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Transport Act 1978

1978 CHAPTER 55

An Act to provide for the planning and development of public passenger transport services in the counties of England and Wales; to make further provision about public service vehicle licensing, the regulation of goods vehicles and parking and about inland waterway transport; to make amendments about British Rail and railways, and about Freightliners Limited and the finances of the National Freight Corporation and other transport bodies in the public sector; and for purposes connected with those matters.

[2nd August 1978]

1—4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F5 Road traffic regulation

9cross-notes

(1) F6,M1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sections 1, 2 and 7 of the Road Traffic (Foreign Vehicles) Act 1972 shall be amended as shown in Schedule 3 to this Act (the amendments being to extend powers of inspection and control of vehicles by means of spot checks for mechanical defect or overload and restrictions on further use of a vehicle found in breach of the relevant Acts and regulations).

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F710 Drivers’ hours. cross-notes

M2 In section 96 of the 1968 Act (restrictions on drivers’ hours), after subsection (11A) (added by the ) European Communities Act 1972, with a view to penalising contraventions of the applicable Community rules), there shall be inserted—

“ (11B) But a person shall not be liable to be convicted under subsection (11A) if—

(a) he proves the matters specified in paragraph (i) of subsection (11); or

(b) being charged as the offender’s employer or a person to whose orders the offender was subject, he proves the matters specified in paragraph (ii) of that subsection. ”

11, 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F8 Waterway transport and railways

13 National policy for inland waterway transport.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to promote a national policy for the use of inland waterways for commercial transport.

14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F915 Transfer of controlling interest in Freightliners Limited. cross-notes

(1) On the appointed day there shall be transferred to, and vested in, the British Railways Board all those securities (within the meaning of the 1968 Act) of Freightliners Limited which immediately before that day are vested in the National Freight Corporation.

(2) On that day—

(a) any liabilities of N.F.C. under guarantees given by them in respect of obligations of Freightliners Limited shall be transferred to, and become liabilities of, that Board; and

(b) the rights and liabilities of N.F.C. under contracts of employment with persons employed by them wholly or mainly in connection with the undertaking of Freightliners Limited shall be transferred to, and become rights and liabilities of, the Board.

(3) The following provisions of the 1968 Act—

(a) section 135(1) (regulations as to compensation of employees); and

(b) Schedule 4 (supplementary provisions about transfers of property etc. ),

M3 and also any regulations made under section 135(1) of the 1968 Act before the coming into force of this section, apply as if the transfers effected by subsections (1) and (2) above were transfers under section 8(4) of that Act (the appointed day counting as the “ first material date ” for the purposes of the British Transport (Compensation to Employees) Regulations 1970, instead of the date shown in the second column of Schedule 1 to the Regulations).

(4) Section 136(2) and (4) of the 1968 Act (transfers in connection with pension schemes and preservation of pension rights) apply in the same way; and for the purposes of section 136(4)(c), Freightliners Limited is to be treated (despite section 51(5) of that Act, which made it a joint subsidiary both of the British Railways Board and N.F.C.) as having become a subsidiary of the British Railways Board only on the appointed day.

(5) The 1968 Act shall be amended as follows—

(a) in section 7(4)( b ) (restriction on alteration of proportion of interests in Freightliners Limited by means of a scheme), for the words from the beginning to “entitled in” substitute “for transferring any intreest in securities of”;

(b) in section 42(3) (power of Secretary of State to vary amount of commencing capital debt of British Railways Board), for the words “specified in subsection (2)( b ) of this section” onwards substitute “of the commencing capital debt of the Board as determined by or under any enactment for the time being in force, where that appears to him expedient to take account of any transfer of property, rights or liabilities under section 7(5) or (6) or 8(4) of this Act”; and

(c) in paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 (power of Secretary of State to vary commencing capital debt of N.F.C. etc.), for the words from “where that appears” to “of this Act; or” substitute “or, in the case of the Freight Corporation, its commencing capital debt as determined by or under any enactment for the time being in force, where that appears to him expedient to take account”.

