Wait and see
Page 53
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The Transport Department seem to be becoming very adept at shelving transport decisions until after the forthcoming Transport White Paper is published.
When colleagues of mine phone to see what's going on, the usual answer now seems to be -nothing will be decided until after May." I have my doubts whether anything will appear in May — if at all.
If my memory serves me rightly, we were promised a Transport Policy White Paper four years ago, and we are still waiting. However, I suppose this time the DTp will be pressured by all those bodies who devoted so much time and effort to replying to the last transport policy consultation paper, that it will be duty-bound to produce some meaningful reply this time.
In the meantime, the Welsh Office in particular is being very coy about putting words in the Government's mouth.
Last week a press release from the WO landed on my desk. It was about the allocation of the Transport Supplementary grant to the Welsh Counties, and in the accompanying blurb it said "The Government attaches particular importance to maintaining public transport services in rural areas."
At least it would have said that if some Welsh Office scribe had not carefully crossed out the words "in rural areas." Does the Government no longer attach importance to rural services? Or does it now attach particular importance to urban services? Or perhaps it doesn't know what it wants.
Whichever way it goes, both rural and urban services in South Wales are rapidly disappearing.