GHA coaches: Former bosses to appear before public inquiry

Gareth Lloyd-Davies, Berwyn Davies and Darrell Barron, all transport managers at the former GHA Coaches firm which went out of business earlier this summer, have been asked to attend the probe being held by Nick Jones, traffic commissioner for Wales.

It will investigate how the company was run and whether any action needs to be taken.

That could include fines or disqualification from holding a bus or truck operator's licence being handed out to bosses.

The inquiry will be held at Welshpool Town Hall on September 20.

A statement issued by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner said: "On September 20, the traffic commissioner for Wales, Nick Jones, will hold a public inquiry into the public service vehicle operator licences held by GHA Coaches Ltd.

"The company holds two licences authorising the use of 146 vehicles in Wales (with bases in Ruthin, Corwen, Ruabon and Wrexham) and 80 vehicles in the North West of England (with bases in Chester, Middlewich, Winsford and Macclesfield). The firm has ceased operating vehicles.

"The inquiry has been called to consider bus monitoring exercises carried out by Bus Users Cymru and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

"The traffic commissioner will also consider a DVSA report on the company's vehicle maintenance standards.

"The company's transport managers, Gareth Lloyd-Davies, Darrell Barron and Berwyn Davies, have also been called to the inquiry."

GHA Coaches stopped trading on the night of July 13, leaving passengers and school children without transport.

More than 300 people working for the company were told the firm was closing by text message.

When drivers turned up at GHA Coaches the next day they were told the firm had been placed in administration.

A total of 11 routes across the county were left without services, leaving passengers in the lurch as councils frantically tried to find replacements.

Administrators were appointed after the business, which operated public and school bus services across the county as well as Clywd, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Cheshire, received a winding-up petition over unpaid taxes.

Local authorities had to find alternative companies to step in and run the school routes at short notice.

Forty-eight people who had worked for GHA Coaches have now approached solicitors with a view to pursuing action against the firm for failing to consult with them before the redundancies.

The inquiry hearing at Welshpool Town Hall will start at 10.30am on September 20.