The traffic commissioners have also attempted to identify common themes arising at hearings, which other operators might learn from to avoid regulatory action.
This year the report includes links to real cases to allow the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the issues seen at public inquiry. It acknowledges that economic factors and changes in skills requirements continue to challenge operators.
Among the topics examined are: delivering a better regulatory service; changes to bus services; transport manager CPCs; and drivers and continuous control and use of ‘self-employed’ drivers.
It also discusses issues such as maintenance shortages; drivers’ hours; and periods of grace. The work undertaken around local bus services, such as bus open data, enhanced partnerships and bus franchising are also mentioned.
To read more about the report’s findings, go to www.tinyurl.com/4bke7w9j.
Clandestine entrants
The Backhouse Jones dispute resolution team has overturned a penalty charge of £120,000 imposed after 10 clandestine entrants were found in a vehicle operated by one of its clients.
Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, both the vehicle operators and the drivers may face substantial fines when clandestine entrants are found, unless it can be proven that effective preventative measures were in place.
Despite the severity of the situation and the substantial fine issued by the Border Force, the team demonstrated all reasonable precautions were taken to prevent the clandestine entrants from boarding the vehicle.
It gathered comprehensive evidence showing that the client had conducted thorough vehicle checks, adhered to industry standards and complied fully with legal requirements.
Through strategic negotiations and a detailed review of the case, Backhouse Jones successfully argued the penalty was disproportionate. As a result, the £120,000 charge was completely cancelled.
This result not only saved the client a substantial financial burden but also highlights the importance of a strong legal defence when facing penalties related to clandestine entrants.
Keep LICENCES up to date
The Office of the Traffic Commissioner periodically issues bulletins about ensuring the operator licence and contact details are kept up to date using the online system; Vehicle Operator Licensing (VOL).
All holders of an O licence are responsible for ensuring that the details are periodically reviewed and are correct at all times. This could be checking that you have sufficient authorisation of vehicles/trailers on the licence in comparison to the number of vehicles/trailers you are actually operating, or even ensuring that the operating centre that is listed on the licence is still the same site from which you are operating.
While in theory this seems a simple enough task to complete, there are a large number of cases where licences have not been kept up to date. In fact, such discrepancies (and the failure to keep a check on the licence) is often brought up in public inquiries and preliminary hearings before the traffic commissioner.
The operator licensing regime is based on trust, which means that the traffic commissioner has to trust the operator to be compliant which covers the periodic checking of the licence and ensuring that all details are up to date.
To provide context to this issue, cases often come through to public inquiry where it is clear that individuals are listed on the licence as directors though this record does not match that on Companies House.
It is important that operators are aware that just because Companies House is updated with changes made to directors, this does not automatically follow through to the licence – both have to be changed.
This page is brought to you by Backhouse Jones Solicitors, which runs a frequent series of podcasts – see www.tinyurl.com/2xbv3jzv
