Aintree Coachline / Helms of Eastham

[enrag2000]

RE: Aintree Coachline / Helms of Eastham

(29/04/2017 10:10)YK53 GXO Wrote:  All buses that operate for the company on public roads for the purpose of business or trade require a Section 22 permit O-License. This includes shunt buses. Any bus operating for the company, whether in service or not, requires a valid Operator License showing on the vehicle.

Also, the shunt buses for the day tend to be the buses that operate the schools in the morning, then get shunted down to Ellesmere Port or Chester for a driver change at around 2pm, meaning that they can go straight to the school instead of having to go back to the depot. This, in most cases, significantly reduces the PVR for the company.

The operating centre is mainly only to state where that buses main office is based. The actual location of the bus when out of use can vary, hence why there is no specific address on the O-License disc. For example, Trident AW04 XCK can be operated under the PC0003713 license from the Eastham garage every day, but it's main operating centre is actually Aintree garage. This is what is known as storing a bus in an 'outstation' to where the vehicle is registered to for practical reasons. Where buses are stored overnight does not directly have to be their operating centre on the corresponding companies O-License.

You are referring to the licences held by Aintree Coaches International Limited (PC0004738) and by John Cherry (PC0003713). Legally and in the eyes of the Traffic Commissioner these are two separate entities.

4738 authorises the operation of twelve vehicles from Hooton and two from Sefton Industrial Estate and as this is an International licence, vehicles operated under this licence should display its green O-licence discs.

3713 authorises the operation of fourteen vehicles from Sefton Industrial Estate and none from Hooton and as this is a National licence, vehicles operated under this licence should display its blue O-licence discs.

If any vehicles with the blue discs are regularly operated from Hooton as an outstation, this needs to be registered on the licence as a separate operating centre. An operating centre is defined as the place where a vehicle is normally kept. An "outstation" is an operating centre in its own right. Stagecoach for instance have many outstations but they are all on the relevant operator's licence.

As you have listed 18 vehicles based at Hooton, and say that none are spare, it appears that the authorisation at Hooton on 4738 (green discs) needs to be increased to cover at least the daily vehicle requirement. Furthermore if any of the services registered on 4738 are operated by vehicles with blue discs on 3713, they should display legal "on hire" notices.