Stage Services Not to be Linked : Protection for Tours
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THE Yorkshire Licensing Authority has given a reserved decision which, in effect, is against the linking of two stage services of the West Yorkshire Road Car Co., Ltd., so as to give through facilities on Sundays between Farsley, near Leeds, and Leeds, Scarborough and Bridlington.
With the support of Pudsey Corporation, West Yorkshire obtained a licence last April permitting them to introduce the Farsley-Leeds service. In May, again with the corporation's support, they obtained a dispensation for Sundays only, which enabled them to add a journey leasing Farsley at 8.40 a.m., arriving in Leeds at 9,6 a.m. "for the purpose of connecting with other services starting from Leeds."
When West Yorkshire applied for confirmation of the dispensation, objections were made by the Farsley Omnibus Co., and Wallace Arnold Tours, Ltd., both controlled by the Barr and Wallace Arnold Trust, Ltd., who held licences for excursions and tours from Farsley and district to the Yorkshire coast.
The objectors complained that the applicants were competing unfairly with their excursion and tour facilities by linking their early Farsley-Leeds journey on Sunday mornings with their facilities from Leeds to Scarborough and Bridlington, so as to provide through journeys, with pre-booking, from Farsley to the coast.
It was stated that West Yorkshire's vehicles from Farsley, arriving in Leeds at 9.6 a.m., became duplicates on the 9.15 a.m. journey from Leeds to Scarborough and Bridlington, with pre
booked passengers from Farsley. The difference between the stage-carriage fares and the excursion and tour fare from the same starting points ranged from Is. to 2s. 3d. .
In support of the linking of the services, the applicants 'cited the Elliott appeal case decision permitting the linking of two express services, and suggested that the decision laid down a principle which was applicable to stage services.
Submitting that it would be wrong to apply the principle of the Elliott decision to stage services, the objectors contended that this would, in effect, break down the differentiation between the three categories of services—stage, express and excursions and tours. It would enable linked stage services to be also operated as express services and as excursions and tours.
The applicants had already used the linking of the services in question for day-return bookings from Farsley to the Yorkshire coast, and they had suggested it would be quite legitimate for them to use it for period returns.
The objectors further submitted that the applicants had not proved need for their provision of through travel facilities by linking the stage-carriage services in question.
In his reserved decision, the Licensing Authority has granted to West Yorkshire a licence variation permitting an early Sunday journey from Farsley to Leeds, but at a time 20 minutes later than the timing in the dispensation, so as to preclude the linking of the FarsleyLeeds service with the service from Leeds to Scarborough and Bridlington.