Total PSV Compliance provides external Transport Manager services, Public Inquiry preparation and representation, and compliance consultancy to bus, coach and minibus operators across Sussex, the South East and nationwide. The judgement of a senior practitioner; the systems of a modern operation.
Operators of buses, coaches and minibuses under a Standard PSV Operator Licence are legally required to have a professionally competent, CPC-qualified Transport Manager named on their licence. For most small and mid-sized operators, employing one full-time makes no commercial sense.
An External Transport Manager carries precisely the same legal responsibilities as a salaried in-house TM, continuous, effective management of the operation, at a fraction of the cost. The Traffic Commissioner recognises the arrangement in full.
"If an operator fails to follow their Transport Manager's advice, the TM is legally obliged to inform the Traffic Commissioner. The arrangement only works where there is complete professional trust."
One external TM may be named on up to four operator licences with a combined fleet of fifty vehicles. We deliberately keep our caseload below that ceiling, every operator gets time, not a template.
Ongoing transport management, urgent interim cover, licence applications, Public Inquiry work and one-off compliance audits. Everything required of a qualified Transport Manager under the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) regime and the PSV Operator Licensing regime.
CPC-qualified external TM service for Standard National and Standard International licences. Named on the licence; fully responsible for continuous effective management.
Full audit of your systems, records, maintenance files and processes, with a written report of gaps, fixes and priority actions before the DVSA comes to you.
Received a call-up letter? We prepare the case, draft undertakings, remediate the operation, prepare you for oral evidence and attend the hearing alongside you.
New-operator applications, variations and major changes, including providing the named TM, financial evidence requirements and advertisement wording.
Your TM has left and the twenty-eight-day notification clock is running. We step in immediately, protecting the licence while you recruit or restructure.
PMI planner set up and kept at least six months ahead. Annual test scheduling, wheel-security programmes, defect systems and roadworthiness oversight.
Digital and analogue tachograph analysis, infringement reports, driver debriefs and retention of records to the statutory periods. EU and GB domestic rules.
Driver CPC monitoring, licence-category checks (including EU licences via DVLA), induction programmes, competency assessments and disciplinary support.
Operator Compliance Risk Score monitoring, responding to DVSA brake-test and prohibition notices, and handling "O" and "S" call-up letters.
A Public Inquiry places your operator licence, your repute and, for directors, your livelihood at stake. It is not an occasion for improvisation. We treat each case as a full matter: case analysis, evidence remediation, written representations, undertakings drafting, witness preparation, and attendance on the day.
The call-up letter is read closely. We identify precisely which statutory grounds the TC has raised, repute, financial standing, professional competence, or fitness, and map the evidential burden.
Failures are fixed before the hearing. Maintenance systems rebuilt. Tachograph compliance brought current. Driver training delivered. The TC wants to see change, we evidence it.
A considered bundle of written representations, voluntary undertakings and supporting evidence. Where a transport solicitor is instructed, we work in lockstep with counsel.
We attend the hearing at the Office of the Traffic Commissioner with you. Witness preparation the night before. Calm conduct of proceedings. Post-inquiry follow-through.
Every duty required of a Transport Manager under the Senior Traffic Commissioner's statutory guidance, delivered, evidenced and auditable.
1–10 minibus operations, private hire, community transport, airport runs, corporate contracts. Often where we begin.
Private hire coach fleets, touring operations and event work, including international journeys under EU rules.
Contract school runs, college transport, SEN transport, sensitive work with exacting safeguarding and compliance demands.
Applying for a new PSV Operator Licence? We take you through the application, provide the named TM, and build the systems.
Three ways to engage us. Most operators begin with Standard and move to Fully Managed as their requirements grow. Public Inquiry and one-off work is scoped and quoted separately.
For restricted-licence holders and operators wanting regular expert oversight without a named TM appointment.
Named TM on your operator licence. Full statutory duties. First vehicle £350; £100 per additional vehicle, per month.
Everything in Standard, plus takeover audit, system build-out, tachograph analysis platform and Public Inquiry cover.
Public Inquiry work is priced per engagement, the seriousness of the call-up, the scale of the operation and the remediation required all determine scope. Indicative fees are set out opposite. Fixed fees available on request where the matter can be bounded at the outset.
Confidential consultationFees may be combined into a single fixed fee for the complete engagement on request. Complex, multi-day inquiries or matters involving director disqualification scoped separately. Fully Managed retainer clients have Public Inquiry cover included.
O-Licence applications, one-off compliance audits and Section 19/22 permit work are scoped and quoted separately. Call 01273 569078 for a confidential discussion.
Our TM resigned on two weeks' notice. Total PSV stepped in the same day, notified the Traffic Commissioner and kept us fully compliant throughout. They then helped us appoint a permanent TM.
We were a new start-up and had no idea what was involved in getting an O-Licence. Total PSV walked us through the whole process, became our named TM and set up every system from scratch.
We received a DVSA call-up letter and panicked. Total PSV identified exactly what needed fixing, remediated the lot before the meeting, and represented us on the day. Genuinely invaluable.
Whether you need an external TM now, a compliance audit, Public Inquiry representation or help with a first O-Licence application, tell us about your operation and we will come back to you within one working day.