Company Stand by Resistance Sum
Page 48
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ESTIMATES of passenger resistance, put forward by the Bath Omnibus Co., Ltd., when they were granted fare increases in August, were challenged last week by Bath Corporation_ At a public inquiry, Mr. P. Clarke, for the corporation, claimed that figures put before the Western Traffic Commissioners were exaggerated.
The corporation thought the company's estimate that £108,000 of the gross yield of f234,000 from the increases would be lost through passenger resistance was too. high.
Mr. Clarke submitted that the company's evidence was also unsatisfactory in that it left too many things in douhs, so that the objectors were unable to say with certainty whether or not the proposals were justified.
The whole case was argued on only the passenger-resistance question, and reference to general trends was leftin the background. However, the chairman
of the Commissioners said that even if £108,000 was too much for passenger resistance, the increases were warranted, considering the general trend.
Therefore, the case had not been tried judicially, because the chairman improperly gave his decision on a point which had never been argued or put before him.
For the company, Mr. T. D. Corpe claimed that far from being exaggerated, the figure was too low, as events had proved since the application had been granted.
Here, however, the Ministry of Transport inspector ruled that evidence relating to events since the grant could not be given.
Continuing, Mr. Corpe claimed that because the company had overestimated passenger resistance when they sought high fares in March it was fallacious to suggest that the estimate would be exaggerated in August.