Classic Bus North West - Red Rocket Express

[theblackwatch]

Hopefully thats the end of his company and the bunch of wrecks he calls buses.

Two of which were operating untaxed the other week.

 

[randyrippley]

You're all assuming the veracity of that video.........dashcams can be hacked to misread the apparent speed and to me the "indicated" speed doesn't match that suggested by the transit time over the road markings.
I have a feeling that video has been altered to misrepresent the speed shown

 

[randyrippley]

its worth pointing out that this ban has been on the horizon for a long time - read these press reports
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/ne...#comments-area
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/ne...ents-1-7842841
http://www.fleetwoodtoday.co.uk/news...held-1-7868653

And from this recent report it would appear they still think they are going to win:
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/our-region/blackpool/bus-firm-fights-licence-axe-bid-1-8265116

 

[jp4712]

North West Traffic Area Notices & Proceedings 25 January 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa..._data/file/585884/np-2743-25-january-2017.pdf

Section 2.8 – Licences Revoked Without a Public Inquiry
PC1067540 SI CATCH22BUS LTD
Director(s): PHILIP HIGGS, DAVID HUGHES
BRINWELL ROAD GARAGE, BLACKPOOL, FY4 4QU
Registered Bus Services running under this licence have also been revoked with
immediate effect.

Anyone in Blackpool to check if they're still out and about?

 

[fyldetrainfan]

Yes they are. I was in Blackpool today and saw two of their buses still operating their 21 and 22 routes.

 

[northwichcat]

V362 OWC - an open top decker formerly used in London has started running open top bus tours in Manchester this week. The service is being operated by Manchester Bus Tours Limited. The registered office address is 341 Lytham Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 1DS with Philip Karl Higgs and David Hughes listed as the directors.

 

[Andyh82]

There used to be a City Sightseeing operation in Manchester did they not? Didn't Blackpool Transport run it?

 

[martinsh]

They seem to still be running ?

Yesterday I saw various ex Cardiff and Manchester Airport Darts running routes 21 (Lytham - Blackpool ?) and 24 (Cleveleys - Poulton).

Whose licence are they using ? No (current) legal owner panel on any vehicle ...

 

[Deerfold]

They seem to still be running ?

Yesterday I saw various ex Cardiff and Manchester Airport Darts running routes 21 (Lytham - Blackpool ?) and 24 (Cleveleys - Poulton).

Whose licence are they using ? No (current) legal owner panel on any vehicle ...

https://www.vehicle-operator-licensing.service.gov.uk/view-details/licence/334659

 

[Volvodart]

https://cbwmagazine.com/judge-led-inquiry-examine-catch22bus-case/

Judge-led inquiry to examine Catch22Bus case
05/12/2017

Catch22Bus released a long statement which claimed the DVSA had admitted to ‘genuine errors’ in its investigation of the operator. GARETH EVANS
Operator claims to have been the victim of erroneous practice by the DVSA and said it has spent £85,000 on legal fees so far

A judge-led inquiry is to be made into the handling of the case surrounding Catch22Bus, following complaints made by the operator.

The investigation and reporting of allegations made by Blackpool Council and Blackpool Transport Services Ltd between 2012 and 2014 resulted in Catch22Bus being called to Public Inquiry (PI) to face regulatory action against its O-licence.

The operator has released a statement, which reads: “The admission follows a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the DVSA in August of this year to disclose all correspondence held by them. This resulted in 82 pages of material, of which over 85% of the content was redacted.

“The original complaint made by Blackpool Council to the DVSA back in September 2012 was not disclosed because ‘it no longer exists’ and all material supplied by both Blackpool Council and Blackpool Transport was redacted.

“However, within the limited material that was visible, we were concerned the DVSA, Traffic Commissioners, Blackpool Council and Blackpool Transport were all communicating about our business’s compliance and forthcoming PI without our knowledge and that the information was highly prejudicial and sent to a competitor. A formal complaint was therefore made to the Chief Executive of the DVSA, Gareth Llewellyn, in September 2017.

“Asked why the DVSA did not write up the results of their investigations until after the company had been called to PI to answer to the allegations, the DVSA commented that they ‘sought advice from the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.’ Catch22Bus responded to the DVSA report to correct the substantial errors in the documents back in March 2014, before the first PI, but no formal correction was ever issued by DVSA.

“Based on an incorrect assumption of our compliance, the DVSA has admitted ‘open dialogue between internal DfT agencies in adherence to our policies and procedures’ and this resulted in Bus Service Operator’s Grant (BSOG) payments due to the company being frustrated and delayed. The unredacted disclosures include an email from a DVSA officer in 2014 that ‘the BSOG team advised me that Mr Higgs was becoming more irritated that nothing was being done with his BSOG claim application which had been going on since July 2012.’

“The DVSA confirmed that ‘claims were made that your operating licence was being breached and this was investigated and evidence gathered. Unfortunately, in this case the evidence contained genuine errors and therefore the claims made by Blackpool Council that there were breaches of your operating licence were not upheld.’ However, it was not until November 2016 that the Traffic Commissioners conceded this, after nine PIs and Catch22Bus successfully appealing a decision to revoke its O-licence.

“As a result of the allegations made and the flawed investigation, Catch22Bus has been banned from bidding for contracts by organisations such as Lancashire County Council, attended multiple PIs and has spent over £85,000 in legal fees, which coupled with a substantial amount of bad press, has substantially damaged the potential of the business. The stream of allegations made by Blackpool Council and Blackpool Transport Services Ltd continued up until the Spring of 2014, coinciding with a change of Managing Director.

“The DfT has now agreed to hold a judge-led inquiry into a complaint made by Catch22Bus back in March 2015 about the handling of the case.”

Asked by CBW for a reaction, a DVSA spokesperson said it was unable to comment as the matter is the subject of a judge-led inquiry.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC) told CBW: “As there is an outstanding appeal with the Upper Tribunal related to this case, the OTC will not be providing any comment.”

 

[theblackwatch]

Looks like February 18th could be the last day for this lot:

A Blackpool bus firm has been ordered to cease operations after a tribunal ruled its owner had harassed a government inspector. Catch 22 Bus Ltd, which stepped in to run services axed by cash-strapped Lancashire Council, will have its operating licence revoked on February 18. And boss Philip Higgs is disqualifed for a year from holding or obtaining a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence. The ban was due to take effect at the beginning of this year.

Read more at: https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/...boss-banned-for-harassing-inspector-1-8914821