A very good friend of mine is having extreme difficulty in getting the taxation class on his recently preserved bus log book changed from "Bus" to "PLG". The reason? Because he has had it Class 6 tested at his local ATF as opposed to driving around thirty miles to the nearest Class 5 testing station.

His local vehicle Registration Office (Preston) have flatly refused to tax the bus PLG (and submit the V5C to Swansea for a taxation class change) and told him to go and get his bus Class 5 tested. Appeals to the supervisor in the VRO got him nowhere and now his written submission to the DVLA in Swansea has resulted in the following, one line, barely literate reply...

"If you wish to tax the vehicle for private use, please ensure the MOT you have had carried out on the vehicle is appropriate for taxation purposes with:"

Has anyone out there in Routemaster land recently had the same problem...and has anyone got anything in writing from Swansea or anywhere else that confirms the class of MOT (5 or 6) has no bearing on whether or not a bus can be taxed PLG if used for private purposes only?

As always all thoughts on this will be much appreciated...thanks folks!

My bus number (if any): Nothing beginning with RM, yet!

As so many people find in dealings with Swansea, it all depends on whether the official brain cell has been loaned to that department for the day.

However, why on earth is your friend trying to tax it as PLG? It should be either Bus (Hackney? if the term is still in use) or Historic.

I assume we are talking about a vehicle that qualifies as 'Historic'. Post 1973 lorries can be taxed as 'Private HGV' and these certainly need an HGV MOT, so I assume that there is also a category of 'Private Bus'.

Agreeing with roy above, it should either be "bus" if it is used for carrying passengers for hire and reward (£275 per 6 months) or "historic" (£0)if used privately. Your local licencing office if it still exists will be able to do this for you. The test certificate doesn't matter whether it is class 5 or class 6. There's a number of preservationists who keep their buses tested to class 6 but run them on historic tax (not for hire and reward I hasten to add).

The law is that the vehicle must have a valid annual test certificate.Of course, if your RM is pre-1960, then it doesn't need an annual test anyway! You fill in a V112 at the post office and it's as simple as that.

Both myself and Dave Atkins of Folkestone Classic Omnibus regularly change the tax status on some buses. After all, it's the same price to declare SORN or get a "historic" tax for the winter!

My bus number (if any): RML2532 and others

Just to clarify any assumptions made.
The bus in question is post 73 by a long way but prior to 2001 which is why PLG (Private, Light Goods ; note the comma) is the correct tax class for non commercial use, like so many of similar aged vehicles that are entering preservation currently.

Mark

My bus number (if any): rm1414 sort of

Yes, you're right. the local VRO should be able to deal with this for you. the vehicle has a current valid test certificate. what problem do they see in that?

Just the usual DVLA incompetence again....

My bus number (if any): RML2532 and others

Problem now solved folks...if at first you fail because of bureaucratic, jobsworth, nonsense, then try again using the well known "go to a different VRO" method! They were more than happy to tax PLG and change the taxation class and never even commented on the PSV Class 6 MOT certificate presented!

Thanks as always everyone for your thoughts!

My bus number (if any): Nothing beginning with RM, yet!