London Bus Group Limited

Where a traffic commissioner has found that a standard licence holder lacks appropriate financial standing, a period of grace under Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, section 17, provides a limited opportunity to rectify that failure. If the requirement is not met within the specified period, the commissioner must revoke the licence. An administrative letter cannot create a legitimate expectation that the statutory duty to revoke will be disregarded.

Related operator-licence cases may properly be listed together where common directorship, compliance concerns and financial arrangements create material common issues. A request for an inquiry in connection with an operator's own variation application does not require an inquiry to revive or postpone the revocation of an existing licence.

London Bus Group Limited appealed against the Scottish Traffic Commissioner's decision of 18 April 2023 to revoke its standard national PSV operator's licence for failure to demonstrate appropriate financial standing.

The company had been called to a conjoined public inquiry with three licences held by related companies under the same sole director. The commissioner found that financial standing was not met and allowed a four-week period of grace, later extended to 4 April 2023. No evidence was supplied by that date. A later standard letter about an application to increase the number of authorised vehicles requested financial information by 24 April 2023.

The appeal raised whether that letter created a substantive legitimate expectation, whether the conjoined hearing or Lead Traffic Commissioner arrangements were improper, and whether a further inquiry was required.

1. Appeal dismissed. The Traffic Commissioner was not plainly wrong to revoke the licence. The Upper Tribunal applied the established appellate approach in Bradley Fold Travel Limited and Peter Wright v Secretary of State for Transport [2010] EWCA Civ 695.

2. Once the Commissioner found that London Bus lacked appropriate financial standing, section 17(1) of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 required revocation unless the deficiency was rectified within a notice period under section 17(1A). Section 17(1B) imposed the converse duty not to revoke only where rectification occurred in time. The company did not provide the required evidence by the extended deadline of 4 April 2023.

3. The letter of 10 April could not create a legitimate expectation capable of defeating that mandatory statutory consequence. By the time it was sent, revocation could no longer be avoided. In any event, the director had received clear oral and written warnings, and could not reasonably regard a letter concerning a separate variation application as extending the expired period of grace. The Tribunal applied the legitimate-expectation principle considered in School and Nursery Milk Alliance Limited v Scottish Ministers [2022] CSOH 11.

4. The hearings were properly conjoined. They involved a common sole director, connected corporate and financial arrangements, and common issues bearing on financial standing and repute. Listing related cases together was a legitimate case-management course and caused no prejudice. The Tribunal followed Canalside UK Limited and Lewis Robley Horn t/a L R Horn [2010] UKUT 283 (AAC).

5. Section 17(4) did not require a further public inquiry merely because London Bus sought a variation to increase its vehicle authorisation. That provision protects an operator facing contemplated regulatory action; it does not enable an operator to obtain an inquiry through a desired variation application, still less to revive a revoked licence. A further inquiry would have served no useful purpose.

6. The revocation was stayed for a winding-down period. For section 50(6) purposes, the appeal was directed to be treated as disposed of 28 days after issue of the decision.

• Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) — dismissed the appeal and directed that it be treated as disposed of 28 days after issue: [2025] UKUT 83 (AAC).
• Traffic Commissioner for the Scottish Traffic Area — revoked London Bus's PSV operator's licence on 18 April 2023 for failure to demonstrate appropriate financial standing after the period of grace expired.