The three-vehicle international O-Licence held by Newport-based Snowdonia Travel, with vehicles branded as FoxStar Bus, has been revoked with immediate effect and the company has been ordered to pay a financial penalty of £300 for failing to operate its registered local services.
The company, with a registered office in Bristol, had been called before Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones at a Cardiff Public Inquiry (PI), but it failed to attend.
Making the revocation order and imposing the financial penalty of £100 per vehicle, the TC said that Snowdonia Travel was granted an O-Licence in 2016. Originally, the operating centre was in North Wales.
The director sold the business to Rhys Hand, who was currently the sole director. The operating centre was changed to Newport in South Wales. Nicholas Siddaway was the nominated Transport Manager (TM).
Various complaints had been received, which led to checks on timetable compliance by Bus Users Cymru. Initially those checks revealed a good level of timetable observance that varied between 92% and 100% adherence to the registered schedule.
Following later complaints, it emerged that the company had ceased running registered services without providing the necessary formal notice. In addition, the company no longer satisfied the requirement for financial standing. Finally, TC Jones ruled that Mr Siddaway’s repute as TM was tarnished, but not lost.
