Public First, says Northern Roadways
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INTERVIEWED by "The ComImercial Motor" in London, last week, where he had been meeting Scottish Members of Parliament, Mr. N. Gardner Napier, a director of Northern Roadways, Ltd., said, on the subject of the revocation of the company's express-service licences to England: "We are more concerned with the effect that this decision will have on the public than on the company."
He added that the Scotland-England Services had been started with the intention of giving the public the kind of service it needed on long-distance runs. "This appeal decision spells the end of any attempt to achieve progress in the field of long-distance passenger road transport," he declared.
Over 33,000 bookings had been accepted by the concern for the four routes, Edinburgh-London, GlasgowLondon, Glasgow-Birmingham and Glasgow-Scarborough. "I would like you to ask any passenger on these seirvices for an opinion of the effect of the revocation of the licences," said Mr. Napier. "Our motto has been 'nothing is impossible' and we have many more ideas of how the service and the quality of facilities offered to the public could be improved.
" On our coaches, all classes of traffic-young children and old people —can travel in comfort. We do not offer a lowest common denominator in comfort and convenience."
New vehicles incorporating improvements which a year of operation had proved necessary, were on order, said Mr. Gardner. The capital investment so far represented over £140,000.
No decision had at that stage been taken on the future of the company. It would take until the end of September this year to clear the existing bookings, and a dispensation had been obtained to run until after the Easter holiday.
It was later learned that dispensation had been granted enabling the services to run until September. The suggestion was made that a new application might be made for those routes on which 24 coaches operated. •