Edinburgh's 2d. Minimum : East In a Line or Two
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Yorks, Derby and Barton Apply
SINCE last Sunday, the minimum adult single fare on trams and buses operated by Edinburgh Corporation has been 2d. At the same time, the 21d. fare was abolished and the earlymorning return fare was established at 6d. It is estimated that the new charges will augment the undertaking's revenue by £190,000 a year, but may not be sufficient to stave off the effect
of rising. costs. Fares were last increased in Edinburgh on December 2, 1951.
A new application for higher charges has been filed by 'East Yorkshire Motor Services, Ltd., seeking to add id, to all fares, single, return and workmen's, from Id. to 44d., Id. to those between 5d. and 9d., 2d. to tickets costing from 10c1. to Is. 4d., and so on, giving a maximum increase of Is. 6d. on fares between 9s. 9d. and 10s. It is also proposed to increase the cost of contract tickets by 25 per cent.
Second Application If the application is granted, it will be only the second time since 1926 that the concern has raised its rates. Since August, 1951, fnel and wages have gone up by E76,000 a year. Seventyfive stage and express services are affected by the proposals, Hull Corporation, which operates jointly with East Yorkshire in the city, has also applied for higher charges affecting 39 routes. It is suggested that workmen's return fares should be abolished, that the Id. stage should be withdrawn and that ordinary fares should be based on lid. per mile, with a maximum of 4d., on city services.
Derby Corporation has also lodged an application for fares increases, as forecast in "The Commercial Motor" on November 7. Here again it is suggested that workmen's return fares should be abolished, in this case to be replaced by early-morning concession tickets available up to 8.45 a.m. It is also proposed that id. ha added to all ordinary adult single fares except the 2d., and that.a new scale of children's fares be introduced.
Third Increase Barton Transport, Ltd., is applying for its third general increase in charges, affecting all services except those on which fares are co-ordinated with those of Nottingham and Derby Corporations, and with those of the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd. It is suggested that Id. should be added to all ordinary return fares, workmen's tickets and multiple-journey tickets; in the lastnamed case the increase suggested is Id. per return journey. The concern is also applying for permission to bring charges into line with those of B4 Nottingham Corporation in the municipal undertaking's area.
An entirely revised fares structure based on mileage is being considered by Birkenhead Corporation. The undertaking incurred a loss of £47,000 last year. Since then, costs have gone up by £45,000 a year.
The new scale envisages a minimum adult single fare of I id. as at present, but valid for journeys up to 0.75 mile, instead of 1 mile, with a sliding scale thereafter, so that a journey from 1.75 to 2.5 miles would cost 3d., and one from 9.5 to Ii miles would cost I0d.
New children's and concession rates are also being studied.
New fares on a mileage basis were proposed by Newport Corporation at a recent hearing of the South Wales Licensing Authority. During the past three years, it was stated, the undertaking had incurred an accumulated deficit of £30,000, and the new rates put forward would, it was hoped, bring in a surplus of £10,000 a year. It was suggested that the fares should be based on Ild. for the first half-mile.
2d. up to I mile, 24d. for miles, and so on, giving a maximum of 8 miles for 9d.
The Licensing Authority declared his readiness to grant the appplication, subject to the approval of the Minister of Transport.
Costs, which have risen by £20,000 above the estimates for the current financial year, may force Bury Corpojration to apply for a third increase in charges in 18 months. The transport committee is to consider future moves after hearing a report from the transport manager.