Transport Act 1968

21 Provisions as to functions of traffic commissioners in connection with designated areas

(1) The persons whose representations traffic commissioners are required by section 135(2) of the Act of 1960 to take into consideration in exercising their discretion to grant or back or to refuse a road service licence in respect of any route and their discretion to attach conditions thereto shall include—

(a) if that route or any part thereof is situated in a designated area, the Executive for that area; and

(b) if the Railways Board are providing railway passenger transport facilities along or near to that route or any part thereof in pursuance of an agreement with the Executive for any designated area, that Executive,

and, if the licence is granted or backed, subsections (2) and (3) of section 143 of that Act (which confer rights of appeal to the Minister on certain authorities and persons who have made representations or objections to the traffic commissioners in connection with the licence) shall apply to such an Executive as aforesaid as they apply to the authorities and persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the said subsection (2) or (3).

(2) If, in the case of any road passenger transport service provided within a designated area to which section 19 of this Act applies, any dispute arises between any of the following persons, namely, the Executive for that area, the person providing that service, and any other person providing road passenger transport services within or to and from that area, as to whether that service is or is not an excursion or tour, that dispute shall, if any party thereto so requests, be referred for determination to the chairman of any appropriate traffic commissioners, whose decision shall be final.

(3) In any proceedings with respect to such a service as is mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, a certificate of the chairman of any appropriate traffic commissioners that the service is an excursion or tour for which a road service licence is required shall be conclusive evidence of that fact, and any document purporting to be such a certificate shall be accepted in evidence without further proof.

(4) Any agreement made for the purposes of section 19(2) of this Act may contain provision for referring any difference arising between the parties thereto for determination by the chairman of any appropriate traffic commissioners.

(5) The Minister may by regulations make provision with respect to the procedure to be followed in connection with any functions conferred on traffic commissioners or their chairman by this section or Schedule 6 to this Act and for prescribing anything required by that Schedule to be prescribed; and the regulations may include—

(a) provision requiring the Executive for a designated area to furnish the appropriate traffic commissioners with information as to the road passenger transport services provided—

(i) by the Executive or any subsidiary of theirs; or

(ii) in pursuance of agreements with the Executive ; or

(iii) with the consent of the Executive granted under Schedule 6 to this Act;

(b) provision authorising the charging of fees in connection with the functions aforesaid of any traffic commissioners or their chairman and as to the person by whom any such fee is to be paid;

and any amount received by any traffic commissioners or their chairman by way of fees under the regulations shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund in such manner as the Treasury may direct.

(6) In this section, the expression "appropriate traffic commissioners " means traffic commissioners for an area which includes the designated area or part of a designated area in which the road passenger transport service in question is provided, and references to the chairman of any traffic commissioners include references to any person for the time being appointed to act as his deputy.