Nordcat charity bus operator has permits revoked

Nordcat provided transport for college students and the elderly

A charity supplying community transport has had most of its vehicle permits revoked.

An inquiry said Nordcat (North Dorset Community Accessible Transport) did not have the "competence or capability" to maintain its vehicles.

The Dorset operator, which provides transport the elderly and students, was found to have a 76% MOT failure rate by the traffic commissioner.

Nordcat has not responded to the BBC's request for comment.

Commissioner Kevin Rooney said his assessment of the operator's maintenance systems was that they were "about as poor as anything I have ever seen".

Among those permits revoked following the inspections were 15 minibuses, though Mr Rooney said the remaining five were not to be used for home-to-school transport.

According to the report, Nordcat holds a contract with Kingston Maurward College, offering transport to 362 students.

Other minibuses were used by the operator for the daily transport of elderly residents to and from shops, social clubs, and hospital appointments.

'Not compliant'

Mr Rooney said in the report: "Inspections appear to follow no logical pattern. At times, they are 15 to 21 weeks apart.

"At others, they are as close as a fortnight. There is not one compliant inspection record in the entire bundle."

Elsewhere in the report he said: "This operator does not see the need to check the age of the tyres. Ever."

He said the "only positive" was the presence of a new technician "who seems to have a reasonable background", though "even his own vehicle has not been subject to a brake performance test over the last four inspections".

"This is a permit operation," he wrote. "That does not mean that the passengers and other road users do not deserve to be safe."