§ 62. Lieut.-Colonel RUGGLES-BRISEasked the Minister of Transport when it is the intention of the Ministry to reorganise and co-ordinate the various omnibus and coach services; and whether the road service licences will apply when the first application under the new Act is made or whether these licences will be required only by degrees when applications for renewal fall due?
§ Mr. HERBERT MORRISONUnder the Road Traffic Act, 1930, the duty of issuing road service licences, by means of which it will be possible to co-ordinate public road passenger services, is laid upon the Traffic Commissioners. It is my intention to bring into operation on 1313 1st January next the provisions of the Act necessary to enable the Commissioners to receive applications for such licences and to come to a decision thereon. The requirement however, that omnibus and motor coach services cannot be operated except under a road service licence issued by the Commissioners will not be brought into force before 1st April, 1931. I hope that it may then be possible to effect a complete change over from the present system of licences to that provided for in the Road Traffic Act. It may, however, be necessary to have recourse to the provisions of Section 96 of the Act to cover a transitional period if such a course should prove necessary.