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Wkile Papet • ••
I have read with surprise the brief section of your White Paper Casebook dealing with the bus industry (April 22). It is disappointing that what little is said should be almost irrelevant to the needs of the industry.
For example, you suggest that extension of the bus "fuel rebate scheme" to non-stage carriage operation would -compensate, in some measure, for the proposed phasing out of the bus grant-. The fact is that the suggested benefit is for non-stage operators and would in no way assist the stage operators who may lose new bus grant. The argument confuses two important issues which have to
be considered from totally different standpoints
It is further proposed that the Government should ''eliminate wasteful competitionby preventing long-distance coach services being operated by the National Bus Company and others between London and Scotland. (The NBC has no such services). It seems that in return, all rail services between London and the Midlands are to be discontinued. This really is nonsensical and would only result in an unnecessary reduction in service to the travelling public. It also suggests that all journeys start or finish in London! CPT would stress that any such suggestion would deprive many people of comparatively inexpensive transport and would isolate intermediate towns linked to main centres only by coaches.
To be frank, I am amazed that a road transport magazine of Commercial Motor's standing can advocate policies so widely at variance from those of its readers, and so harmful to their interests.
'DENIS QUIN, • Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport.
'111 Mr. Quin refers to the passenger sector only and we did say we had looked at the subject objectively. — Editor.