Although Stourbridge-based Umear Hussain had applied for a restricted licence, he was in fact granted a national licence by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Denton, subject to two undertakings.
Mr Hussain had sought a new two-vehicle restricted licence at a Birmingham Public Inquiry. At the outset, the TC said that it was quite difficult for a sole trader to operate two PSVs when it was not the main occupation.
After it was said that Mr Hussain would be carrying on with his full-time job and would be employing part-time drivers to do school runs, the TC pointed out that the application stated that the minibuses would be doing occasional weekend work as well.
Expensive assets like minibuses were not normally left hanging around and people looked for as much business as they could get. They did not normally leave vehicles standing at the weekend.
Mr Hussain said that he intended to start with a restricted licence and then later move onto a national licence. He did not really have any projected income from the school contracts as he had not approached the Council yet. He thought he would earn roughly £6,000 per vehicle per year.
After Mr Hussain admitted that he had the vehicles already, he said that they were just sitting there. He thought that he had acquired them about March of last year. Both vehicles had been SORNed. He had a qualified Transport Manager (TM) Arshad Parvez lined up for support and guidance to help him set things up, and his brother and his father would do the driving.
The TC said that school contracts brought in about £500 per vehicle per week and airport transfers £100 to £200 per transfer. Therefore, each minibus was capable of earning a gross income of £100,000 if used regularly. DVLA records showed the two minibuses not to be registered in Mr Hussain’s name. There was not quite sufficient finance for a national licence, though he was prepared to give a period of grace.
In reply to the TC, Mr Hussain said that he would be prepared to enter a contract with Mr Parvez to work four hours a week as his TM on a national licence.
Mr Parvez said that he would not have a problem in signing a contract. He was already specified as TM on two other licences, though he would be resigning from one of them shortly.
After Mr Parvez handed in a completed TM1 form, the TC granted a two-vehicle national licence with undertakings that by 10 July Mr Hussain provide bank statements for April, May and June showing he met the financial standing requirement, and that within four weeks he produce copies of V5 registration documents showing that both vehicles were registered in Mr Hussain’s name.
