Abbey Coaches (Darwen) Ltd & Anor
[2024] UKUT 16 (AAC)
Safir Shafi (t/a Alltravel Minibuses), Re
4 September 2024
[2024] UKUT 298 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal
A minibus company's licence was revoked for repeatedly breaking rules about vehicle safety and driver hours. The company tried to appeal, arguing they had problems, but the court said breaking those rules was too serious, even considering their difficulties. The licence revocation stood.
Key Facts
- •Safir Shafi (t/a ALLTRAVEL MINIBUSES) appealed the revocation of his operator's licence.
- •The Traffic Commissioner revoked the licence due to repeated and serious compliance failures.
- •These failures included inadequate vehicle maintenance (leading to a wheel detachment incident), non-compliance with drivers' hours regulations, and failure to report speeding convictions.
- •The operator had a previous licence revoked in 2017 for similar reasons.
- •The appeal argued the Commissioner failed to consider personal circumstances and alternative solutions.
Legal Principles
The Upper Tribunal will not overturn a Traffic Commissioner's decision unless it is plainly wrong.
Bradley Fold Travel Ltd & Peter Wright v Secretary of State for Transport [2010] EWCA Civ 695
Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (PPVA 1981), sections 17(1)(a), (b), and (3)(aa) regarding licence revocation.
Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981
Transport Act 1985, section 28, regarding disqualification from holding an operator's licence.
Transport Act 1985
Schedule 3 to the PPVA 1981, regarding disqualification of a transport manager for lack of good repute or professional competence.
Schedule 3 to the PPVA 1981
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The Commissioner's findings were not plainly wrong, and the sanctions were proportionate to the serious and persistent regulatory failings. Personal circumstances do not justify ignoring regulatory requirements.