Robertj21a
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There's still a big history from the Cornwall area in his early life that people in the know have clearly decided to keep to themselves. I don't blame them.
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Nope. Which is why nobody says anything- at least on a public forum. Theres no evidence anywhere to back the rumours that circulated. I’m sure @Robertj21a knows that’s the case
There were of course the news reports surrounding the developments back then that fuelled the rumours. But no further action was taken and they were never publicly named.
mayneway
Member
From memory Higgs acquired the Altonian licence before setting up Transpora with Rhys.
Pretty sure Higgs registered some sightseeing services on the licence - Birmingham being one but not sure if they ever ran.
father_jack
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Local newspaper Bristol (Evening) Post has an article up.
www.bristolpost.co.uk
Director of bus firm banned after Bristol services suddenly stopped
The Traffic Commissioner said 'telling the truth appears to be a lifestyle choice' for now-disqualified Rhys Hand after the collapse of the Transpora South West services
www.bristolpost.co.uk
Director of bus firm banned after Bristol services suddenly stopped
The Traffic Commissioner said 'telling the truth appears to be a lifestyle choice' for now-disqualified Rhys Hand after the collapse of the Transpora South West services
News
By
Tristan Cork
Senior Reporter
A bus company suddenly stopped running services in the Bristol area last month because of a huge falling out between the investor and the man running its operations - and the latter has now been disqualified from operating any public transport company for five years.
The Traffic Commissioner - the regulator of bus services in the region - also issued the maximum fine of £8,250 and told the operator of Bristol-based Altonian Coaches, which were running public services under the Transpora South West brand in Bristol, that he had ‘lost his good repute as an operator’.
In a damning ruling, the Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney said that the man who had been running the bus services in Bristol, Rhys Hand, ‘has much to answer for’, and that ‘telling the truth appears to be a lifestyle choice’ for him.
The firm had expanded rapidly in Bristol in the last couple of years, and were lauded by local councillors in the city after they began a strategy of resurrecting bus routes that had been axed by First Bus. But in mid-July this year, all the services run by Transpora South West suddenly stopped, including a number of staff shuttle buses for companies around Bristol, leaving passengers with no buses turning up.
Some of the services were quickly taken on by other operators, including Stagecoach, while others - like the n2 nightbus, the 23 to Ashton Vale and the number 90 in South Bristol ended for good.
A public inquiry was held into the collapse of Transpora South West by the Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney. He heard that Bristol-based Altonian Coaches was bought by a man called Philip Higgs, who ran bus and coach services in Manchester and the north west, with a business partner called Rhys Hand, who was the director responsible for the Bristol and south west operations.
Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney heard that Altonian - using the brand name of Transpora South West - took on school bus services in Dorset, and a park and ride in Weymouth. Mr Higgs told the public inquiry that he remained in the north, leaving the running of the Bristol and Dorset operations in the hands of director Rhys Hand.
But there had been increasing problems. Parents began complaining about the buses servicing Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester, a bus was discovered abandoned and causing an obstruction late in the evening on a main road in Dorset, and the scene had to be managed by the police.
The DVSA entered the bus depot in Poole Docks and found more buses than were supposed to be there, while in July last year, bus inspectors found an Altonian Coaches minibus parked in Bristol city centre late one evening with a driver who didn’t have the right operating licences. Mr Hand had been at an event and arrived an hour later, and was told to provide a written report about the use of the vehicle, but never did.
Mr Hand was asked to attend the public inquiry but didn’t turn up, instead he submitted a lengthy letter to the Traffic Commissioner detailing his side of events, while Mr Higgs did attend.
Transpora Group had launched a new bus route re-connecting St Pauls, St Werburghs and Eastgate to the centre of Bristol this morning, Friday 14 April 2023 and has put into service Route 25.
Mr Hand said that he had been confident the Bristol operations were going well earlier this year, but the relationship with Mr Higgs ‘became strained’. He told him he wanted to step away from the business on July 3, and the following Monday, July 8, Mr Hand said he discovered he had been removed as a director, his shareholding had been rescinded and Mr Higgs was no longer talking to him.
