Not quite Bankfoot no more...
Apr. 11th, 2009 09:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
suzyscottdotcomFurther to my item on Monday about the revocation of Bankfoot Buses o-licence, it appears that the boss will vow to carry on… from their website…
Bankfoot Buses is delighted to announce that it will continue to operate Route 22 between Dunkeld and Perth via Bankfoot and Waterloo on a free basis. This is In spite of the laughable decision by the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland to remove our Operators Licence (which means we cannot operate buses that charge fares) for "interfering with Stagecoach services and town centre bus stops in Perth" and a "wilful disregard for running advertised services". How many Bankfoot Buses services have ever been late or not turned up in the last eighteen months?! We especially had a good chuckle at the bit of the report that said Bankfoot Buses had tried to manipulate public opinion by offering free services, charity donations and mulled wine on board - as if it were somehow wrong to maintain good public relations and thank our customers...you...the very people who have supported us.
It seems money does indeed talk! Perhaps that what other bus companies mean when they say "buses mean business."
Rest assured, Bankfoot Buses will continue to provide the same safe, reliable bus service that it has always done - and it will take more than excessive officialdom and bullying from others to stop us. Please support us in any way you can.
So, what exactly caused the licence to be revoked? Well, you can read the full story here, but in brief…
Perth bus company banned by Traffic Commissioner for Scotland
A small Perth based company who sought to interfere with services run by rival company Stagecoach have been ordered off the road for three and a half years.
The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland Joan Aitken, called Bankfoot Buses Ltd to a Public Inquiry in Edinburgh on 22 January 2009.
Joan Aitken found that Bankfoot Buses Ltd had attempted to interfere with another operator's routes (Stagecoach) and attempted to mislead the public by using a similar livery and uniform to that of Stagecoach. They tried to create good will towards their own buses and ill will towards Stagecoach by means including offers of free buses, mulled wine and charitable donations.
The Traffic Commissioner also found that the operator had:
* Used a forged operator licence disc
* Failed to display valid operator licence discs.
* Failed to operate registered services without reasonable excuse
* Interfered with bus stop arrangements in Perth City Centre to the detriment of road safety, traffic management and public expectations.
Ms Joan Aitken commented: "This is a serious case of wilful disregard of the regulatory regime and of very unusual and unprofessional behaviour.
"The operator's on/off approach to when he would run his registered services is as bad as it can get. The company and its Directors must be put beyond public service vehicle operating for a good period of time."
The company and the directors Mr Stuart Newing-Davis and Mrs Sarah Ann Newing-Davis will be banned from holding or applying for a public service vehicle operator licence throughout the UK for a period of three years six months. The orders will come into effect from 16 April 2009, a fine of £1,650 payable to Scottish Ministers is also due on this date.
Further interesting reading in the full 15 page text, in paragraph 33, amongst evidence from Perth & Kinross Council…
“All vehicles had a bucket where the ticket machine should be within the vehicle and had a notice for Atlantean restoration charity box or similar.”
That wouldn’t be the Leyland Atlantean single decker owned by a Mr S. Newing-Davies, which is now part of the Bankfoot Buses “retro” private hire fleet?
Bankfoot Buses is delighted to announce that it will continue to operate Route 22 between Dunkeld and Perth via Bankfoot and Waterloo on a free basis. This is In spite of the laughable decision by the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland to remove our Operators Licence (which means we cannot operate buses that charge fares) for "interfering with Stagecoach services and town centre bus stops in Perth" and a "wilful disregard for running advertised services". How many Bankfoot Buses services have ever been late or not turned up in the last eighteen months?! We especially had a good chuckle at the bit of the report that said Bankfoot Buses had tried to manipulate public opinion by offering free services, charity donations and mulled wine on board - as if it were somehow wrong to maintain good public relations and thank our customers...you...the very people who have supported us.
It seems money does indeed talk! Perhaps that what other bus companies mean when they say "buses mean business."
Rest assured, Bankfoot Buses will continue to provide the same safe, reliable bus service that it has always done - and it will take more than excessive officialdom and bullying from others to stop us. Please support us in any way you can.
So, what exactly caused the licence to be revoked? Well, you can read the full story here, but in brief…
Perth bus company banned by Traffic Commissioner for Scotland
A small Perth based company who sought to interfere with services run by rival company Stagecoach have been ordered off the road for three and a half years.
The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland Joan Aitken, called Bankfoot Buses Ltd to a Public Inquiry in Edinburgh on 22 January 2009.
Joan Aitken found that Bankfoot Buses Ltd had attempted to interfere with another operator's routes (Stagecoach) and attempted to mislead the public by using a similar livery and uniform to that of Stagecoach. They tried to create good will towards their own buses and ill will towards Stagecoach by means including offers of free buses, mulled wine and charitable donations.
The Traffic Commissioner also found that the operator had:
* Used a forged operator licence disc
* Failed to display valid operator licence discs.
* Failed to operate registered services without reasonable excuse
* Interfered with bus stop arrangements in Perth City Centre to the detriment of road safety, traffic management and public expectations.
Ms Joan Aitken commented: "This is a serious case of wilful disregard of the regulatory regime and of very unusual and unprofessional behaviour.
"The operator's on/off approach to when he would run his registered services is as bad as it can get. The company and its Directors must be put beyond public service vehicle operating for a good period of time."
The company and the directors Mr Stuart Newing-Davis and Mrs Sarah Ann Newing-Davis will be banned from holding or applying for a public service vehicle operator licence throughout the UK for a period of three years six months. The orders will come into effect from 16 April 2009, a fine of £1,650 payable to Scottish Ministers is also due on this date.
Further interesting reading in the full 15 page text, in paragraph 33, amongst evidence from Perth & Kinross Council…
“All vehicles had a bucket where the ticket machine should be within the vehicle and had a notice for Atlantean restoration charity box or similar.”
That wouldn’t be the Leyland Atlantean single decker owned by a Mr S. Newing-Davies, which is now part of the Bankfoot Buses “retro” private hire fleet?
