Act could mean it's 'back to the jungle'
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OTAL deregulation of bus services would be catastrophic in terms f energy, road space, safety and efficiency. So said J. R. Le Fevre of Inited Transport Overseas Ltd when presenting the Henry Spurrier %modal Lecture to the Chartered Institute of Transport in London his week.
In his paper on passenger -ansport deregulation, Mr Le evre said that the lack of quanity regulations leads to a lultiplicity of operators making uality control impossible to chieve.
He said that the conventional tage bus remained the most ffective method of road trans port and that the traditional bus organisation still has considerable merit.
Mr Le Fevre went on to say that the need for fuel conservation will strengthen the importance of the public transport system and, that as with any other industry, the important factor in public transport is the quality of management and the incentives it is given.
He warned of the dangers of encouraging privately owned transport which was not as fueleffective as conventional buses. and gave examples of countries where overall public transport viability had suffered as a result of their introduction.
Mr Le Fevre spoke of the need for cross-subsidies to protect uneconomic but socially desirable bus routes.
The private sector solution could be; he said, to maximise management motivation, provide cost-effectiveness, and meet some of the aims behind deregulation. He said that even where subsidies were necessary for services operated under private management or ownership, their extent could be determined against "established norms".
While competition is undoubtedly a spur to efficiency, Mr Le Fevre felt that "a return to the jungle should be avoided at all costs" and that "improvement or innovations should be gained through considered decisions by professional transport managers".