O-m-o does not solve staff shortage
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COMMISSIONERS REPORT
• There is a continuing shortage of p.s.v. drivers throughout the country and the increase in the number of one-man-operated buses is failing to close the gap. These facts are brought out in the annual reports of the Traffic Commissioners to the Minister of Transport for the period April 1 1967 to March 31 1968, published yesterday (Thursday).
From the Northern traffic area Mr. J. A. T. Hanlon reports that 129 new services were licensed during the year but 104 were discontinued.
The introduction of one-man operation in the city of Newcastle met with very little opposition from either drivers or the public but despite this innovation staff shortage
remained acute and the turnover of personnel very high. Staff shortage was not confined to operation but was also still being felt in the maintenance sections.
In what was his final report from the Yorkshire traffic area Mr. H. E. Robson states that 168 new stage and express services were licensed and that there were increasing signs of co-operation between operators providing services in the same locality and on adjacent routes. Forty-nine operators were authorized for one-man operations.
In the North Western traffic area 12 services were discontinued because of loss of revenue and the postal minibus service had been confined to one route, despite efforts to find others suitable for this type of operation.
Mr. C. R. Hodgson, chairman, reports that there were 1,404 one-man-operated routes authorized in this area. During the year under review he granted 14 major applications for fares increases. The area also suffered from acute staff shortage in its undertakings.
Mr. John Else from the West Midland traffic area reports that there were 123 new services and a total of 570 o-m-o services. Contrary to the general trend there had been an increased availability of bus crews but there was a high labour turnover.
In the East Midlands Mr. C. M. Sheridan increased the number of road service licences by 200 and granted 14 general fares increases on stage carriage services. As in other areas difficulty was experienced in finding new routes for Postal minibuses. Only 14 suggestions were made following inquiries to 12 county councils and their constitutent rural councils.
Prior to his retirement Mr. W. P. S. Ormond, Eastern traffic area chairman, reported little change in the pattern of operations, although he granted licences for 111 new services. There were 30 additional o m-o services granted during the year making a total of 687.
From South Wales Mr. R. R. Jackson reports that 467 certificates of fitness were granted and there were no revocations. But at the same time he states that there are signs of apathy and lack of enthusiasm in maintaining improved standards. He granted 183 licences for new services and reports an increase throughout the area in one-man operation. In Wales, however, it appeared that the full advantage of one-man operation was not being exploited and in the chairman's view this was because some companies were unable to obtain union co-operation.
Across the Severn Mr. J. R. C. SamuelGibbon admitted 55 new operators to the industry. 1-le reports that operators have continued to exercise their ingenuity in keeping unremunerative services running. At the same time he warns that the future continuance of some services must lie in the subsidies available, details of which are contained in the Transport Act.
The western area now has 660 vehicles approved for o-m-o and this in some measure offset the staff shortage in the area where one operator was forced to surrender his road service licence because he was unable to replace drivers. His services are now operated by the local NBC undertaking.
Major General A. F. J. Elmslie intro duced two new operators and 60 new services during the year to the South East. He also granted authority for 159 o-m-o buses bringing the total in this category to 15 per cent of the buses in the area.
About one-third of the operators eligible for fuel tax rebate in the South Eastern area did not keep mileage records in the form required. Here again the minibus service advocates found difficulty in obtaining suitable routes.
In the Metropolitan area Mr. D. I. R. Muir reports that operators are reorganizing services and that more joint services are being introduced. The tendency to prune uneconomic stage services continues. There were 115 new o-m-o services authorized in the area which brought the total to 465. The growing complexity in vehicle design to meet the increasing demand for o m-o vehicles draws a word of caution from the chairman who suggests that greater sophistication could add unduly to drivers' responsibilities.
North of the Border Mr. A. B. Birnie granted 191 new applications and 90 addiional o-m-o service applications bringing he total in Scotland to 740. During the year )US companies in the area had to meet at ;hart notice difficulties in the running of ;ertain services because of weight restricions placed on structurally unsound British Railway road bridges.
Services in Scotland were maintained, in he face of continuing driver shortages, by wertime and rest-day working but the lumber of operators was 19 more than in he previous year.
The 80-page report is available from HIM SO, price 10s.