
