TC Nick Jones lays out problems in Wales as he delays revocation of Express Motors O-Licences
Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Jones has indicated that he was given the full-time appointment as TC for Wales to sort out the bus service problems in the principality.
He says that was so that “the public can have safe bus services running to time, and compliant operators can have a level playing field.”
He said that there are problems with non-compliant operators, particularly in North Wales. His intention is to educate operators, encourage the compliant operators and ensure safe operation.
As an example of the problems he faces, he quoted a case where a local authority in Mid Wales had begged him not to revoke a licence because it would have left the public in that area without any bus services.
His comments came when he revoked the licences for 55 vehicles held by Caernarfon-based Express Motors (Penygroes), and Eric Wyn Jones and Jean Ann Jones, trading as Express Motors.
He has delayed the implementation of his decision until the end of the year to enable time for a new application for a 35-vehicle licence by Express Motors (Caernarfon) to be granted, and the registered local services operated by the partnership to be transferred over.
He said a factor in his decision to allow time for the new application rather than just to revoke the two existing licences, which he would have been entitled to have done, was his concern for the travelling public losing services – taking account of the fact that he had recently revoked the licence held by a major operator in the Wrexham area.
The two O-Licences have been revoked after an Express Motors (Penygroes) vehicle crashed in France in July 2016, which led to a maintenance investigation.
A full report of the PI will be published in a coming issue.
