Taxi Driver Online

07-01-2008 VOSA prosecution leads to public inquiry

Nigel Gary Hodgson, owner of Gary Hodgson Commercials Ltd of Kellythorpe Industrial Estate Driffield, has had his operator licence revoked for forgery of a tachograph seal.

Following a successful prosecution by Vosa, Mr Hodgson was called to attend a public inquiry at Leeds on 19th December 2007 where he had his licence revoked with immediate effect, on the grounds of losing his repute to hold a licence for wrongly using tools supplied in connection with the Tachograph & Speed Limiter Schemes.

Mr Hodgson was authorised as a Road Speed Limiter Sealing Centre, however the company whose speed limiters he was authorised to fit ceased trading, requiring Mr Hodgson to return all equipment including sealing pliers. During a routine inspection in March 2006, Mr Hodgson was asked about the pliers and confirmed that they had been sent back to the company as requested.

In August 2006 Mr Hodgson presented a HGV to Scarborough Testing Station for annual test. It was then that he was found to have recently used the sealing pliers he had declared as being returned, for sealing the gearbox tachograph seal.

Before the public inquiry in Leeds, Mr Hodgson had already pleaded guilty to the offence of Forgery of a Tachograph Seal on 2nd March 2007 at Scarborough Magistrates Court. He was fined £1500 and ordered to pay costs of £300 following an investigation by the VOSA Enforcement Office in Beverly.

Chris Dormand, who leads the Speed Limiter and Tachograph Scheme at VOSA, said: “I’m disappointed that this incident has occurred, but I’m pleased the controls that VOSA has in place for monitoring the scheme have been shown to be effective.”

“The system’s security is essential to the tachograph being an effective tool for improving road safety and ensuring a level playing field for operators. Illegally adjusting such systems is showing disregard for both.”
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NOTES TO EDITOR:

VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) is responsible for:
• Processing applications for licences to operate lorries and buses and registering bus services
• Operating and administering testing schemes for all vehicles, including the supervision of the
MOT testing scheme
• Enforcing the law on vehicles to ensure that they comply with legal standards and regulations
• Enforcing drivers' hours and licensing requirements
• Supporting Traffic Commissioners to help them make informed decisions on operator
licensing, vocational drivers and bus registration requirements
• Providing training and advice for commercial operators
• Investigating vehicle accidents, defects and recalls.
For media enquiries about VOSA, please contact: Luke Bigwood on 0117 954 3208 or Zita Easton on 0117 954 2561. You can also e-mail press@vosa.gov.uk
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01-02-08 New bus registration system to improve real-time information for passengers

A new Electronic Bus Service Registration (EBSR) system that will mean faster and more accurate travel information for bus users was launched yesterday by Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly.

EBSR enables bus operators to submit bus service registration applications to Traffic Commissioners online, rather than via the current paper-based approach, which saves time and reduces data inconsistencies.

The new online service will not only transform the way bus service route and timetable data is passed between bus operators, VOSA and transport authorities, it will also improve the data collection for services such as Traveline, Transport Direct or other online providers that members of the public use to plan their journeys. EBSR will ensure that websites such as Transport Direct and Traveline are giving the most precise information possible. This means that passengers can access timely and relevant timetable information on paper, by text message and online.

Ruth Kelly said: I'm pleased to be launching the Electronic Bus Service Registration system and congratulate all those who have worked on this complex project from its initial design through to its successful pilot.
I hope every operator will participate so that bus passengers will benefit from greater timetable accuracy through services such as Transport Direct and Traveline. Having more reliable information will also help persuade more people to use our buses and promote sustainable travel.
Robert Montgomery, Service Performance Director for Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “The new electronic data system will ensure we deliver faster and more accurate information to our customers, whether they access it at a bus stop, via the internet or on their mobile phone.”
Mike Cooper, managing director of Arriva's UK Regions, added:
“Information technology can play a key role in fulfilling the industry’s aspiration to increase bus passenger usage and will contribute towards shaping the future of bus travel. Arriva has played an active role throughout much of the pioneering development of TransXChange and we look forward to supporting the roll-out of the project”.
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Notes to Editors

Ruth Kelly was speaking at the Annual Dinner of the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

The EBSR system is a partnership between the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and Transport Direct, with assistance from operators Arriva and Stagecoach who tested the pilot system.

All of the details that would normally be in a paper-based registration will be contained in a standard (TransXChange XML) file. The route and stopping places will be described and the timetable (with all its variations) will be included, as well as a map of the route.

Responsibility for creating bus service registration data will remain, as now, with the service operator.

For media enquiries about VOSA, please contact: Luke Bigwood on 0117 954 3208 or Zita Easton on 0117 954 2561. You can also e-mail press@vosa.gov.uk
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14-01-2008 VOSA launch consultation on fees

On 14 January VOSA will launch a consultation on a proposed increase in fees it charges for testing, inspection and other licensing services. The planned increase in fees generally average around five per cent.
The increases are needed to maintain existing levels of service and to pay for investment in improved facilities and customer services - particularly electronic services such as improved test booking facilities.
VOSA will be asking stakeholders for their views on proposed increases to fees for the following:

• Annual tests and Reduced Pollution Certificates for HGVs (Heavy Goods Vehicles) and PSVs (Public Service Vehicles);
• ADR, TIR inspections for HGVs;
• Certificates of Initial Fitness and Accessibility Certificates fro PSVs;
• Operator licensing and for the issue of international permits for both HGVs and PSVs;
• Local bus service registration;
• Single Vehicle Approval for motorcycles and light vehicles and Vehicle Identity Checks for light vehicles.
A consultation period of eight weeks has been agreed and replies must reach VOSA no later than 10 March.
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NOTES TO EDITOR:

ADR is the Accord European Relatif Au Transports international des Marchendises Dangeruses Par Route (or European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road): certification for use under international arrangements for the carriage of Dangerous Goods.

TIR stands for Transports Internationaux Routiers
VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) is responsible for:
• Processing applications for licences to operate lorries and buses and registering bus services
• Operating and administering testing schemes for all vehicles, including the supervision of the
MOT testing scheme
• Enforcing the law on vehicles to ensure that they comply with legal standards and regulations
• Enforcing drivers' hours and licensing requirements
• Supporting Traffic Commissioners to help them make informed decisions on operator
licensing, vocational drivers and bus registration requirements
• Providing training and advice for commercial operators
• Investigating vehicle accidents, defects and recalls.
For media enquiries about VOSA, please contact: Luke Bigwood on 0117 954 3208 or Zita Easton on 0117 954 2561. You can also e-mail press@vosa.gov.uk
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