Transport Manager: How involved is your's?

For all holders of a standard operator licence, having a suitably qualified transport manager nominated on your licence is mandatory. But does the role your transport manager play in practice fulfil the legal requirement for him or her to have "ongoing and effective control of the transport operation". 

This will depend in part on how many hours a week the transport manager is in attendance, how good he or she is at the job and how well you monitor their performance. Too many operators under estimate the role of a transport manager. To obtain and maintain an operator licence a standard licence holder must satisfy the requirement of "professional competence". This does not just mean that a qualified transport manager has to be in place, the role that individual plays has to be effective to ensure all areas of the transport operation are well managed on a continuous basis. 

Part-time Transport Manager and the licence

Many part-time transport managers can in no way fulfil this legal requirement. The Traffic Commissioners regularly penalise Operators who have poor compliance histories, very often due to an ineffective transport manager role. In the extreme of cases, some operators believe that it is acceptable to have a transport manager in name only on the licence i.e. the transport manager never attends on the operator. The latter will leave a Traffic Commissioner with no choice but to consider revoking the licence. 

The legal requirement to have an efficient and regularly attending transport manager is there for a reason; road safety. Such an individual is required to ensure that key systems relating to the transport are not neglected and that the safety of other road users is not jeopardized.