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 
Government deadline for axing bus grant
Page 26
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
IN A MOVE which has been expected for some time, the Government has set a date for the abolition of new bus grant.
Transport Minister Norman Fowler told the Commons that it will be withdrawn in stages by March 31, 1984 as part of the programme of publicexpenditure cuts.
The Labour Government had similar plans, and Mr Fowler said the announcement now will give the inJustry plenty of time in which it can adjust to new circum;lances.
As yet, nobody is saying iow the grant will be phased out, but the Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport told CM that it expects to be consulted in the near future.
Until then, it cannot comment in detail on what effects the abolition will have.
Bus grant, which covers 50 per cent of the capital cost of new vehicles suitable for oneman operation, will cost the Government .E65m in the current financial year.
It has helped many opera tors establish more up-to-date fleets, but many in the industry feel that it has had an inflationary effect by making it easier for them to buy sophisticated and expensive vehicles.
Operators will probably look more closely at the total life costs of new vehicles once bus grant goes, and this is something which pleases both Volvo, which builds the comparatively cheap B55 doubledecker, and Hestair Dennis and Metro-Cammell Weymann.
MCW sales director Trevor Webster described the Minister's decision as "sad, but not unexpected", and added that he hoped that the Government would change its mind.
Like all manufacturers, MCW must wait until operators start placing post-bus grant orders, but a realistic prediction is that 1700 to 1800 double-deckers will be bought each year throughout the 1980s.
What worries many in the industry is that the Government may introduce a major bus investment programme around 1985 when future oil supplies become more apparent, and it is necessary for motorists to be enticed from their cars.
If the manufacturing industry has contracted by then, it may not be able to respond quickly to an increase in demand, and foreign manufacturers could gain a greater share of the British market.