DVA recently had cause to investigate the use of an unlicensed minibus by a children's day care nursery. This highlighted the fact that similar nursery businesses may not be aware of their legal responsibility in relation to the operation of vehicles used to transport children to and from their nursery, or on occasional trips.

The Agency's main concern relates to circumstances in which a nursery business owns and operates a vehicle that transports passengers in return for a commercial charge: this is defined in legal terms as 'reward' and is any monetary or other contribution, no matter how small. This may be a direct charge, where a passenger is charged per mile or per trip, or it could be an indirect charge. An example of indirect charging is where the nursery fees include a charge for transporting children to and from school.

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