The Office of the Traffic Commissioner has warned operators that for those applying for extensions to meet financial standing tests or appointing new transport managers may lose their licence if requirements are not met in time.
The government body said that a period of grace can only be granted for a maximum of six months, and that “the financial or transport manager issues have to be remedied before the period of grace ends” (with the exception of a death of a transport manager, in which case the time period is extended to nine months).
A spokesperson for the Office of the Traffic Commissioner said: “Traffic commissioners are not obliged to allow a period of grace but will always carefully consider any application. They have to strike a balance between allowing operators a period of time to rectify the situation and ensuring there is a level playing field for operators who continue to meet the mandatory criteria.”
If the mandatory requirements are not met, the law requires traffic commissioners to revoke an operator’s authority, “unless a period of grace has been applied for and granted. If the operator fails to rectify the issues within the period of grace, the same legal obligation to revoke will then apply.”
