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COUNCIL BUSINESS

12th April 1986, Page 41
12th April 1986
Page 41
Page 41, 12th April 1986 — COUNCIL BUSINESS
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Municipal transport managers from four counties have looked at West Sussex County Council's 'model' transport organisation.

1 According to an Audit Commission .eport on local authority transport )perations: "Very wide variations in iractice exist between authorities known o be better than average in terms of leet management."

West Sussex was one of the county :ouncils considered to be better than iverage. Since the October 1984 report he council has not rested on its laurels. ts transport department has been adically reorganised into what its nanager describes as "the most irogressive in the country".

That manager, John Ashmore, was ippointed in April 1984 to handle the .eorganisation. The date is significant ›ecause it shows that West Sussex :ounty Council was ahead of the Audit :ommission.

Changes that needed to be made vere highlighted by a review in 1983 of the county's transport organisation. It was carried out by two county treasurers and a Department of Transport official and its recommendations were remarkably similar to those that subsequently appeared in the Audit Commission report.

The reviewers recommended that West Sussex set up a Transport Management Organisation (TM 0) which should prove itself within two years of its inauguration on April 1, 1985.

John Ashmore and his deputy Mike Billingham were brought in to head the TMO at County Hall, Chichester. Both men came from a transport background outside the municipal sector. This, too, is significant because part of what John Ashmore describes as "a very clear remit" was to adopt a commercial approach to transport management.

Ashmore inherited a fleet of about 640 vehicles (including county cars) and 1,350 pieces of plant. There were five workshops and the total annual transport budget was £3.2 million. It all came under the County Surveyor department which handled the purchase, maintenance and disposal of the vehicles. Vehicles were allocated to the various user departments such as education and social services which looked after their day to day management. "The fleet profile was a little on the old side but the vehicles were over-maintained. The five workshops were run on army lines," says Ashmore.


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