Mersey defies Kin
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
join the other metropolitan pasn defying Government guidelines MERSEYSIDE PTE looks set to senger transport undertakings i on revenue support.
The PTE says that it appreciates the Government's view that passenger transport should follow a commercial policy leading to a substantial reduction in revenue support, but has tried to reconcile this with the needs of Merseyside in its 198487 Transport Plan submitted to Transport Secretary Tom King.
Merseyside County Council wants to see a high level of public transport with low fares, which would require the PTE to follow a social rather than commercial direction.
The PTE considered four options before publishing its Plan, as required by the 1983 Transport Act The first option was to maintain the status quo and involved making no changes in fares or service levels.
The second was to follow an option required by the Government's guidelines on protected expenditure level (PEL), and the third option involved a continuation of the current policy on fares, with reductions during the next three years.
The fourth option, which the PTE plan recommends, suggests a policy move towards meeting the Government's guidelines. The PTE felt that to follow the Government's option would lead to a rapid deterioration in service and the others would require financial resources that could not be justified and that would place an extra burden on ratepayers.
The chosen option involves a 15 per cent fares increase during 1984/85 and a 10 per cent increase during the next two years. The PTE forecast that this will cause minor passenger loss and a small reduction in its bus fleet from 1,275 this year to 1,160 by 1986/87. It expects passenger journeys to fall from 193m to 160.6m by 1986/87.
If it went straight for the Gov
ernment guidelines, it would have to raise fares by 78 per cent next year, and 10 and 11 per cent the following years. This, it forecasts, would result in the number of passenger journeys dropping to 125.5m by 1985/86.
The PTE would need to cover 72 per cent of its costs by revenue by 1986/87. Its chosen option would lead to it achieving 53 per cent at the end of the three years.
The PTE's future new bus requirement is being reduced from about 100 to around 77 new vehicles per year to meet the reduced demand and it sees an increased requirement for coaches in line with planned expansion into the private-hire and excursion markets on a commercial basis.