By the end of that week - Friday, July 12 - with no one appearing to be in charge, Mr Higgs took the decision to stop all the services, culminating in the scramble over that middle weekend of July to find alternative providers who could operate the bus routes in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, using Altonian’s vehicles and drivers.
The Traffic Commissioner questioned Mr Higgs about what happened, and said Mr Higgs’ ‘view of the cessation of services was at significant variance to that of Mr Hand’.
“Until very recently, he had felt that the business was salvageable,” said the Traffic Commissioner. “But what he had found subsequently had changed his mind on that.”
Then Bristol West MP Thangam Debonnaire at the launch of the new number 25 bus route through St Pauls and St Werburghs - the route was saved in April 2023 by Transpora South West (Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
In his ruling, Mr Rooney revoked the licence for Altonian Coaches - which had already collapsed - but completely exonerated Mr Higgs, saying he made ‘no adverse finding in relation to his good repute’.
However, he was damning in his verdict on Rhys Hand, pointing out it was the second time he had failed to attend a disciplinary hearing - after an investigation into his conduct while he ran a bus company in north Wales in 2019. He had been fined, but never paid it.
“In his letter to me, he (Rhys Hand) says ‘I would be happy to meet with you at any time’. I would remind him that we already had an appointment, at 2pm on August 8 in the public inquiry room in Bristol. He failed to attend.
“Mr Hand has much to answer for. A vehicle operated by him was found abandoned on an unlit A-road causing an obstruction so dangerous that the police had to step in to put in place emergency traffic management and to have the vehicle removed. The incident in Bristol is of major concern. Telling the truth appears to be a life-style choice for Mr Hand.
“I look for positives. Mr Higgs spoke of Mr Hand’s enthusiasm and innovation. He did make attempts to get at least some of the services covered following their cessation. The positives are clearly trivial when contrasted with the negatives. I have no hesitation in finding that his good repute is lost. The seriousness of events and their sheer number, in such a short period of time, and the previous adverse history, mean that a period of reflection away from the PSV industry is appropriate,” the Traffic Commissioner added.
The 52 bus was previously run by now-defunct Bristol Community Transport. (Image: Charlie Butler)
Commissioner Rooney said suddenly stopping running the services was a serious issue. “This is not a case of services running a bit late or of a small percentage of lost mileage,” he said.
“These are services, relied upon by citizens, ceasing, in effect, overnight due to mis-management of an operation. I can identify no external factors, no reasonable excuse. It is a result of a string of poor decisions and poor management that led the business to the point where it had no alternative.
“The public has a right to be able to rely on their bus services,” he said. “Notwithstanding that the local authorities may have found alternative suppliers for some services, in Bristol, services 90, 925 and N2 ceased to operate leaving passengers without transport. Such unreliability is a significant detriment to all who seek to grow bus patronage to address environmental concerns,” he added.
The Traffic Commissioner said Rhys Hand 'has lost his good repute as an operator', and he was now disqualified from 'applying for or holding an operator’s licence in any traffic area immediately and until 14 August 2029', but the 'good repute of Philip Higgs is intact'.
Well he’s very unprofessional especially the way he attacked me be email and made many false accusations over my employment there
The guy that I had more contact with was Simon Newport he seemed to be running transpora and made me offers to return many times but i would never have returned
The guy that I had more contact with was Simon Newport he seemed to be running transpora and made me offers to return many times but i would never have returned
I still find it odd with all the knowledge that our friend claims to have he still does not have time to attend a very important meeting on his doorstep.This is not the first time it has happened .Could it be that he has contempt of the laws .As someone who saw the Newport operation circus when it went under .I dont think he will make a comeback from this.
Dai Corner
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Especially when he'd already told the TC he was happy to meet him any time.
M803UYA
Member
And he did have an appointment, as the decision states. Didn't go.
greenline712
Member
Without stating the obvious.... maybe he didn't want to face questioning in open "court"?
A face to face meeting without witnesses is one thing ...
A face to face meeting without witnesses is one thing ...
Leedsbusman
Member
In that case don’t be a bus operator!
