The boss of a Wolverhampton coach firm ordered off the roads over “unforgivable” safety lapses has until the end of next month to try to save his business after he lost an appeal.
Bilston-based Kev’s Travel was dropped from school runs by Sandwell Council following a critical traffic commissioner’s report. The firm was banned by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency from holding a bus licence for three years after one of its buses was found to be at risk of overturning. Boss Kevin Brookes lost his appeal against the decision at a transport tribunal.
The ban comes into effect at noon on June 20 and Mr Brookes, aged 49, has until then to look at his options and decide if he will lodge a further appeal.
Mr Brookes’s father Lawrence founded the company in 1952 and died last week aged 70.
Mr Brookes said today the decision by West Midlands deputy traffic commissioner Lester Maddrell had cost him more than £22,000 in lost earnings.
The ruling in December prompted Sandwell Council to suspend the firm’s contract to take four children to and from Wodensborough Community Technology College in Wednesbury.
“The bus they inspected was not in use,” Mr Brookes said.”I only had the operator licence so that I could take it to get signs painted on it. If I had not had the licence in it they would probably have done me for that.”
The original hearing in Birmingham was told how vehicle examiner Nigel Davies looked at two coaches and found one had a badly damaged tyre and the coach could overturn.
As a result, Mr Maddrell revoked the firm’s permit to operate coaches as well as the operating licence of Mr Brookes.
The company, which has six coaches and is based in Purdy Road, appealed against the decision of the commissioner and against Sandwell Council’s ruling but lost. Out of 24 tests on the six vehicles, 17 came back as failures, some with multiple faults, the inquiry was told. Mr Maddrell said in a report: “What has happened is unacceptable and unforgivable.”
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