(6) It shall be within the powers of the British Railways Board—

(a) where it appears to them expedient with a view only to achieving the more productive use of road vehicles predominantly used for the carriage of containers which have been or are to be carried by rail, to use such vehicles for any carriage of containers; and

(b) where they have entered into a contract for the carriage of containers or goods in containers (with or without provisions in the contract specifying whether the carriage is to be by road or by rail), and the contract is to be performed predominantly by rail carriage, to use any road vehicles in partial discharge of their obligations under the contract;

and “ containers ” means high capacity containers of a kind capable of being carried by freightliner rail vehicles.

(7) M4 The annual report made by the Board under section 4 of the Railways Act 1974 shall include, in addition to the matters there mentioned, such information about the Board’s exercise of their powers under subsection (6) above as may be called for by the Secretary of State.

(8) In this section “ the appointed day ” means the day appointed under section 24(1) below for the coming into force of this section.

F1016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

National Freight Corporation (finance)

17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F1118 Capital grants.

(1) The Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, out of money provided by Parliament make grants to the National Freight Corporation in respect of any expenditure of a capital nature incurred or to be incurred during the period 1st July 1978 to 31st December 1981 by National Carriers Limited or any of its subsidiaries.

(2) Any grants under this section shall be made on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State may with the approval of the Treasury determine; and the amounts of the grants shall be determined so that—

(a) the amount for the year 1980 is less than that for the year 1979, and the amount for the year 1981 is less than that for the year 1980; and

(b) the aggregate amount of the grants does not exceed £15 million.

19, 20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F12,F1321 Travel concessions for transferred employees.

The Secretary of State may, with Treasury approval, out of money provided by Parliament reimburse the National Freight Corporation to such extent as he considers appropriate, and on such terms as he may with that approval determine, in respect of amounts paid by N.F.C., N.C.L. or any subsidiary of N.C.L. to the British Railways Board and [F14 the London Transport Executive F14][F14 London Regional Transport F14] in connection with travel concessions afforded by them to employees transferred from the employment of the Board under the 1968 Act, or to [F13 surviving spouses, surviving civil partners F13] or dependants of such employees.

General

22 Transport supplementary grant. cross-notes

M5Section 6(1) of the Local Government Act 1974(transport supplementary grants to county councils and the G.L.C.) shall be amended as follows—

(a) omit “and” at the end of paragraph ( c );

(b) at the end of paragraph ( d ) add— “ and

(e) compensation payable under Part IV of Schedule 5 to the Transport (London) Act 1969(control of off-street parking in Greater London) or any corresponding provisions in an Order in Council under section 11 of the Transport Act 1978 (provision to the same effect for the remainder of Great Britain) ” ;and

(c) for “( a ) to ( d )” substitute “( a ) to ( e )”.

23 Finance (general).

There are hereby authorised—

(a) all such charges or increased charges on public funds as may result from sections 1(5), 3(1), 15 and 17 of this Act;

(b) increased payments out of money provided by Parliament attributable to sections 16 and 22 of this Act;

(c) such other increased payments out of money so provided as may result from provisions of this Act which increase the administrative expenses of local authorities and government departments; and

(d) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable into the Consolidated Fund under any other enactment.

24 Commencement; interpretation; repeals. cross-notes

(1) This Act shall come into force on a day appointed by the Secretary of State by order in a statutory instrument; and different days may be so appointed for different provisions and different purposes.

(2) In this Act—

(3) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, extended or applied by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

(4) The enact,ments specified in Schedule 4 to this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column of the Schedule.

25 Citation and extent.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Transport Act 1978.

(2) Sections 1 to 4 and 22 of this Act do not extend to Scotland.

(3) This Act, except sections 15, 17 to 21 and 23 to 25, does not extend to Northern Ireland.

SCHEDULES

F17,F17 SCHEDULE 1

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Schedule 2

1—4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F18 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F19 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F20 7 (1)(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F21 Section 9(1).

Schedule 3 Amendments about Lorries cross-notes

A.— . . .

