Tug-of-war over passenger association membership
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by CM reporter LOCAL AUTHORITY passenger transport undertakings are this week in the middle of a tug-of-war over their policy towards joining the confederation of British Road Passenger Transport. They lave received letters with conlicting advice from the Associition of Public Passenger Transport and the Association )f District Councils.
APPT — after months of leliberation— this week sent nit letters to its 48 district ;ouncil and three Scottish 'egional members " advising " hem to join the Confederation. Karlier, the same undertakings 'eceived letters from the kssociation of District Coun cils, to which each already belongs, telling them not to join on the grounds that it would •be unnecessary duplication. The ADC has formed a passenger transport operators' committee and it is envisaged that this would operate along identical lines to APPT, even retaining its local organisation.
What ever happens to APPT —and the next move is to be decided at its council meeting in July—the Federation of Public Passenger Transport Employers, a wage negotiating body, will be unaffected. It will continue to operate independently, as will the two national councils on platform staff and craft worker wages. APPT's attitude to the Confederation has been under discussion since the idea of a body to "speak with one voice" for the passenger operating industry was first discussed more than two years ago. With the new financial year in the spring, most of APPT's largest members—as PTEs, not members of ADC—decided to withdraw from APPT and join the Confederation. Only two PTEs, Glasgow and West Yorkshire, are still in membership.
There has evidently been a continuing difference of opinion within the remaining district council members. The professional managers have by and large wished to enter the Confederation to take advant age of its influence in technica matters, while the politician have favoured the ADC be cause of its strength a political issues.
ADC spokesmen point ou that its new committee wouli carry out all the functions o APPT but members would ii future pay only one subscrip tion while the Confederatioi says that its local authorit sector is already in being am represents a third of th( municipal fleets. It is under stood that a major switch o local authority operators to flu Confederation is likely to lea( to more seats on its counci from this sector.