Do You Need a Transport Manager on Your Operator Licence?

Start with the licence type you hold or want

A restricted licence lets a business carry its own goods in connection with its trade. A builder moving their own materials is the classic example. A standard national licence lets you carry other people's goods for hire or reward within Great Britain, and standard international extends that abroad. The moment you are carrying for someone else, professional competence enters the picture.

What the Traffic Commissioner is actually looking for

• A named individual with professional competence, evidenced by the CPC
• Real, continuous and effective management of the transport operation, not a name on paper
• Enough hours committed to the role for the size of the fleet
• Systems that stand up to inspection: maintenance records, drivers hours, tachograph analysis, defect reporting

The phrase that causes the most trouble is continuous and effective management. Borrowing a friend's CPC certificate while they take no part in running the fleet is exactly what the requirement exists to prevent, and it puts the licence at risk.

Your CPC holder has resigned. Now what?

1. 1Tell the licensing side of the picture promptly, because operating a standard licence without professional competence is a serious problem, not an administrative one.
2. 2Work out whether someone inside the business can qualify, and how quickly.
3. 3Decide whether an external transport manager is a stopgap or the long term answer.
4. 4Get the internal candidate booked onto the CPC rather than leaving a gap open indefinitely.

Owner managers: should you qualify yourself?

For a small fleet it is usually the cleanest answer. You are already making the decisions, and holding the CPC yourself means the competence sits with the person actually running the vehicles. The qualification also does something quieter and more useful: it tells you what you have been getting wrong on maintenance intervals, drivers hours and record keeping before an inspection does.

Haulage or passenger?

Two separate qualifications for two separate worlds. Goods vehicles take the road haulage CPC. Buses, coaches and minibuses on a passenger operator licence take the passenger transport CPC. We run both at £1,100. Pick the one that matches the licence you hold, not the one that looks easier.