Abbey Coaches (Darwen) Ltd & Anor
[2024] UKUT 16 (AAC)
Clayton Francis Jones t/a Street Buses
30 August 2023
[2023] UKUT 226 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal
A bus company didn't run its buses on time or keep its promises, so the government fined them, limited how many buses they could use, and warned them to do better. The company tried to appeal, but the court said the government was right.
Key Facts
- •Clayton Francis Jones (t/a Street Buses) appealed a Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) decision following a public inquiry.
- •Jones held a PSV operator's licence for 8 vehicles, but was granted 13 routes in January 2022.
- •He subsequently attempted to suspend 8 routes, which is not legally permissible.
- •A punctuality monitoring exercise revealed a 26.85% punctuality rate, far below the 95% target.
- •Jones failed to provide an independent audit report as undertaken.
- •The DTC imposed a £3200 penalty for failing to operate services, curtailed his licence to 1 vehicle due to financial standing issues, and issued a formal warning.
- •Jones cited various reasons for non-compliance, including late delivery of buses, ticketing machine problems, road closures, and funding issues.
Legal Principles
Operators must operate local services in accordance with registered particulars.
Transport Act 1985, s.6(2)
Traffic Commissioners may attach conditions to PSV operator's licences for failure to operate local services.
Transport Act 1985, s.26
Traffic Commissioners may impose penalties for failing to operate a local service without reasonable excuse.
Transport Act 1985, s.155
Standard PSV licences require appropriate financial standing.
Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, s.14ZA(2)(c)
Traffic commissioners may vary licence conditions if undertakings are not fulfilled.
Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, s.17(2)(d) and (3)(aa)
Reasonable excuse is assessed considering whether everyday occurrences are covered by existing flexibility, or if extraordinary events merit consideration.
T/2018/50 Diamond Bus Ltd
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The Upper Tribunal found that Jones failed to establish reasonable excuse for his non-compliance and that the DTC's decision was not wrong.