Traffic Commissioners

There are a total eight Traffic Commissioners all appointed by the Secretary of State for the Transport and have responsibility in their area for:

• The licensing of the operators of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and of buses, coaches and minibuses (Public Service Vehicles or PSVs).
• The registration of local bus services.
• Granting vocational licences and taking action against drivers of HGVs and PSVs.

The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland is also responsible for dealing with both appeals against decisions by Scottish local authorities on taxi fares, with appeals against charging and removing improperly parked vehicles in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Commissioners are statutorily independent in their licensing functions. When necessary, they hold Public Inquiries, in particular to consider the environmental suitability of HGV operating centres and the possibility of disciplinary action against operators who have not observed the conditions of their licences.

One Traffic Commissioner, (currently the Western Traffic Commissioner), is the Senior Traffic Commissioner, an administrative appointment which gives him the role of encouraging consistency in licensing decisions and procedures. The Traffic Commissioners are assisted by Deputy Traffic Commissioners, who hold some of the Public Inquiries.

The Traffic Commissioners for each area are:

Western Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
Philip Brown

Covering:
The Counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire; the Districts of Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bristol, Isle of Wight, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham.

Address:
2 Rivergate Temple Quay Bristol BS1 6EH

North Eastern Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
Tom Macartney

Covering:
the Metropolitan Boroughs within South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear and West Yorkshire; the Counties of Durham, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire and North Yorkshire; the Districts of Darlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hartlepool, Kingston upon Hull, Middlesbrough, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Nottingham, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees and York.

Address:
Hillcrest House 386 Harehills Lane Leeds LS9 6NF

North Western Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
Beverley Bell

Covering:
the Metropolitan Boroughs within Greater Manchester and Merseyside; the Counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire and Lancashire; the Districts of Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Derby City, Halton and Warrington.

Address:
Hillcrest House 386 Harehills Lane Leeds LS9 6NF

West Midland Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
David Dixon

Covering:
the Metropolitan Boroughs within West Midlands. The Counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire; the Districts of Herefordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Telford and Wrekin.

Address:
38 George Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 1PL

Welsh Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
David Dixon

Covering:
All counties of Wales

Address:
38 George Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 1PL

Eastern Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
Geoffrey Simms

Covering:
the Counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except the Districts of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire), Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk; the Districts of Leicester, Luton, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Rutland, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.

Address:
City House 126-130 Hills Road Cambridge CB2 1NP

South Eastern and Metropolitan Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
Christopher Heaps

Covering:
Greater London; the Counties of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex; the Districts of Brighton and Hove, The Medway Towns

Address:
Ivy House 3 Ivy Terrace Eastbourne BN21 4QT

Scottish Traffic Area Office

Commissioner:
Joan Aitken

Covering:
All counties of Scotland

Address:
J Floor Argyle House 3 Lady Lawson Street Edinburgh EH3 9SE