Indeed. Enquiries, or court sessions, don’t exactly work like that. Especially when there are glaringly obvious legal issues being questioned like vehicles running around with no tax / MOT or blocking the highway.
Rhys had his chances to attend. By not bothering to turn up because he feels he’s washed his hands of the business, he is in effect sticking two fingers up to the traffic commissioner who has reacted within his powers accordingly.
Indeed and I suspect that Mr Higgs willingness to do so is something that stood in him in good stead with the Traffic Commissioner, this sentence is telling I think:
I think the Traffic Commissioner put a fair bit of stock on Mr Higgs effectively having to face potentially tough questions in front of a large audience of people with an interest in and knowledge of bus operations. Not just a sleepy hearing room with no-one in attendance but those directly involved in the case, but an "exceptionally full" inquiry room where everyone in it will know the score. Nothing like having difficult questions asked in front of an audience of your peers! Suspect that counted for quite a lot in the Traffic Commissioners mind. Just as I suspect Mr Hand's failure to attend and therefore be subject to the same level of scrutiny and transparency counted against him quite strongly...
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
I don't know about that.
Remember that Rhys has both ambition but also a need to be "recognised" as some mover and shaker. Look at the job titles at Companies House - Operations Director of KernowFox (that I'm not certain actually operated), Group Managing Director, Group Chief Executive.
How that comeback manifests itself who knows? Perhaps someone fronting something with Rhys as "Chairman".... We will have to wait and see but I don't think we've seen the last of Mr Hand.
greenline712
Member
I think any "comeback" soon will be exceptionally difficult now . . . this failure by Mr Hand is far more public than his previous failures. I believe that his involvement with Ealing CT is no more . . . certainly their website makes no mention of him now.
I still believe that some time working in a position of limited responsibility would be good for him, and that he does have decent ideas . . . it's the boring day-to-day stuff that he needs to learn. Will we see him again? Probably, but not for some while . . .
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Agree that it will be difficult and certainly not soon. The TC report is damning, and yes, his tenure with ECT was terminated on 22 Aug according to Companies House.
Not certain that Rhys sees himself as having to learn the nuts and bolts stuff, as he's above that now as a Chief Exec
As a self styled 'Chief Exec' of what?!?!
RustySpoons
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I'd agree with this, I think he'd be great in a marketing/advertising role and working up from there. The Foxstar promo stuff was very well done, and he has the ability to promote the bus to younger people with cheeky advertising in a way that more traditional advertising doesn't - I recall Foxstar being 'the only thing in your life that comes 5 times an hour', or something along them lines.
But, as TGW says...
And that says it all as he’s not getting the basics right so that’s where he’ll need to start to be successful
Was there any special reason why the hearing was so well attended?
Dai Corner
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Let's just say they were disappointed that the star attraction was absent.
theblackwatch
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But not any more - resigned on August 22nd according to Companies House website.
Leyland Bus
Member
I assume the bus that was left on a main road was the one in Dorset where the driver parked the bus uo at the side of the road and quit on the spot, as they weren't happy with the state of the buses and had finally had enough and didn't want to work for them anymore.
Well all the people in the Dorset Echo comments that thought the weymouth park and ride shuttle was run so well they should take over from First (despite not realising that most of the services Wessex run are not contracted) would feel a bit silly if they know what Transpora were really like!
Well all the people in the Dorset Echo comments that thought the weymouth park and ride shuttle was run so well they should take over from First (despite not realising that most of the services Wessex run are not contracted) would feel a bit silly if they know what Transpora were really like!
Marcus Fryer
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To be fair, my experience as a passenger on, and observer of, the Bristol operations was generally favourable; the vehicles were well presented and I had no issues with the drivers. The punctuality was generally poor however, which I put down to over-optimistic scheduling.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Two separate incidents as detailed in Mr Rooney's report.
The incident with the driver who "walked off the job" was on Nov 8th en route to Kinson; in fairness to all parties, the driver stayed with the kids until a manager arrived, who then dropped them off.
The abandoned vehicle was in January near Dorchester.
Two general questions have been floating around at the back of my mind since this inquiry - they could just as easily refer to any other inquiry called. They are probably "stupid questions", but they just won't "un-ask" themselves!
