AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Uncertainty

9th February 1985
Page 20
Page 20, 9th February 1985 — Uncertainty
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

BUS INDUSTRY criticisms of Nicholas Ridley's deregulation proposals have merely extended the industry's period of uncertainty, Hestair Group chairman David Hargreaves said last week.

There would now be at least three years of uncertainty with operators "battening down the hatches" and not buying new buses. He told Omnibus Society members that he wondered whether any industry would survive to supply them.

No part of the bus industry — manufacturers, dealers, operators or even bus breakers — was making a profit.

"Sooner or later the edifice which supports the industry is going to crumble," he warned.

The future lay only in minibuses, coaching and related leisure activities, and Britain's role as a world bus manufacturer was all but over.

There would be room for just one or two specialist builders in each country, "We forecast that we will be one, and Leyland the other," said Mr Hargreaves.

• Duple (Metsec) is moving to new premises in Birmingham as the lease on its existing site expires this year.

Hestair, its parent company, is rationalising manufacturing sites and most production will be transferred to Hestair Duple at Blackpool.

Tags

Organisations: Omnibus Society
Locations: Birmingham

comments powered by Disqus