Maintenance failures at a former municipal bus company put public safety at risk, an inquiry has found.
An investigation into the now-defunct Halton Transport by the traffic commissioner determined that a lack of oversight at the company led to non-roadworthy vehicles being sent out for public use.
In a decision issued on Monday (September 28), Deputy Traffic Commissioner Simon Evans said the failures were so serious that Halton Transport’s operator’s licence had to be formally revoked even though the company had gone bust in January with a £2.5 million deficit.
He said: “Allowing surrender of an operator’s licence where such a large proportion of the vehicle fleet was found to be in prohibitable condition would be an affront to the regime.”
He added: “It is clear that the safety of the travelling public and others was prejudiced in an entirely unacceptable manner.
“It would appear concentration on the most basic requirements of ensuring only a fit and serviceable fleet was deployed for public use had been lost in a short period.
“Loss of key staff and sickness of others might provide explanation but does not account [for] the failures of remaining managers in effectively filling in the gaps left in the business and the lack of the sort of effective directorial (executive and non-executive) oversight envisaged by the code that sets out the duties and responsibilities of directors.”
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The inquiry followed an inspection by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in June 2019 which “exposed serious shortcomings in the maintenance regime” at Halton Transport and issued roadworthiness prohibition notices for 17 of the 39 buses inspected by the agency.
Halton Transport, which operated buses on routes within Halton and major commuter routes connecting with Liverpool, ceased trading in January 2020.
The inquiry had been due to be held in February 2020, but was delayed due to a conflict between Halton Transport’s executive directors, who ran the company day-to-day, and the councillors appointed as non-executive directors who were meant to provide oversight.
The coronavirus pandemic further delayed the inquiry, meaning the traffic commissioner was unable to make his decision for another seven months despite deciding that a full public hearing was not necessary.
While Mr Evans decided to revoke the defunct company’s operator’s licence, he elected not to disqualify the company’s directors from holding similar positions with other transport companies in future.
Regarding the non-executive directors - Cllrs Keith Morley, Mike Wharton, Andrew MacManus and Geoff Zygadllo - he said it was not necessary as they had “held office in a non-executive role as representatives of the interests of the shareholder and beneficial owner [Halton Council]”.
Regarding the executive directors - Colin Stafford, Brian Stevenson and Adele Jones - he said allowing them to hold a similar role posed a low risk, but also suggested that they may not wish to continue in the industry in any case.
