United Travel will be stopped from operating minibuses on February 1, after Scotland’s traffic commissioner ruled the partnership behind the business had breached the terms of its operator’s licence.
Joan Aitken told Elizabeth Nicol, David McEwan and Jillian McEwan that their authority to operate two vehicles would be terminated at 11.59pm on January 31.
The decision came after a public inquiry held in Edinburgh on December 17.
At the hearing, the traffic commissioner examined reports from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (Vosa) into driving and vehicle maintenance standards.
During an investigation into driver James Nicol, husband of partner Elizabeth Nicol, a traffic examiner found that Mr Nicol was not allowed to drive minibuses with paying passengers due to a licence restriction.
Driving records revealed he had undertaken this type of work between April 2011 and January 2012, however.
A Vosa vehicle examiner presented evidence to the traffic commissioner revealing that the business had unsatisfactory maintenance standards during a visit in June 2012, including that minibuses had not been given routine safety inspections at the agreed times.
In addition, there was evidence of a vehicle being used without a valid tax disc, which expired in March 2012 and had not been rectified by the time of the maintenance investigation.
Miss Aitken also heard evidence to suggest that James Nicol was involved in the running of the Markinch business, breaching a promise made by the partnership that he would not be. The partnership challenged this during the hearing.
Mr Nicol had an operator licence and his own vocational driving licence revoked in 1998, leading to the condition he would not be involved in the United Travel licence.
After reserving her decision at the conclusion of the inquiry, Miss Aitken issued a written decision outlining her reasons for revoking the licence.
She said: “There has been a material change since this licence was granted.
“This material change is not curable in these public inquiry proceedings and, accordingly, I will have to revoke the licence. This I do because I am in absolutely no doubt that the entity operating these two minibuses is Mrs E Nicol.”
United Travel declined to comment.
malexander@thecourier.co.uk