F22 B. ROAD TRAFFIC (FOREIGN VEHICLES) ACT 1972 (c. 27)

8 In section 1 (stopping and checking foreign vehicles for mechanical defect, overload, etc.), after subsection (5) insert—

“ (6) In the case of a goods vehicle—

(a) a prohibition under subsection 2( b ) above, by reference to a supposed contravention of—

(i) section 40 of the Road Traffic Act 1972(construction, weight, equipment etc. of moter vehicles and trailers),

(ii) any of sections 68 to 73 and 76 to 79 of that Act (lights, overhanging or projecting load, etc.), or

(iii) regulations under any of the sections of that Act referred to above in this paragraph,

may be imposed with a direction making it irremovable unles and until the vehicle has been inspected at an official testing station;

(b) a prohibition imposed under subsection (3) above may be against driving the vehicle on a road until the weight has been reduced and official notification has been given to whoever is for the time being in charge of the vehicle that it is permitted to proceed.

(7) Official notification for the purposes of subsection (6)( b ) above must be in writing and be given by an authorised person and may be withheld until the vehicle has been weighed or re-weighed in order to satisfy the person giving the notification that the weight has been sufficiently reduced. ”

9 In section 2 (enforcement etc. of prohibitions under section 1 of the Act), after subsection (3) insert—

“ (3A) If the prohibition under section 1 of this Act has been imposed with a direction under subsection (6)( a ) of that section, the prohibition shall not then be removed under subsection (3) above unless and until the vehicle has been inspected at an official testing station.

(3B) In the case of vehicles brought to an official testing station for inspection with a view to removal of a prohibition, section 58(5A) of the Road Traffic Act 1972 (fees for inspection) applies. ”

10 In section 7(1) (interpretation) after the definition of “ goods vehicle ” insert—

Section 24(4).

Schedule 4 Repeals cross-notes

Chapter Title Extent of repeal
1967 c. 76. Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967. In Schedule 6, the amendment of section 135(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1960.
1968 c. 73. Transport Act 1968.

In section 30(1)( a ), the words from “by means of vehicles” to “passengers”.

In paragraph 3 of Schedule 2, the words from “but no order” onwards.

1969 c. 35. Transport (London) Act 1969. In section 24(4), paragraph ( a ).
1972 c. 20. Road Traffic Act 1972. In section 57(7), the word “and” at the end of paragraph ( a ), and paragraph ( b ).
1972 c. 70. Local Government Act 1972. Section 203.
1973 c. 65. Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. In Schedule 18, paragraph 31.
1974 c. 7. Local Government Act 1974. In section 6(1), the word “and” at the end of paragraph ( c ).
1977 c. 25. Minibus Act 1977. Section 1(5).
Status: There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Transport Act 1978.
Transport Act 1978 (1978/55)

