Significant failings and a failure to heed previous warnings meant little hope for an operator at its latest public inquiry, and O-licence revocation was all but inevitable
An operator has been disqualified by Traffic Commissioner Dorrington in the West Midlands Traffic Area following extensive failings which led to the loss of repute of both of its transport managers. Travel Express Ltd (PD1140735) and its Transport Managers Mr Kishan Chumber & Nirmal Johal were called to public inquiry (PI) on 10 April 2024.
The operator was granted a standard national public service vehicle operator’s licence in March 2016 and at the time of the PI had a licence authorisation of 15 vehicles. Its sole director was Mr Kishan Chumber, and there were two transport managers specified on the licence; Mr Chumber and Mr Johal.
As a result of an unsatisfactory Maintenance Investigation Visit Report (MIVR) by the DVSA on 21 October 2023 and an unsatisfactory Bus Operator Account Management (BOAM) report dated 1 December 2023 a decision was made to call the operator to a PI.
PI history
This was the operator’s fourth public inquiry. The first two were held on 2 March 2016 and 10 November 2017. The third was held on 20 November 2019 before the then Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Denton where it was found as fact that there had been poor maintenance and that 51% of its local registered bus services had not been operated on time.
At that time, TC Denton said that in some ways he regretted having re-instated Mr Chumber’s good repute at the beginning of 2019, and that while Mr Chumber had fulfilled the requirement that he retake and pass the transport manager CPC exam, and there had been a reduced rate of three prohibitions, the restoration of his repute was followed by seven roadworthiness prohibitions in 2019 and a very poor MOT pass rate. The same timetabling incompetence which had caused the presiding TC to ban Mr Chumber in 2016 from any involvement in timetabling as also found to have re-emerged since that ban was lifted in January 2019, and there was found to be some evidence that vehicles had been deliberately run a few minutes ahead of rivals regardless of the timetable.
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