BR BLOCKS 'STUDENTS COACHES
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BRITISH Rail continued its opposition to special cheap-fare express coach services for students, when National Travel (West) Ltd applied for a service from Ormskirk to London, for students of Liverpool University, before the North Western Traffic Commissioners, in Manchester last week.
National was seeking to operate from the Edge Hill College of Education, Ormskirk, picking up in Liverpool, departing on a Friday evening and returning on Sundays.
Return fares of £4 from Ormskirk and £3.50 from Liverpool were proposed.
For National, M. Waller said tickets would only be valid for travel in each direction on the same weekend, and students would have to produce a Students' Union Card.
President of the Liverpool Polytechnic Union, R. C. Zollner, said he believed the service would carry students who did not use the rail service at present. The majority of students who travelled either hitch-hiked or obtained lifts from friends,_ Questioned by J. A. Back: house, for British Rail, Sabatical President of Liverpool University, I. R. McDonald, said of the 6,800 students at the University, 800 to 900 came from the Greater London area.
Evidence was given by other students that generally they did not use rail if they could avoid it because of the cost. They felt they could afford to make use of the proposed service.
British Rail were concerned about the likelihood of abstraction from the rail services; students' concessionary fares being £9.95 from Ormskirk and £9.35 from Liverpool.
Mr. Backhouse said it would be shown that there had been a substantial drop in the Rail carryings of students between Manchester and London, following the introduction of National's special service.
The hearing was adjourned until a date to be fixed.