Displaying information

Status of this instrument

footnotecommentarytransitional and savingsin force statusrelated provisionsgeo extentinsert/omitsource countin force adj
C1The text of ss. 9, 15(5), 16, 22, 24(4) and Schs. 3 and 4 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
C2The text of ss. 9, 15(5), 16, 22, 24(4) and Schs. 3 and 4 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
C3The text of ss. 9, 15(5), 16, 22, 24(4) and Schs. 3 and 4 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
C4The text of ss. 9, 15(5), 16, 22, 24(4) and Schs. 3 and 4 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
C5Power of appointment conferred by s. 24(1) fully exercised: S.I. 1978/1150 , 1187, 1289
C6The text of ss. 9, 15(5), 16, 22, 24(4) and Schs. 3 and 4 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
C7The text of ss. 9, 15(5), 16, 22, 24(4) and Schs. 3 and 4 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
C8The text of ss. 9, 15(5), 16, 22, 24(4) and Schs. 3 and 4 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
F1Ss. 1–4 repealed by Transport Act 1985 (c. 67, SIF 126) , s. 139(3) , Sch. 8repealed
F2Ss. 5 , 7 repealed by Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (c. 14, SIF 107:1) , Sch. 8repealed
F3Ss. 6 , 8 repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , Sch. 9 Pt. Irepealed
F4Ss. 5 , 7 repealed by Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (c. 14, SIF 107:1) , Sch. 8repealed
F5Ss. 6 , 8 repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , Sch. 9 Pt. Irepealed
F6Words repealed by Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (c. 54, SIF 107:1) , s. 3 , Sch. 1 (with Sch. 4 paras. 1–3 )this amendment (text repealed) should be read in conjunction with other related provisions, see the commentary.repealed
F7S. 9(2) repealed by Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (c. 54, SIF 107:1) , s. 3 , Sch. 1 (with Sch. 4 paras. 1–3 )this amendment (text repealed) should be read in conjunction with other related provisions, see the commentary.repealed
F8Ss. 11 , 12 repealed by Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27, SIF 107:1) , s. 146 , Sch. 14repealed
F9S. 14 repealed by Transport (Finance) Act 1982 (c. 6, SIF 102) , Sch. Pt. Irepealed
F10S. 16 repealed (1.4.1994) by 1993 c. 43 , ss. 152(3) , Sch.14 ; S.I. 1994/571 , art. 5 .repealed
F11S. 17 repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , Sch. 9 Pt. IIIrepealed
F12Ss. 19 , 20 repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , s. 58(1) ( b ), Sch. 9 Pt. IIrepealed
F13Words in s. 21 substituted: (E.W.) (13.3.2014) by The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (Consequential and Contrary Provisions and Scotland) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/560) , art. 1(2) , Sch. 1 para. 17 ; (S.) (16.12.2014) by The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 and Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3229) , art. 1(2) , Sch. 5 para. 6 ; and extended to N.I. (N.I.) (13.1.2020) by The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514) , regs. 1(2) , 149(b)(i)(cc) (with regs. 6-9 )this amendment (text substituted) should be read in conjunction with other related provisions, see the commentary.substituted: England and Walessubstituted
F14“London Regional Transport” substituted (E.W.) for “the London Transport Executive” by London Regional Transport Act 1984 (c. 32, SIF 126) , s. 71(3) ( a ), Sch. 6 para. 14substituted: England and Walessubstituted
F15Definition of “the 1960 Act” repealed by Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (c. 14, SIF 107:1) , Sch. 8repealed
F16Definition of “the 1972 Act” repealed by Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (c. 54, SIF 107:1) , s. 3 , Sch. 1 Part I (with Sch. 4 paras. 1–3 )this amendment (text repealed) should be read in conjunction with other related provisions, see the commentary.repealed
F17Sch. 1 repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , Sch. 9 Pt. Irepealed
F18Sch. 2 paras. 1–4 repealed Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , Sch. 9 Pt. Irepealed
F19Sch. 2 para. 5 repealed by Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (c. 14, SIF 107:1) , Sch. 8repealed
F20Sch. 2 paras. 6 , 7(1)(2) repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , Sch. 9 Pt. Irepealed
F21Sch. 2 paras. 6 , 7(1)(2) repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) , Sch. 9 Pt. Irepealed
F22Sch. 3 Part A repealed by Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (c. 54, SIF 107:1) , s. 3 , Sch. 1 Part I (with Sch. 4 paras. 1–3 )this amendment (text repealed) should be read in conjunction with other related provisions, see the commentary.repealed
M11972 c. 27
M21972 c. 68
M3S.I . 1970 No. 187 .
M41974 c. 48 .
M51974 c. 7
M61962 c. 46 .
M71968 c. 73 .
Defined TermSection/ArticleIDScope of Application
B.R.s. 24legTerma83DNj98
containerss. 15legTermASqpjaO3
first material dates. 15legTermCjqdnKjB
N.C.L.s. 24legTermfe0MmW85
N.F.C.s. 24legTermnnLfGfHH
subsidiarys. 24legTerm7x3tXiJV
the\n \n 1962 Acts. 24legTermsu7VAKgJ
the\n \n 1968 Acts. 24legTermOmYErGb5
the appointed days. 15legTermJuUybqh1
This instrument is derived from the version at www.legislation.gov.uk. To see a list of all amendments (including any to be made) check the resources page for this instrument on their website. Note, the status of this instrument is given above.
This instrument is derived from the version at www.legislation.gov.uk. To see original commencement information, check the resources page associated with this instrument. n.b. commencement information for marked amendments is embedded in the relevant footnote.

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