(1)The provisions of this section shall have effect in relation to the area consisting of the City of London and the Metropolitan police district (in this section referred to as " the special area.")
(2)The following enactments, that is to say, the [32 & 33 Vict. c. 115.] Metropolitan Public Carriage Act, 1869 (in this section referred to as " the Act of 1869 "), sections eight and fourteen of the [30 & 31 Vict. c. 134.] Metropolitan Streets Act, 1867, the [7 Edw. 7. c. 55.] London Cab and Stage Carriage Act, 1907, and section six of the London Traffic Act, 1924, shall not apply to any public service vehicle, or to the driver or conductor thereof, unless the vehicle plies for hire as a stage carriage by short stages within the special area in maintaining a regular service on an approved route within the meaning of section six of the London Traffic Act, 1924.
For the purposes of this section a vehicle shall be deemed to ply for hire by short stages within the special area if the following conditions are complied with but not otherwise, that is to say, if its route, so far as it lies within that area, is divided into stages, and if from any point on its route within the area a passenger may travel for a fare not exceeding twopence to the next point at which a stage ends.
(3)Where a public service vehicle is licensed under section six of the Act of 1869, there shall be deemed to have been attached to the licence in pursuance of section six of the London Traffic Act, 1924, a condition that the vehicle shall not, without the consent of the licensing authority, be used within the special area otherwise than in plying for hire in the manner specified in the last preceding subsection, and that, while being so used, it shall ply for hire throughout its route, so far as that route lies within the special area.
(4)A road service licence under this Part of this Act shall not be required, nor shall such a licence be granted, in respect of the use within the special area of a public service vehicle plying for hire by short stages within that area in accordance with the terms of a licence granted under section six of the Act of 1869.
(5)Before determining the conditions to be attached to a road service licence with respect to routes, stopping places, or terminal points within the special area, the traffic commissioners concerned shall consult with the Commissioner of Police, and if the Commissioner of Police is dissatisfied by any condition attached to a road service licence with respect to a route, stopping place, or terminal point within his police district, he may appeal to the Minister, who shall make such order in the matter as he thinks fit, and any order so made by the Minister shall be binding on the traffic commissioners.
(6)The power of making orders conferred upon local authorities by subsection (1) of section ninety of this Act shall not be exercised within the special area by any local authority, but the Commissioner of Police may within his police district exercise with respect to contract carriages the power of making orders under the said subsection, and the provisions of subsections (3) to (7) of that section shall apply in relation to any order so made by the Commissioner of Police as they apply in relation to an order made by a local authority.
(7)Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section the Minister, for the purpose of adapting the provisions of this Part of this Act to the special area, may, after consultation with the Secretary of State and after reference to the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee constituted under the London Traffic Act, 1924, by order—
(a)provide for the exercise by the authority having power to grant licences under the Act of 1869 of any of the powers or duties conferred or imposed by this Part of this Act on traffic commissioners and on certifying officers, other than those relating to the grant or backing of road service licences;
(b)provide for the appointment by the Secretary of State of public service vehicle examiners, who shall act under his direction ;
(c)provide for the payment of fees in respect of the grant or issue of any licences or certificates under this Part of this Act, or under the Act of 1869, by the said licensing authority;
(d)provide for the payment by the Minister, as part of the expenses of the roads department of the Ministry of Transport, into the Metropolitan police fund of such sum in respect of any licence or certificate granted or issued under this Part of this Act or under the Act of 1869 by the said licensing authority as the Treasury, after consultation with the Minister, may from time to time determine;
(e)provide that any licence or certificate granted or issued under this Part of this Act or under the Act of 1869 shall have such effect for the purposes of this Part of this Act as may be provided in the order;
and the provisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect in the special area and in relation to any licences or certificates granted or issued by the said licensing authority, subject to such adaptations and modifications as may be necessary for the purposes aforesaid and as may be specified in the order.
(8)An order made by the minister under the last preceding subsection shall not have effect until it has lain upon the Table of each House of Parliament for a period of not less than twenty-eight days during which that House has sat and, if either House during that period presents an Address to His Majesty praying that the order may be annulled, the order shall not come into force, but without prejudice to the making of a new order.
(9)Any order made under this section may be revoked or altered by a subsequent order made in the like manner and subject to the like conditions.
(10)In this section the expression " the Commissioner of Police " means, in relation to the City of London, the Commissioner of Police of the City of London, and in relation to the Metropolitan police district, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.