The two-vehicle restricted licence held by Dewsbury-based Anita Hawkins has been revoked with effect from 18 April by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Tim Blackmore to give her time to apply for a national licence.
Ms Hawkins, trading as A&H Travel, had been called before the TC at a Leeds Public Inquiry because of concerns over her main occupation. An application for a four-vehicle international licence by A&H Coach Travel Ltd, of which Ms Hawkins was the sole Director, was withdrawn before the hearing.
In reply to the TC, Ms Hawkins said that her restricted licence was granted in 2005. She had always operated minibuses doing school contracts. She said she also drove for other people, including cars on TV and film work. She obtained some Kirklees school contracts in 2008/2009, but she lost them in about 2010 and A&H Travel went out of business, so she went back to driving and dong some office work.
In 2016 she obtained a Kirklees contract again and bought a 16-seater. She then obtained a second contract in 2017 when another operator handed it in and she bought his minibus. Both contracts would be up for re-tender in July and she intended to bid for them.
After the death of her father, she applied for the international licence for personal reasons and also acquired his coach, which people asked to borrow. As they were making money out of it, she thought she would go for a licence herself to operate it.
But she received bad advice – she was told she had to have a limited company. She had also assumed that she could have both a restricted licence and an international licence at the same time.
When she spoke to the Traffic Area Office and realised what was involved in applying for a standard licence, she had decided to stay as she was with the restricted licence. She was aware that her cousin Michael Devine, who did some driving, was applying for an international licence.
After financial evidence was heard in private, Ms Hawkins indicated that she would be seeking a national licence.
The TC said that he thought that that was the way forward. Ms Hawkins was doing so well with the A&H Travel business, which was a good thing, but it meant that she did not meet the main occupation rule required to holder a restricted licence.
