Standard O-licence holders must be able to demonstrate a genuine link with their transport manager, East of England traffic commissioner (TC) Richard Turfitt (pictured) has warned.
His advice came after he revoked an O-licence held by coach firm Veazey Coaches after it emerged its nominated transport manager was only performing the role as a favour to the company.
Transport manager Melanie Virgo claimed on the transport manager nomination form she had a contract with the company to carry out the role externally, but it arose she had no effective control of the firm’s vehicles and drivers.
The TC highlighted that the transport manager nomination form states all internal transport managers are required to have a genuine link to the company, such as being an employee or a director. External transport managers must hold a contract with the operator that specifies the tasks they must perform.
He also pointed to a ruling made by the Upper Tribunal in 2015, which stated that a transport manager cannot be a volunteer as they often cannot establish a genuine link to the operator.
