School bus firm loses its licence
A BUS firm that was responsible for transporting pupils to Alford Academy has had its license revoked following a public enquiry.
Keir Coaches (Kintore) Ltd was banned from the roads by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA).
One of the coaches that took pupils to the Donside school was described as the worst public-service vehicle one VOSA examiner had come across in twelve-and-a-half years of service.
Amongst the defects found on the bus when it was examined in March last year were a broken interior roof light with sharp jagged edges hanging free, a leaking exhaust system and a tyre's tread beyond its legal limit.
The bus firm is owned by Banchory businessman Alan Findlater who bought the company last November for a token payment of one penny from Graham Keir who resigned on October 30 last year.
Traffic Commissioner for Scotland Joan Aitken said: "It is beyond comprehension that any operator, driver, or anyone working in or about an operators yard and having any engagement with a bus operation, could have allowed that vehicle to depart from that operating centre to undertake that school contract."
Ms Aitken added: "I have noted that Aberdeenshire Council placed contracts with this operator. Unless this was an unusual situation, such contracts will have been subject to a tendering exercise and it is likely that price will have been a determining feature.
"Sympathy should be directed to those operators and drivers who lost work to Keirs and to those who placed trust in Keirs to safely transport them or their dependants."
A spokeswoman for Aberdeenshire Council responded to this criticism saying: "The findings by the Traffic Commissioner reflect our own concerns about the operator.
"The council terminated all home to school transport contracts in April last year and our public transport unit was involved in the investigation in conjunction with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and Grampian Police.
"We regularly review our transport services and take action where appropriate.
"The safety of schoolchildren and other road users is of the utmost importance and the council has powers to terminate a contract without notice where we have concerns about service, reliability or vehicle maintenance."
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Weather for Banchory
Sunday 05 February 2012
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 0 C to 6 C
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