THE boss of a public transport company hauled before the Traffic Commissioner for the third consecutive year says his buses are now “operating at a level where they should be”.

WebberBus was fined £6,875 - £125 for each of its 55 vehicles – for a number of failures to run reliable services, with complaints about buses failing to show or arriving late.

The company, which was axed from running park and ride service in Taunton, was previously fined £5,500 in 2012 and issued with a formal warning the following year following public inquiries sparked by poor reliability.

WebberBus had previously been issued with a formal warning in 2009 in relation to maintenance failings.

In reaching her latest conclusion, Traffic Commissioner Sarah Bell conceded that a number of WebberBus’s challenges to the allegations were “reasonable” because of the flooding on the Somerset Levels early last year – although there was a dispute about some of the dates.

She added that there was a “non-compliance” with the target of 95% of journeys being on time on 102 occasions out of 425 checks between November 2013 and March last year.

Miss Bell concluded in her report: “In reaching my decision, I have struck a balance between some challenging operational situations outside the operator’s control and areas where it did not properly run its services and/or make contemporaneous notification of problems it was facing.”

WebberBus boss Tim Gardner said the fine was relatively small and reflected the problems the company had experienced with staffing levels and last year’s floods on the Somerset Levels.

“While disappointed at being fined, it’s fair,” said Mr Gardner.

“Services have now improved substantially. All our services are operating at a level where they should be, in excess of 96%.

“As with all forms of public transport, we’re heavily reliant upon roads being open – there are a lot of roadworks and closures in the area.”