'No suggestion' that Fastline Travel had been involved in disc-lending
No action was taken against the licence held by Walsall-based Fastline Travel, after Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Denton said he could not see any offence committed in its relationship with someone without a PSV O-Licence.
The company, of New Mills Street, Walsall, with a nine-vehicle international licence, had been called before the TC at a Birmingham Public Inquiry (PI). At a previous PI in 2015 TC Nick Jones cut the company’s licence from 25 vehicles to nine.
Director and Transport Manager (TM) Ali Safdar said that the company was engaged on school contract and local service work. The requirement of the appointment of a second TM at the last PI had been complied with. A Geoff Deakin, who was self-employed, had been employed 12 hours a week. He was paid cash, as were most of the drivers.
Asked about a vehicle given an ‘S' marked prohibition at annual test for loose wheelnuts, said to be operated by James Clayton, Mr Safdar said that it was not being operated by himself or Mr Clayton, who did not have a PSV O-Licence.
He had rented a lot of vehicles out to Rashad Mahmood, trading as AJK Travel, and Mr Clayton, the latter being run on his own O-Licence. He had bought vehicles on behalf of Mr Clayton and he had financed them for him.
After the TC had pointed out that Fastline was the registered keeper, Mr Safdar said that was because he had not been paid fully for the vehicles as yet. It was a kind of hire-purchase agreement. All the vehicles concerned had since been sold.
Vehicle Examiner Austin Jones said that the prohibition issued at the test station did not list any O-Licence. It listed Mr Clayton as the operator and Fastline as the registered keeper. Mr Clayton had said that he had rented the vehicle back to Fastline. He believed that the vehicle had been in the Fastline livery.
Mr Safdar said that there had never been a Fastline livery. On occasions he had used the vehicle for school runs and paid Mr Clayton for it. The vehicle concerned had been sold in 2016. Mr Clayton was an employee of his at the time and he had a separate business buying and selling vehicles.
Agreeing that he had taken the vehicle for annual test himself, Mr Safdar said that he had done a walk-round check but had not checked the wheelnuts. The vehicle had been prepared for test by Mr Clayton.
Taking no action, the TC said that he had not seen from the documents produced anything to suggest it was more likely than not a licence had been lent or more vehicles had been being operated than were authorised.
