ABSTRACT
The Road Traffic Act of 1930 marked the beginning of comprehensive State intervention in the control of omnibuses. A comprehensive new licensing system was set up by the Road Traffic Act, administered by an independent body, the Traffic Commissioners, who controlled vehicles, drivers and conductors, routes, fares and details of services for all public service vehicles. The intention is to analyse the reasons for the introduction, and to examine both the economic rationale and the political influences that led to the enactment of the major piece of legislation. The first meeting of the Hackney Vehicle Committee concentrated, initially, on safety considerations and the replies which Pool Godsell, secretary to the committee, had received from the various licensing authorities. The motor coach section of road transport is briefly considered by the Royal Commission. The evidence before the commission suggests that the railways and the trams were beginning to feel the pressure from road competition and that it is becoming more intense.
