ABSTRACT
The number of passengers carried is governed in practice not by the licensed carrying capacity of the vehicle or by safety regulations but merely by the physical limits of the space into which the passengers, together with the planks on which they sit and the goods and livestock which accompany them, can be squeezed. An illustration of the difficulty of matching licensed road services to the economic needs of a route under local conditions is provided by the case where during the main fishing season a large catch is landed at a small place ordinarily requiring practically no transport. Councils are availing themselves of these powers and should be encouraged and helped to operate their own passenger services, but the standard of service provided under this protection will require watching, to avoid particularly any use of the services mainly as a source of revenue in aid of the rates.
