The P.S.V. and The Law
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SOLVING THE, PROBLEMS OF THE CARRIER
WHEN is a bus not a bus, and when does it become a coach? When is a coach a contract carriage, and when is it not? Both these questions hare been put to me in recent weeks, and both arose from a study of " The Commercial Motor" Tables of Operating Costs.
The difference between a bus and coach is that a bus works under the conditions applicable ti:1 stage carriages, whereas coaches are employed on express services, excursions and tours, and as " contract carriages " for private hire.
Operating Costs Differ
The reasons for differentiating between buses and coaches in " The Commercial Motor" Tables of Operating Costs is, first, that on buses carrying more than 20 passengers a conductor must be employed, whereas this is not necessary on coaches. There is, therefore, a difference between the two in cost of operation, because an allowance has to be made for the wages of the bus conductor. Further, buses are in use for more than the ncrrnal eight-hour or nine-hour day, necessitating the employment of shifts.of drivers and conductors. This factor also has to be provided for in the Tables.
The difference between a normal coach and a contract carriage is purely legal and does not directly affect the costs. Incidentally, an essential condition of the use of a contract vehicle is that separate fares must not be charged for each passenger. In a later article I will deal with the question of costs and charges, but here I will confine myself to the 'legal aspect of public service vehicle operation.
First I will take the case of buses. These, in law, are described as "stage carriages," which are vehicles carrying passengers for hire or reward at separate fares. There is a distinction between a stage carriage and an express carriage. The latter is a vehicle carrying passengers for hire or reward at separate fares, none of which is less than Is. or such greater sum as may be prescribed. The third class of vehicle recognized by the law is the " contract carriage," which is a vehicle carrying passengers for hire or reward under contract for the use of the vehicle as a whole at an agreed sum.
• A Legal Distinction
Clearly there is a difference between the purely legal description and the ordinary understanding of the distinction between a bus and a coach, for, of course, coaches are used other than as contract carriages. They are operated for the conveyance of passengers at separate fares, whereas contract carriages may not be used in that way. In effect, a coach, when used for tours or excursions and on other services on which passengers are charged separate fares, is in law an express carriage. There is another difference in law between stage and express carriages, which include coaches carrying passengers for separate fares, and contract carriages, which may not carry passengers at separate fares, and that is in the licences needed..for their operation. There are three types of licence issued in connection with the operation of public service vehicles, and the first of these is the public service vehicle licence. It is laid down in the Act of 1930 that all three classes of passenger vehicle must have public service vehicle licences. Next comes the certificate of fitness, which all three classes of vehicle must have. A public-service-vehicle licence will not be granted unless a certificate of fitness has already heetk issued by the certifying officer, and that certificate is issue) only when certain prescribed conditions of fitness are fulfilled in respect of the vehicle.
The third of these licences is the road-service licence. This the Traffic Commissioner may grant to a person to provide a service, and a vehicle must not be used as a stage or express carriage except under such a licence. A contract carriage, which may be used only for private hire, does not have a road-service licence, although it must have a publicservice-vehicle licence and a certificate of fitness.
Certificates of Fitness
Both the public-service-vehicle licence and certificate of fitness are easy to obtain. If the vehicle be new, and be of a type which has already been certified, a certificate of fitness is issued almost automatically. Once that is granted, the public-service-vehicle licence can also be obtained with ease.
The road-service licence, on the contrary, is anything but easy to obtain, because the applicant has to persuade the Commissioner that there is a need for the service which he proposes to run, and particularly if there be competition, the Commissioner may not see fit to grant such a licence.
What is a Contract Carriage ?
There is, however, even more than what has already been written in this distinction between a contract carriage and the other kinds of passenger vehicle. The governing condition, as I have already pointed out, is that the passengers may not be carried at separate fares, which might be charged according to varying distances which an individual might travel; the vehicle must be hired as a whole.
The law officers have gone to a good deal of trouble to make regulations which ensure that, when a vehicle is being used as a contract carriage, there' shall be no doubt about that fact and no possibility of the provisions of the law being evaded. The point is that, if separate fares be paid, the vehicle ceases to be a contract carriage and is not legally operable unless it has a road-service licence.
After a long period the many stipulations made in respect of the use of a contract carriage were consolidated as follows: A contract carriage is for the conveyance of private parties on special occasions. Arrangements for bringing together all the passengers for the purpose of making the journey as a party must not be made by the holder of the public-service-vehicle licence in respect of the vehicle, or a person acting on his behalf, or a person who receives any • remuneration in respect of those arrangements, and the journey must be made without previous notice to the public of the arrangements of the particular trip.
All the passengers must, in the case of a journey to a particular destination, be carried to or near that destination, or, in the case of a tour, be carried for the greater part of the journey. No differentiation of fares for the journey, on the basis of distance or of time, must be made to any
Embargo on Regular Passengers
Tn the case of a journey to a particular destination, the passengers must not include any person who frequently or as a matter of routine travels at or about the time of day at which the journey is made to that destination from the starting point or any place en route. This provision prevents the operation of contract carriages on works services.
The operator of the vehicle must, within a prescribed time, make a record of the journey, but the regulations do not require particulars of the fares or prices to be recorded. Also, the driver of the vehicle must carry a work ticket containing such particulars as may be prescribed, for the purpose of enabling the details of the journey made in the operator's record to be checked.
The following information is required on the operator's record and on the work ticket: First, on the operator's record, there must be shown (i) the time and date of the commencement and termination of the journey; (ii) the point at which the journey began and finished, and a sufficient description of the route to show adequately the extent of the journey, and (iii) the name and address of the person who made the arrangements for bringing together all the passengers.
Particulars on Work Tickets The work ticket must contain these particulars: 6) The name and address of the holder of the public-service-vehicle licence for the vehicle used for the journey; (ii) the time and the date on which the journey started; (iii) the date on which the journey ended, if other than the date of starting; .(iv) the point at which the journey began and a sufficient description of the route to show adequately the extent of the journey, and (v) the name and address of the person who made the arrangements for forming the party for the excursion.
The record must be made not later than 72 hours after the completion of the journey, and must be kept for six months and be available for production for inspection by any person authorized to do so by any Area Traffic Commissioner.
To conclude this concise summary of the law relating to coaches employed on private hire, I should point out that it is also necessary for the driver of the vehicle to hold a public-service-vehicle driver's licence, for which, in normal times at any rate, it is necessary that he should pass a medical examination and a driving test on the type of vehicle he would drive for his employer. S.T.R.