News MP blasts bus service
A Euro MP has hit out at a bus company which claims that European regulations are forcing bus passengers to pay double fares to get to Goole from Hull.
Yorkshire and Humber MEP Richard Corbett said claims by the East Yorkshire Motor Service (EYMS) that new Euro rules had forced the company to split the Hull-to-Goole service in two were "complete nonsense".
The rules state that drivers of public buses cannot travel more than 30 miles (50km) without a break.
Currently, passengers who travel the whole distance have to switch services at Gilberdyke to travel the remaining 10 miles to Goole.
To do this passengers have to pay an extra £3 on top of the £4.20 they paid when they set off from Hull. The entire journey, before the company altered its services, was £4.70 for the whole journey.
Mr Corbett said: "The East Yorkshire Motor Service (EYMS) has claimed that new EU rules have forced them to stop running services between Hull and Goole because the journey is over 30 miles. This is complete nonsense. The EU rules do not put any limit on the distance of journeys, only that buses travelling on journeys over 31 miles must have tachometers fitted."
Tachometers are devices which are fitted to a vehicle to measure the distance travelled and speed.
The Euro rules state that public buses travelling longer routes have to have one fitted, at a cost of around £2,000.
"Rules on tachometers were brought in to improve road safety and to make sure that drivers are not forced by their employers to drive more than nine hours per day - something that has been illegal under UK law for many years," said Mr Corbett.
"The rules aim to prevent drivers from becoming so tired they present a danger to themselves, their passengers and to other road users. It is entirely sensible to put a limit on their working hours and ask bus companies with long routes to fit tachometers to the vehicles to ensure that this practice is carried out."
The Euro MP claimed that some bus companies could be using the new rules as an excuse to discontinue rural services.
He added: "These EU rules have done nothing whatsoever to do with preventing buses operating their usual routes. The only thing that is preventing these journeys are the companies themselves, which refuse to fit tachometers in buses in order to put profits before safety."
But the ERMS has hit back, claiming it hadn't reduced rural services one iota.
Bob Rackley, the firm's commercial manager, said: "We haven't withdrawn any rural services as a result of EU hours; we are simply looking to control our costs.
"The main problem is to do with the drivers' working arrangements, particularly getting staff that are prepared to work these hours."
Mr Rackley said he had no dispute with the safety aspect of the new laws and that the company already complied with British regulations.
Meanwhile, private-hire bus drivers say they are also feeling the pinch as a result of the new laws.
John Morris, a private-hire minibus driver, says the EU restrictions have 'cream-crackered' his business.
The married father-of-three, who has been servicing schools as well as pub-goers and nightclubbers for the past 18 years, says he has lost a third of his income and has even had to take on part-time jobs to make ends meet.
He said: "People think I'm joking when they ring up for a lift and I say I can't do it because of these new regulations.
"My customers who I've had for 15 years or more have to be let down."
Mr Morris, who runs Gemini Private Hire from his home on High Street in Rawcliffe, says it's his night-time trade that has suffered the most.
European regulations state that private-hire drivers whose vehicles have more than nine seats can only drive a certain amount of hours during the day and must have a break every four-and-a-half hours, rather than five-and-a-half hours under the old British rules.
Mr Morris, who drives a 16-seater bus, used to pick up darts and dominoes team just before closing time but he cannot do so any more because his working day now ends at 10.30pm on weekday nights.
He said: "That means that some of the mainstays of my business - such as picking up pub darts and dominoes teams - have gone to the wall."
On Fridays and Sundays Mr Morris is now unable to work beyond 10.30pm and, on Saturdays, he has to call it a day at 2am.
To make matters worse, the new rules mean that Mr Morris can only work one in every three Saturdays.
"I just can't make a living like this," he said. "It's ridiculous."
Mr Morris, who has taken on part-time work as a caretaker at Rawcliffe Village Hall to help him pay the bills, is affected by the laws for 39 weeks in the year when the schools are open.
Before the European rules came into effect in April last year drivers of private-hire vehicles with 16 seats or less were not restricted by any regulations governing the amount of hours worked.
Collin Phillipson, who owns Collin Phillipson Private Hire in Whitgift, said: "We can't do a school run as well as night work during the week because we have to finish at 10pm and you have to allow yourself 45 hours' weekly rest.
"We've had to cut down on a lot of journeys and it means we've lost money."
Yorkshire and Humber MEP Linda McAvan said: "I am generally supportive of EU legislation which aims to prevent employees being exploited by unscrupulous employers who demand that they work extortionately long hours.
"Before this legislation was introduced, drivers of buses and lorries over long routes could be required to work for anything up to 74 hours a week - more than ten hours a day, every single day.
"The 56 hours-a-week limit that came into effect last year seems more sensible, and is still longer than most people's typical working week.
"I think that most people are glad to know that when they get on the bus, the driver isn't too tired to concentrate properly.
"However, I do realise that, for some individual and especially self-employed drivers, the working time limits can cause difficulties.
"Euro MPs will examine a progress report on how the law is working again next year and it is important for us to know how local businesses are being affected."
Published on 1st May 2008 in News.
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