TC revokes licence and refuses new licence bid following unsatisfactory maintenance reports, high MOT failure rate, and TM without repute
In revoking the five-vehicle licence held by Parvez Akhtar Khan, trading as City Cabs Buses & Coaches, and refusing a bid for a new licence in the name of a limited company, Traffic Commisisoner (TC) Nick Denton said that the situation could have been recoverable in May 2016 following a DVSA investigation.
He also found that Transport Manager (TM) Steven Hover had lost his repute as a TM until such time as he had passed a further CPC exam.
The TC said that there had been an unsatisfactory maintenance report. The six-weekly inspection period had been extended on occasions up to eight, 15 and 16 weeks, and the operating centre was not in use with vehicles being parked elsewhere at drivers’ homes.
There was a very high MoT failure rate, some 80% compared to the national average of 18%, and a number of prohibition notices, particularly in relation to one vehicle.
Mr Hover said that the vehicles with the extended inspection periods had been off the road, but the VOR sheets had not been put in the vehicle folders by mistake. He accepted that he had neglected the TM’s role as he had been doing other roles. He said that at the time he had also been working 40 hours a week for another company, but that was no longer the case.
Drivers were no longer allowed to take vehicles home and they had changed the maintenance provider three times and had now upgraded the fleet. They had brought in an independent examiner in November, who would be doing quarterly audits. He agreed that was after the call-up letter for the Public Inquiry and six months after the Vehicle Examiner’s visit.
Questioned by the TC, Mr Hover said that he was paid annually around Christmas. He worked 20 hours a week. After seeing the payment figures, the TC commented that Mr Hover was being paid a quarter of the minimum wage.
Asked why inspection records had not been brought to the hearing, Mr Khan said that they had not operated since July as they were awaiting the new licence. He recognised they needed to make a lot of improvements for the new licence.
After Dominic Davison, Staffordshire County Council’s Senior Transport Co-ordinator, had said the company had been told in May 2015 that it could not use the sole trader licence and needed to apply for its own licence, the TC pointed out that did not occur until July 2016.
Mr Davison said that since 2011 the County had not contracted with Mr Khan as a sole trader, but with various limited companies of which he was a director.
Revoking the existing licence, the TC said that it had been a complete shambles. The operating entity had been a limited company for at least three years and possibly five.
Refusing the application by City Cabs Buses & Coaches Ltd, he said that he was not satisfied that the vehicles would be maintained properly. In relation to Mr Hover, he said that he had neglected his TM role over an extended period.