- The Traffic Commissioner (TC) has the power to bar individuals from directorships or Transport Managerships (TM) on operating licenses, and thus, I assume, by extension, of a transport-related business. Does this ban for "lack of good repute" carry any weight in any other sector? E.g. could an individual banned from TM-ship set up a consulting company without issue, and remain in the industry that way? (i.e. the letter, but not quite the spirit, of the punishment? Obviously assuming anyone would take their work...) Alternatively, could a negative note from the TC lead Companies house to consider ill-repute in a completely different sector? Would I want someone banned from directing a company in the transport industry setting up in an equally safety-led sector, for example.
- Much was made in his particular instance of the unpaid fees to the Welsh Government, from another traffic area, and the failure to pay seems to have provided another nail in the coffin of good repute here. Is there any reason why this wouldn't have been picked up on before the new license was granted/TM-ship accepted? It seems a little odd to have (rightly) made a big deal out of it now, yet also to have granted the license with previous poor repute fees outstanding. Shouldn't they be cleared in the same was as any time-limited ban?
- The Traffic Commissioner (TC) has the power to bar individuals from directorships or Transport Managerships (TM) on operating licenses, and thus, I assume, by extension, of a transport-related business. Does this ban for "lack of good repute" carry any weight in any other sector? E.g. could an individual banned from TM-ship set up a consulting company without issue, and remain in the industry that way? (i.e. the letter, but not quite the spirit, of the punishment? Obviously assuming anyone would take their work...) Alternatively, could a negative note from the TC lead Companies house to consider ill-repute in a completely different sector? Would I want someone banned from directing a company in the transport industry setting up in an equally safety-led sector, for example.
- Much was made in his particular instance of the unpaid fees to the Welsh Government, from another traffic area, and the failure to pay seems to have provided another nail in the coffin of good repute here. Is there any reason why this wouldn't have been picked up on before the new license was granted/TM-ship accepted? It seems a little odd to have (rightly) made a big deal out of it now, yet also to have granted the license with previous poor repute fees outstanding. Shouldn't they be cleared in the same was as any time-limited ban?
To the best of my knowledge, the only roles within the passenger transport line of work are PCV driver and designated Transport Manager - and loss of one doesn't automatically cancel the other. And other roles within bus operation, e.g. controller, driver, scheduler etc in a bus company, anything in consultancy, or being a local authority passenger transport officer aren't regulated by the Traffic Commissioner, so I can't think of anything to stop someone who's been disqualified as a TM seeking / taking a job in something like that. (Obviously there would be the usual process of application / interview / questions about past employment / references to get through.)
Also not sure whether a local council could take a Traffic Commissioner decision in to account if someone wanted to set up as a hackney carriage / private hire operator. Even less sure about setting up in any other line of business where there's safety / competence standards related to an individual manager. I don't think that a Traffic Commissioner action counts as a criminal record.
And while I believe there is a process for barring individuals from being a company director, don't think this is in the power of the Traffic Commissioner.
greenline712
Member
In any application for an O licence, the applicant must state the directors and Transport Manager.
If the TC believes that a banned TM is setting up a company in which they will effectively be running the operation, then they can refuse the licence. In Devon and Bristol, Carmel Coaches were in such a situation, and the TC refused to grant an O licence (in around 2016-ish??).
Hackney carriage licences are in the gift of local councils, who have their own procedures to follow. In any case, a taxi operation that wishes to enter the PSV/PCV market will need an O licence .... which wouldn't be granted if a banned TM was anywhere near it.
It's all about due diligence, M'Lud!!
If the TC believes that a banned TM is setting up a company in which they will effectively be running the operation, then they can refuse the licence. In Devon and Bristol, Carmel Coaches were in such a situation, and the TC refused to grant an O licence (in around 2016-ish??).
Hackney carriage licences are in the gift of local councils, who have their own procedures to follow. In any case, a taxi operation that wishes to enter the PSV/PCV market will need an O licence .... which wouldn't be granted if a banned TM was anywhere near it.
It's all about due diligence, M'Lud!!
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