Under-threat bus firm may be axed
A Black Country bus company that had its licence revoked due to faults found with its vehicles could be forced to axe services by the end of the month after losing its latest bid to stay on the road.
A Black Country bus company that had its licence revoked due to faults found with its vehicles could be forced to axe services by the end of the month after losing its latest bid to stay on the road.
But A2Z Travel Ltd's defiant owner has now vowed to keep his business alive and is launching a fresh legal appeal. The bus company, which is based in Marlow Street in Walsall, had its licence revoked by the West Midlands Traffic Commissioner at the end of last year.
The firm's transport manager Shahzad Ali originally appealed to the Transport Tribunal over the decision but it was upheld. Mr Ali then applied to the Transport Tribunal for a further stay of execution to keep the firm's vehicles in service pending taking the case to the Court of Appeal.
However, the Tribunals Service in London today confirmed the Transport Tribunal has denied that request meaning Mr Ali will now have to seek permission from the Court of Appeal to keep his buses in service while he awaits the next hearing. If that is refused he could be forced to axe bus services by March 31.
Mr Ali today told the Express & Star he would not give up his battle to rescue his under-threat firm.
He said: "We will take it as far as we have to, I will fight to the hilt. I admitted we had made mistakes but we have turned that round and now we have a 92.5 per cent MoT pass rate. The proof is in the pudding. Our vehicles are roadworthy. I want to reassure our customers of that."
The decision to revoke the licence was made by the West Midland Traffic Commissioner who fined the company £19,800 after inspectors from the Vehicle Operator Services Agency found major defects to vehicles. There were also service problems.
An observation by the Bus Compliance Officer discovered that during 692 observations of its services, on 513 occasions the bus was either late, too early or did not turn up at all.
A2Z Travel operates a variety of buses on numerous commercial and subsidised services as part of Network West Midlands.
It runs services through areas including Walsall, Wolverhampton, Bilston, Wednesbury, Dudley, Birmingham, Cannock, Lichfield and Stafford.
