The 24-vehicle international licence held by Crosville Motor Services has been revoked by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Kevin Rooney for a lack of professional competence, with effect from 25 April, the day the firm has indicated it is ceasing to trade.
The Weston-Super-Mare based operator appeared before the TC at a Bristol Public Inquiry who had before him an application to nominate Managing Director (MD) John Wye as the qualified Transport Manage (TM) on the licence.
The TC was also considering the disqualification of the MD of the holding company JJP Holdings (South West), Jonathan Jones-Pratt, but said that Mr Jones-Pratt had been unable to attend for reasons beyond his control. It was unlikely he would be back on the scene for some considerable time.
At the outset, Jonathan Backhouse, for Crosville, said that it wished to reduce the licence to a 15-vehicle national licence.
The TC said that when Crosville had appeared before in June, he was given assurances about the imposition of a new management team [routeone/Court Report/5 July 2017], but by November that team had disappeared.
Mark Green said he was employed as a fitter by Crosville between February and October 2017. He was made to do a rush inspection of a bus, being given only 33 minutes, which failed a rolling road brake test three times.
He was then instructed to give it a Tapley Meter test and it was subsequently sent out. He said the signatures on the inspection form were a bad attempt to copy his signature and were definite forgeries. He had photographic evidence that he had not signed the form saying the bus was fit for service.
Mr Green agreed that he had not endorsed the inspection form showing the bus had failed the rolling road tests, that there was a problem with the rolling road, and that the bus passed the Tapley Meter test. He denied that he had deliberately not used his normal signature on the inspection form, and he agreed he had sent a letter of complaint to the TC after he was suspended by Crosville.
In reply to Mark Laprell, for JJP Holdings and Mr Jones-Pratt, Mr Green said that he was under duress when he wrote “rolling road computer crash” on the form. Mr Laprell pointed out that if the mileages were right on the defect reports for the bus concerned, it did not go out that day.
Seeking an adjournment, Mr Backhouse said that this was the first time they had been aware of the issue of the signatures on the inspection form and it needed properly researching by a forensic handwriting expert. There were no ongoing concerns over vehicle condition.
After the TC said that what was happening with the Crosville licence was of least importance – he was concerned about a licence application by Somerset Passenger Services (SPS) as all the investment seemed to be going into that company – Mr Backhouse said that the TC would be provided with full information about that application, including who was involved.
Revoking the licence without making any findings about the repute of the firm or Mr Jones-Pratt, the TC said that an investigation into whether the signatures were valid or not was impossible as it would take too much time. Crosville had wanted to surrender the licence when it ceased trading on 25 April, but it has been without a TM since last October.
