1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236 
Bus network in danger
Page 115
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Your correspondent G. W. Brown takes me to task for commenting on unfair competition in the air travel business, but he really ought to get his facts right first.
At the recent CPT Conference I did not refer at all to "unfair" competition nor did I suggest that competition was a bad thing. What I did say and what I am prepared to repeat anywhere is that competitive pressure on lucrative routes has, in the air travel business, forced British Airways (and others) to withdraw from domestic services which they had hitherto supported by cross-subsidisation.
We in CPT foresee a similar situation on bus routes if unrestrained competition forces established operators to reduce their fares on profitable services to a level at which they can no longer afford to cross-subsidise unremunerative services. It will be for the public to judge whether the end result is better or worse, but it should be significant that even in the expanding business of air travel contraction of the route network has already taken place.
IAN CUNNINGHAM, General manager, Bournemouth Transport, Immediate past president CPT.