There is an appetite for innovation and an incessant need to overcome practical impediments to moving people and freight around.

In some ways the role of the regulator was an out of sight one, but playing a part in ensuring that those professionally driving on the country's roads were fit to do so and that local bus services met the standards expected of them, was a worthwhile and essential activity.

The great achievement of the Traffic Area Office during the year had been the steady reduction in the time taken to process applications, said the Commissioner. The staff had reorganised their working practices such that by the end of the year over 90% of applications were granted within 10 weeks and many of them much sooner.

There was a swift turnaround of interim licence applications when they were requested. Delays were now less likely to arise because of pressures in the Traffic Area Office than from staff needing essential statutory required information from applicants.

Staff were encouraged to use telephone and email contact as much as possible. They were mindful that forms and procedures familiar to them were not the daily meat and drink of others, especially restricted licence holders whose principal activity was not haulage.

The practice of running on interim licences had been rooted out. Close attention was paid to 'phoenixes', those who would seek to circumvent disciplinary action such as revocation by re-emerging in other entities.

She was sorry to say that during the year they had seen operators fall foul of thinking they could sell their licences. That reflected on their repute. Licences were not transferable and those who responded to trade press advertisements suggesting that they might be able to trade their licence margins did so at their peril.

There had been a good take up of operator self service in Scotland with the attendant benefits, not least the removal of the need to send forms to Edinburgh every time a vehicle was changed on the licence. She hoped to encourage all licence holders in the direction of self service.

Monitoring of how transport managers performed their functions was continuing. Anyone employing a transport manager remote from their main operating centre would be expected to provide a clear account of how continuous and effective control would be achieved.

They were on the lookout for those individuals who were simply 'fired in' to a licence application or on any existing licence but whose involvement was illusory. Last year she had recorded her dismay at those who ran without replacing their transport managers. Sadly that continued. The result would be that more operators would find themselves called to public inquiry.

That there were fewer impounding cases in Scotland might simply reflect the lower number of vehicles on the road and that local knowledge made illegal operation less of an option.

One case had stood out during the year and shocked the customer whose high value excisable product was being carried by an unlawful operator. In contracting out its haulage, the company did not expect that somewhere down the line of subcontracting an unlicensed operator would be stopped carrying such a load.

She had copied her decision to the company concerned as she was astonished that such a company engaged such a haulier. They shared her sentiments and robust systems had now been put in place by both the company and the contractor. Through the use of the VOSA website those intending to use a haulier could check on that haulier's credentials and, if there were doubts, telephone the Traffic Area Office.

She was noticing a high incidence of failure by operators to notify the Traffic Area Office of convictions. She was taking this opportunity to remind Scottish operators of the licence conditions requiring that such convictions be notified. She would not be placed in a position whereby those who made disclosures were penalised over those who kept their secrets.

In relation to environmental cases, the Commissioner said that many representations would not have happened if operators had taken the initiative to explain their plans to neighbours. In such discussions they might have heard that the real and recurring source of grievance was the driving behaviour of drivers and not the parking up and access arrangements.

In deciding which drivers to call to driver conduct hearing, the Commissioner said that she paid particular attention to the date of birth of drivers as it was imperative to impress on young male drivers in particular that they were in a higher risk group and that she must be satisfied as to their fitness to hold vocational driving licences.

Young drivers convicted of repeated high speed offences were often shocked to find that they were thwarted temporarily in their career plans by her refusal to find them fit to hold such licences. She required from them evidence as to their fitness. She was also concerned at the high incidence of repeat drink driving by professional drivers. There might be too low an awareness of the strength of modern alcoholic drinks.

On the PSV side, the Commissioner said that she had informally labelled 2004 as the 'Year of the Bus'. That informal theme was continued in 2005 as the 'Year of the Punctual Bus'. She hoped that the presence of additional bus compliance officers would serve to increase the reliability of Scotland's buses.

She currently received many complaints about bus operators and their services coming from a range of sources. She had become deeply concerned how frequently Paisley was mentioned. As a result she paid her first visit to Paisley in May 2004, seeing for herself some atrocious activities on the part of bus operators and their drivers.

She had directed that letters be sent to all those whose vehicles or drivers had caused her concern and she had asked VOSA to take a continuing interest in Paisley. Such was her dismay at what she had seen that she paid an unannounced return visit in March 2005.

There had been much improvement and far less visibly dangerous activity on the part of drivers. However, the repute of certain operators would be called into question if their drivers persisted in blocking bus stops and cutting in.