Operating Aspects of PASSENGER TRANSPORT
Page 52
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IMPORTANT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ON FARES SUMMATION
Result of Appeals by Elliott Bros. (Bournemouth) Ltd.
.tl A N important statement has been made by the Minister of Transport on the subject of the summation of fares, following several appeals by Elliott Bros. (Bournemouth), Ltd., against various decisions of the West Midland Traffic Commissioners.
The fares questions before the Minister were as follow :—Is it permissible for an operator to issue through tickets for journeys over more than one route? Must the fare represent the summation of the fares scheduled for the routes concerned? May the vehicle be operated through from one route to another?
In considering the matter it is convenient to refer to the following diagram :— where an operator holds separate licences for each of the routes AD, EH, BF, CO.
The Minister has reached the conclusion that an operator may charge a composite fare for any given combination of journeys over licensed routes. If the composite fare be not less than a summation of separate fares scheduled to individual licences, the operator need not include it in any schedule attached to a licence application, but if the composite fare be less than a summation of the separate fares a schedule must be included with each licence or backing D application. These latter fares may be charged only with the approval of the Traffic Commissioners for the appropriate area.
An operator may, at certain times, provide a direct service between two points under one licence (such as A to D), and, at other times, operate a through connection by two services under separate licences (such as ABF, FWD).
As this particular issue is not specifically raised in the Elliott Bros. appeals, it does not fall to the Minister to decide at present in what circumstances it might be appropriate that the composite fare (ABF, FGCD) should be the same as the direct fare (AD).
The Minister can find no reason why a vehicle which has been operated on a particular timing, approved under one licence, should not immediately be run on another timing, approved under another licence, provided that the vehicle remains under the control of the same operator and is worked according to licence conditions.
On the other hand, an operator licensed in respect of the through service A—D may, in certain circumstances, run a vehicle over the section ABC, transferring passengers to another bus covering the section CD.
The appeals of Elliott Bros. (Bournemouth), Ltd., related to various matters and certain of them have been successful.