Road Traffic Act 1960

176 Variation of carrier's licence at instance of holder

(1) On the application of the holder of a carrier's licence, the licensing authority by whom the licence was granted may at any time while it is in force vary the licence by directing—

(a) that additional vehicles be specified therein, or

(b) that vehicles specified therein be removed therefrom, or

(c) that the maximum number of motor vehicles or of trailers specified therein under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section one hundred and sixty-seven of this Act be increased or reduced, or

(d) in the case of an application by the holder of a B licence, that any condition attached to the licence under subsection (2) of section one hundred and sixty-eight of this Act be cancelled or varied.

(2) The following provisions of this Act, namely, subsection (2) of section one hundred and sixty-eight, section one hundred and seventy-two and section one hundred and seventy-four shall, so far as applicable and with any necessary modifications, apply to an application under this section for the variation of a carrier's licence of any class as they apply to an application for the grant of a licence of that class, subject, however, in the case of the said section one hundred and seventy-four, to the restriction that the licensing authority shall be bound to grant an application for a variation consisting only of—

(a) the removal of a specified vehicle from the licence; or

(b) a reduction in the maximum number of motor vehicles or of trailers specified in the licence in pursuance of paragraphs (b) and (c) respectively of subsection (1) of section one hundred and sixty-seven of this Act; or

(c) the specification in the licence in substitution for a specified vehicle of a vehicle of the same or of a less weight unladen.

(3) In the case of an application under this section for—

(a) the variation of an A licence or a B licence by a direction—

(i) that additional vehicles shall be specified therein ; or

(ii) that the maximum number of motor vehicles or of trailers specified therein in pursuance of paragraphs (b) and (c) respectively of subsection (1) of section one hundred and sixty-seven of this Act shall be increased; or

(b) the variation of a B licence by a direction that the district specified in the licence within which, or the places so specified between which, the vehicles can be used for the carriage of goods for hire or reward shall be varied or extended;

the licensing authority (unless satisfied that the application is of so trivial a nature that it is not necessary that an opportunity should be given for objection to it) shall publish, in the manner prescribed for the publication of notices of applications to which section one hundred and seventy-three of this Act applies, notice of the application specifying the time within which, and the manner in which, objections may be made to the grant of the application, and where notice of the application is published in pursuance of this subsection, subsections (3) to (6) of that section shall apply to the application as they apply to an application under that section for the grant of a licence of the same class as that to which the application relates.

(4) A person who—

(a) being an applicant for the variation of a carrier's licence, is aggrieved by the decision of the licensing authority on the application or, in the case of a B licence, by a condition attached to the licence by the licensing authority, or

(b) having duly made an objection to an application for the variation of a carrier's licence, being an objection which the licensing authority is bound to take into consideration, is aggrieved by the decision of the licensing authority thereon,

may appeal to the Transport Tribunal; and on an appeal under this subsection the Transport Tribunal shall have power to make such order as it thinks fit, and its decision shall be binding on the licensing authority.

(5) Where a condition attached to a carrier's licence is varied under this section by a licensing authority, the variation shall not have effect until the expiration of the time within which an appeal may be made to the Transport Tribunal against the variation nor, if such an appeal is made, until the appeal has been disposed of.