Newcastle Route Change
Page 53
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Granted — Subject to Review 1-1.
At the public inquiry held at Ponteland, it was stated that the Corporation were prepared to offer to extend the service provided only there was no addition to the losses already being incurred.
In their decision, the Commissioners said that whilst they had some sympathy with the Corporation, they could not agree that such a proposition was the sole basis for deciding the question in issue. The application had to have regard to Section 135 of the Act, in which the provision of unremunerative services was a matter to be considered in relation to the area as a whole.
Mr. J. A. T. Hanlon, the chairman, said that in the past the Corporation had been granted consent to operate outside the city boundary to the Ponteland area, and they were bound to be treated on the same lines as other operators who had highly remunerative services which enabled them to provide for the smaller communities. Furthermore, on applications to increase fares, the Corporation had always been allowed to bring into consideration their losses on unremunerafive services.
" On the other hand, the people who live at Ponteland cannot expect to have the beauties and advantages of the country as well as all the amenities of city life, particularly in the form of very frequent bus services at off-peak hours." continued Mr. Hanlon.
The Commissioners were satisfied there was a need 'for the service to be extended, and that the proposals to reduce frequency were not unreasonable except for one lunchtime journey to provide for schoolchildren returning home to lunch.
Regarding the proposed increases in fares, the Commissioners considered an increase from 4d. to 6d. in respect of one particular stage to be too substantial, and suggested the new fare to be 5d,