Coach firm loses licence after vehicles declared unsafe

A Devon coach firm has had its licence revoked after its vehicles failed a series of inspections.

A shortage of bus mechanics meant that Millmans Coaches, trading as Grey Cars and Coaches of Torbay, struggled to maintain its vehicles.

The firms licence was revoked by traffic commissioner Kevin Rooney following reports of serious mechanical failures.

One minibus checked by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency had a completely dry brake fluid reservoir.

Another had a fuel tank dislodged causing Devon County Council to have to re-surface 100m of road.

Eight of twenty-one recent DVSA inspections had found vehicles so dangerous that they could not be allowed to continue in service.

The commissioner heard that the company had struggled to retain professional PSV technicians, despite multiple attempts to recruit and offering market-average salaries.

Former driver and current transport manager Paul Hamlyn-White had adopted the title of fleet engineer having had only a few days technical training.

At the hearing, he demonstrated a complete lack of the fundamental knowledge required for an engineering role.

The commissioner found Mr Hamlyn-White and the company had acted recklessly in allowing the fleet’s maintenance to be managed with no relevant qualified personnel.

The traffic commissioner said “The situation was bad that I need to put the operator out of business. I cannot allow a sixteen-vehicle operation to continue.

“The risk is simply too great. Every other vehicle inspected by DVSA whilst in service is so dangerous that an immediate prohibition is issue.

“The person in charge of the fleet has no relevant qualification and demonstrated in the hearing a lack of even the most basic understanding of vehicle systems and the physics that lies behind them. This is an operation that, for the safety of schoolchildren in south Devon and other road users must be brought to an end.”