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School Bus Drivers In The UK - Not Legally Licensed

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Owner of a mini bus company in Mansfield takes on the UK government over a legal loophole which he claims is being 'misused', leaving many small transport companies unfairly disadvantaged.



Mini-bus company boss Martin Allen appears to have won the first round in a battle against a legal loophole which he claims is destroying his business and many others. Allens company J A Travel Ltd has experienced a dramatic loss since 2010, alongside with many other similar companies, which he believes has been caused by the use of section 19 permits by community transport operators.

Section 19 was originally introduced to allow volunteer drivers to drive mini-buses without being trained to the standard of a professional paid driver. Many organisations went on to use this permit to run multi-million pound transport companies, under a not-for-profit banner. It is estimated that there are 3,500 of these companies operating across the UK currently.

Allen said; "I've dedicated several years of my time and thousands of pounds to right this wrong. My business and many others have been decimated by a legal loophole which allows Community Transport Operators to bid for contracts, often involving public money, while not having to meet the much higher safety requirements of commercial drivers."

Allens persistence for justice means many thousands of buses funded by local authorities, such as school buses, across the country could be driven by drivers who do not meet the necessary legal standards.

Feeling strongly that this is unfair on commercial operators and outside the spirit of the law, he took the matter to the European Commission. The UK government was asked to respond on the matter, a process which is still ongoing.

The Department for Transport has now issued a warning to 'community transport operators' across the UK warning that their drivers may be operating illegally. This has led to the Community Transport Association calling for an emergency meeting with the Government to deal with the threat to its members.

Allen said; "This could have huge implications for many people. Much school transport is run in this way and overnight schools could find their drivers are declared illegal. Insurance could also be affected. It will be very bad news for the Community Transport Operators.

"My hope is that this will help my sector start to recover as we will then be able to bid for contracts on a level playing field with any other provider of transport services for the public."

Allen claimed to the European Commission that the UK Government was breaking the law by allowing this practice to continue. The UK Government has now issues a letters to CTOs warning them they could be using drivers with the wrong licences.

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