GLC cries 'time!
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GREATER LONDON Council Transport Committee chairman Dave Wetzel has written to Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley asking for time to make the transition from London Transport to London Regional Transport.
He wants a three-month period between the time the London Regional Transport Bill gets the Royal Assent and the appointed day when LRT takes over from London Transport and the GLC. Mr Wetzel feels that a sudden takeover would lead to disruption to business and to the prospects for the Docklands light railway in particular.
Meanwhile, LT has produced what will be its last three-year plan based on policies approved by the GLC. The central theme of the plan is a commitment to reduce costs and improve quality. LT bus operating costs at 257p per mile are significantly higher than anywhere in the country.
The plan envisages a fares freeze and an increase in bus miles from 167m to 170m and an increase in subsidy from £198m to £217m. The plan emphasises that the Government has given no formal advice on the preparation of the plan but as it will set the revenue support level once the LRT Bill becomes law it is likely that fares will have to increase. Cost saving measures including the extension of one person bus operation will probably be accelerated to avoid service cuts. The Government's recommended projected expenditure limit is f125m.
Mr Ridley is already welcoming the establishment of LRT • which is now only a matter of weeks away. In a speech to Orpington Business and Professional Men's Club dinner at the House of Commons he des • cribed the day the LRT is to be established as "a day of liberation for management and a day the LRT Chairman and board can get down to the business of providing a good cost-effective transport service for Londoners". He accused the GLC of failing to recognise the importance of good business principles applied to transport and of constantly interfering with the business of LT management through its political nominees. He said that LT operating costs have risen twice as far as elsewhere in the UK since LT came under the control of the GLC in 1970.