Bus firm fined £1,650 and ordered off the road

Published on Thursday 9 April 2009 21:34

A BUS firm which tried to mislead passengers by using a similar livery and uniforms to rivals Stagecoach has been ordered off the road for three and a half years.

Joan Aitken, the traffic commissioner for Scotland, said Bankfoot Buses was "as bad as it can get".

She said the operator must be banned from running services "for a good period of time", and also imposed a 1,650 fine.

Ms Aitken said the Perth-based firm had sought to interfere with Stagecoach's services, including by blocking bus stops used by Stagecoach in the town.

She said it had tried to create goodwill towards its own buses and ill will towards Stagecoach such as by offering free buses, mulled wine and charitable donations.

Ms Aitken said: "This is a serious case of willful disregard of the regulatory regime and of very unusual and unprofessional behaviour.

"The operator's on/off approach to when he would run his registered services is as bad as it can get."

The traffic commissioner said the company had also used a forged licence disc and had failed to operate registered services without reasonable excuse.

Stagecoach, which is based in Perth, said it welcomed the "firm action" against Bankfoot Buses' "shameful catalogue of serious offences".

A spokesman said: "We hope the decision will send a strong message that unprofessional behaviour and a willful disregard of regulations will not be tolerated."

Bankfoot Buses, whose directors are Stuart and Sarah Newing-Davis, declined to comment.

&#149 Sandy Kydd Road Transport, a Forfar-based haulage firm, has been banned from operating for five years for exceeding driving hours and falsifying records.