Fares outstrip prices
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4GE SERVICE bus fares rose faster than the retail price index :ween 1973 and last year, according to Government statistics just Aished.
rransport Statistics, Great tam, 1972-1982 (HMSO, £19 ) shows that fares for the ole industry rose by 372 per it between December 1973 1 December last year, while RPI rose only by 231 per cent he same period.
;tate and independent .3rators came closest to the ustry average, with a 373.3 cent jump, while PTEs, ped by subsidies which have served fares freezes notably >outh and West Yorkshire and Merseyside, recorded a 296.3 cent increase.
.ondon Transport performed rst of all, with a 454 per cent rease, although it dented its id briefly late in 1981 with the ated Fares Fair price cut ich kept it then below the RPI rease.
,tage carriage business deled again last year, from I's 5.7bn to 5.5bn passenger rneys, and contract and pria hire work declined from m to 541m journeys. But deulation has helped the leisure rket, with express services up n 17m to 18m journeys, and ursions and tours from 24m 4m journeys.
he post-1980 changes make ifficu It to compare sectors be; that period, but all bus and n services' traffic declined Ti 8,424m journeys in 1972 to 33m last year. London Transport carried 17.1 per cent of that last year (1972: 16.8 per cent), the PTEs 28.5 per cent (1972: 27.9 per cent), municipals 14 per cent (1972: 14.9 per cent), National Bus Company 24.3 per cent (1972: 27.9 per cent), Scottish Bus Group 5.2 per cent (1972: 5.4 per cent), and independents 10.8 per cent (1972: 7.2 per cent).
The statistics show there were 5,609 operators of 70,511 vehicles last year, and that they employed 184,051 people. There were 5,508 private operators of 30,778 vehicles, employing 37,045 staff.
London Transport employed 4.8 staff per bus, the PTEs four per bus, municipals 3.3, National Bus 3.4, Scottish Bus Group (with only five conductors last year) 2.8, and independents 1.2.
The number of single-deck buses in Britain rose from 42,804 in 1972 to 44,885 last year, while the double-deck population fell from 29,919 to 25,547. The Blackpool tram fleet fell from 91 to 79 vehicles.
Of the total of 70,511 last year (1972: 72,814), London Transport's share was 8.8 per cent (1972: 8.3 per cent), the PTEs was 14 per cent (1972: 15.7 per cent), Municipals was 7.6 per cent (1972: 8.1 per cent), NBC 21.3 per cent (1972: 27.4 per cent), SBG 4.6 per cent (1972: 6.2 per cent), and independents 43.6 per cent (1972: 34.2 per cent).