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VOSA to refer Stanground Community Centre
to its' Investigation Branch |
VOSA INVESTIGATION FOR STANGROUND COMMUNITY CENTRE BUS 'CASH HIRE & REWARD' OPS.The unincorporated registered charity Stanground Community Centre is to have its 17 seater Buses, alleged to be operated as 'hire and reward', referred to the VOSA investigation branch. The government agency confirmed tonight [Friday June 17th 2011].VOSA tonight (Friday 17th June 2011) confirmed the unincorporated loss-making charity has been referred to the VOSA Investigation Branch. VOSA has been presented with evidence that the buses driven by Charity Trustee Alan Brian Coulson and parked at the Southfields Junior School, are allegedly operating for 'hire and reward' and the buses are being offered by a charity trustee to other organisations wholly unconnected with the Community Centre in return for 'cash or other payment in kind' (see below).
If the VOSA investigation rules the buses have been operating illegally, then clearly any current insurance cover is retrospectively invalid and the buses (charity property) are liable for seizure and crushing.
It also means that any passengers including Stanground and Park Farm residents carried are not covered by insurance in the event of a road traffic accident and that the taxation class for a road tax licence is also invalid. VOSA suggested in a conversation with PFNW the charity needs to hold a full Operators Licence and that drivers are required to hold a full PCV licence, so the matter is now being referred for further investigation.
The following is taken from the VOSA website:
Operator's licences for public service vehicles: the basics
Do you need a public service vehicle operator's licence?You will need a public service vehicle (PSV) operator's licence if you can answer yes to both of these questions:
Does your vehicle carry passengers by road in return for any kind of direct or indirect payment? Is your vehicle classed as a PSV? What counts as payment?Any sort of payment which gives a person a right to be carried in a vehicle counts, whether or not a profit is made. This is known as 'hire or reward'. It could be money paid by the passenger, or on their behalf, directly or indirectly. Examples of indirect payments include:
- a club membership subscription
- paying for a bed in a hotel
- school fees
- buying a concert ticket with travel included
AND any other situation where someone who had not paid for a particular service would therefore not have a right to be carried
What is a PSV?To be classed as a PSV, your vehicle must be either:
a vehicle suitable for carrying nine or more passengers - plus the driver - and doing so for hire or reward
a smaller vehicle carrying passengers and charging them 'separate fares'
Separate fares are when passengers pay individually rather than collectively. This payment can be direct or indirect. It also makes no difference if the payment is made to a driver or in advance, eg via an agent.
Is a vehicle still a bus even when it is not carrying passengers?If your vehicle is parked in a depot or garage, is being driven between two depots, or is temporarily laid up, you will still need an operator's licence. It only stops being a bus when you permanently cease using it as one - for example, if you take it out of service altogether and adapt it for some other use, such as driver training.
If a vehicle is sometimes used as a taxi and sometimes as a bus under a special PSV operator's licence, it is only treated as a bus when used on local services. Otherwise it is classed as a taxi and subject to taxi rules.
Special exceptions for school buses and permits for voluntary community transportSchool buses operated by local education authorities are exempt from operator licensing. Some voluntary operators of minibuses, and in a few cases larger buses, are free from operator licensing if they have one of the following special permits:
minibus permits for vehicles that can carry between nine and 16 passengers
community bus permits for groups who want to run a local bus service on a voluntary, non-profit basis using unpaid volunteer drivers
large bus permits for vehicles with more than 16 passenger seats, to be used by voluntary groups for education, religion, social welfare or other community activities.
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