Mr. Thom Disturbed by M. and D. Fares
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MORE than 30 local authorities in Kent and East Sussex opposed the application of Maidstone and District Motor Services, Ltd., for fare increases, the hearing of which opened before the South Eastern Licensing Authority, Mr. IL It Thom, at Maidstone, on Monday.
The company, who have subsidiaries at Chatham and Hastings, applied for a new minimum fare of 23d. (except for single fare stages, where it would remain at 2d.), the withdrawal of earlymorning concessions (obtainable in Gravesend, Hastings and Sheppey), and a 10-per-cent. increase in the price of workers' weekly tickets and season tickets for adults, scholars and children.
Mr. F. A. Stockdale, for the company. said that since they were granted higher fares in March, 1953, wage awards costing 06,000 had been made. The proposed increases would raise £52.760.
Mr. Thom commented that the company had made four applications in the last three years, ,but had made no attempt to replace their historical fare structure by a logical one, by which every traveller would know he was paying a fair share of the costs.
He was disturbed to learn that in some cases the company issued season tickets costing more than the actual daily return fare over a period.
The hearing continued on Wednesday.
LORD LUCAS SEEKS TO COMPEL BUS COMPANIES
AN amendment giving the Licensing Authorities power to compel private companies to run bus services where existing services were inadequate, and to equalize fares over the whole area served by a company, is to be moved by Lord Lucas during the passage of the Transport Charges, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill through the House of Lords.
This statement was made by Lord Lucas in the House on Monday when the second reading of the Bill was moved.
He said that whilst the Opposition supported the Bill, it got nowhere near the real problem, and after it became an Act the chaos in the road passenger transport industry would remain practically as it was now.
Lord Lucas would like to see no standing passengers in buses. Hundreds of thousands of pounds a year were, he said, lost because of the inability of conductors to collect fares The number of buses provided should be sufficient for everybody to have a seat. If that would mean a large number of buses, that was an argument for making the roads fit the needs of traffic.
He also stated that he had put down a motion asking for a debate on the subject of abnormal loads.