A Bristol based park and ride firm, which serves the city's airport, has lost its licence to transport passengers.
Winford Parking and Rental Ltd routinely put members of the public in danger by running vehicles with invalid insurance, without the correct MOT and using drivers who didn't have the right licences.
The company yesterday (17 March) lost its licence to transport passengers after the region's Traffic Commissioner, Kevin Rooney, said the public had a right to be protected from this type of operator.
"The failures are severe. Members of the public have routinely been put in danger and this is aggravated by the issue of insurance being invalidated because drivers were not licensed to drive.
"This is an operation that needs to be stopped before someone is killed."
In a written judgement following a public inquiry last month, the West of England regulator also disqualified the company's two directors, Dean Baldock and Ryan Baldock, from holding or obtaining a licence in the future – for five years and three years respectively.
He said Dean Baldock knew the operation was grossly non-compliant.
"[He] has blatantly ignored all attempts by the enforcement agency and the police to bring it in line," the Commissioner added.
"[His] demeanour at the inquiry coupled with the extensive non-compliance mean that I am beyond doubt that I cannot trust him to continue to comply once the spotlight of the public inquiry has faded." The company was brought to the regulator's attention following an investigation by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). This identified numerous safety concerns, including vehicles not being given routine safety inspections and without checks to ensure key emergency equipment was in place and properly marked.
Mr Rooney said customers of the firm's airport parking service had every right to expect that the vehicle used to transfer them to the airport and back – along with the driver – would be safe, legal and properly insured.
The Traffic Commissioner's full written judgement is available here.
