69. (1) An application for a contract carriage permit or a private carrier's permit or a public carrier's permit may be made at any time. (2) An application for a stage carriage permit shall be made not less than six weeks before the date on which it is desired that the permit shall take effect, or, if the Transport Committee appoints dates for the receipt of such applications, on such dates. (3) On receipt of an application for a stage carriage permit, the Transport Committee shall make the application available for inspection at the office of the Authority and shall publish the application or the substance thereof in the prescribed manner together with a notice of the date before which representations in connection therewith may be submitted and the date, not being less than thirty days from such publication, on which, and the time and place at which, the application and any representations received will be considered. (4) No representation in connection with an application referred to in sub section (3) shall be considered by the Transport Committee unless it is made in writing before the appointed date and unless a copy thereof is furnished simultaneously to the applicant by the person making such representation. (5) When any representation such as is referred to in sub section (3) is made, the Transport Committee shall dispose of the application at a public hearing and the applicant and the person making the representation shall have an opportunity of being heard either in person or by a duly authorised representative. (6) When any representation has been made by the persons or authorities referred to in section 62 to the effect that the number of contract carriages for which permits have already been granted in any region or any area within a region is sufficient for or in excess of the needs of the region or of such area, whether such representation is made in connection with a particular application for the grant of a contract carriage permit or otherwise, the Transport Committee may take any such steps as it considers appropriate for the hearing of the representation in the presence of any persons likely to be affected thereby. (7) When a Transport Committee refuses an application for a permit of any kind, it shall give to the applicant in writing its reason for the refusal. (8) An application to vary the conditions of any permit other than a temporary permit by the inclusion of new route or routes or a new area or, in the case of a stage carriage permit, by increasing a number of trips above the specified maximum or by altering the route covered by it, or in the case of a contract carriage permit by increasing the number of vehicles covered by the permit, shall be treated as an application for the grant of a new permit: Provided that it shall not be necessary so to treat an application made by holder of a stage carriage permit who provides the only service to any route or in any area or increase the frequency of the service so provided, without any increase in the number of vehicle. ¹[(9) A permit, other than a temporary permit, shall be issued only to the owner of a vehicle.]