THE RESTRICTION OF LONDON BUS SERVICES.
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The Decision of the Ministry of Transport to Restrict Bus Services in the Interest of the Tramways—and, Later, of the Railways.
THE Minister of Transport issued a circular on February 27th last stating that, after consultation with the London and Home Counties Traffic Adviidiy Committee he had decided to make regulations reducing the number Committee, of omnibuses now operated ever tramway routes in the Metropolitan Police District in cases where the total road passenger transport services now provided are in excess of the requirements of the travelling public.
The first of these regulations, says the circular, will deal 'with the services operating over the tramway route from 'Uxbridge to Shepherd's Bush and parts of ,such route. This regulation will be followed by other regulations dealing similarly with other tramway routes in the Metropolitan Police District, where the Minister is satisfied that wasteful competition exists and can be reduced without detriment to the needs of the travelling public as a whole.
It is proposed that such regulations shall become operative in respect of certain tramway routes by Easter, 1926, and shall be extended to other routes as rapidly as practicable.
After the position with regard to the travelling facilities provided over the whole of the tramway routes in the Metropolitan Police District has been reviewed on this basis, and such restrictive regulations have been made as are considered necessary, the committee propose, at the Minister's request, to examinb the position with regard to the competition between omnibus services and passenger transport services other than tramways, e.g., suburban and tube railways, and also to consider the existing omnibus services on Certain streets, apart from any question of competition with other forms of passenger transport services, with a view to recommending the Minister to make further regulations affecting the withdrawal of such omnibus services as, in his opinion, cause wasteful competition or unnecessary traffic congestion.
The general problem, therefore, of the reduction of existing omnibus services throughout the Metropolitan Police District is one which affects proprietors of omnibuses as a body, and is not likely to be limited in its effect to the operators of individual services.
It is not possible at this juncture to state what will he the precise effect of the regulations proposed to be made ; but, in so far as they will affect omnibus services on tramway routes alone, it is probable that they will ultimately involve the removal of several hundred omnibuses from the routes over which they now operate, and unless the proprietors of these vehicles can find other routes on which they can profitably operate them without creating wasteful and uneconomic competition with existing passenger transport facilities or causing unnecessary congestion in the streets, it will be necessary for these vehicles to be removed from service in the Metropolitan Police District.
Such a result must necessarily impose some financial loss upon the proprietors affected, and there is no power under the London Traffic Act or otherwise whereby any compensation could be paid or obtained in respect of such loss, either in respect of capital invested or otherwise,
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This is clearly laid down in Section 1.3 (1) of the London Traffic Act, which provides as follows:— "It is hereby declared that nothing in this Act is to be treated as conferring on any omnibus proprietor any right to the continuance of any benefits arising from the grant of licences op from any conditions attached to licences or from any Orders, Schedules or Regulations for the time being in force under this Act."
In these circumstances the Minister has suggested that omnibus proprietors as a body might like to consider the desirability of themselves setting up voluntarily a fund to which they would all contribute, and from which financial assistance could be afforded to those proprietors who may sustain financial lass as a result of the proposed regulations. If such a course were thought desirable, the basis of :— (a) The contributions to be made to the fund; and (b) The financial assistance to be given from the fund would have to be settled between the proprietors, as these two matters are clearly interdependent. The fund would have to be sufficient to provide all compensation payable and administrative expenses, and the amount of the contributions to be made would, therefore, depend on the scale of compensation or financial assistance agreed upon.
It 'appears to the Minister that some such arrangement would be to the interest of all omnibus proprietors in the London area, and although the matter is not one which directly concern-, either the Minister or the London Traffic Advisory Committee, the committee, at his request, have agreed to place this suggestion before all the omnibus proprietors operating in the Metropolitan Police District, and, should it be favourably received, the committee and their officials, if so desired, will be glad to render any assistance in their power to give effect to it. The committee are not aware of any' precedent for a voluntary arrangement of the character propoSed, but the Minister reminds bus operators that, in connection with the reduction of licences for the sale of intoxicating liquors, which licences require to be renewed annually, Parliament, under the Acts relating thereto, imposed an annual levy on all licencees to form a fund to provide some compensation to those persons who suffered financial loss by reason of the non-renewal of licences merely on the ground that such licences were redundant, and it appears to the committee that there is some similarity between the position of licencees of licensed premises in such a case and that of the holders of licences for omnibuses which have been withdrawn in the public interest as being unnecessary. In putting forward the suggestions contained in this letter, it is made clear that this is a matter entirely for the omnibus proprietors themselves, and that the adoption or rejection of the suggestions cannot in any way. affect the making of the regulations referred to above. A copy of this letter was sent to each -proprietor operating omnibustis in the Metropolitan Police District (including, of course, the London General Omnibus Co.), and -also to the Association of London Omnibus Proprietors, Ltd.