Timetable Rumpus and Strike Threat
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From our Industrial Correspondent
T EADERS of London's busmen decided
last week to seek a meeting with the Minister of Transport, Mr. Tom Fraser, to discuss problems affecting the efficient running of London's bus services. The move followed the breakdown of talks with London Transport about the winter schedules due to come into force on November 18 and the increasing threat of unofficial protest action.
Mr. Sam Henderson, national passenger group secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said that the delegation wanted to discuss with the Minister staff problems and a number of other matters which prevented the successful operation of the Services, including -the increasing density of traffic aggravated by the growing use of private vehicles.
He added that they would not specifically raise the differences between London Transport and the union over winter timetables, though it was hound to be raised as a symptom of the trouble in the course of the meeting.
The timetable rumpus—over a cut in week-end services which, the busmen claim, would hit services to the public and their own nay packets—has led to two garages threatening to strike on November 21 and on succeeding Saturdays. The other 68 central London garages have been informed of their action and others are certain to follow their lead.
Talks on the schedules went on for five hours at London Transport last week. But the L.T.B. representatives refused to alter or postpone the new timetables. They claimed that the number of passengers on Saturdays had fallen by 10 per cent and on Sundays by 13 Der cent, compared with last winter. They saw no hope of recapturing the lost passengers, who in the main used private cars at the week-end. They maintained that they could not continue to run buses virtually empty.
The busmen's negotiating committee argued that the cuts were a breach of the spirit of the Phelps Brown Committee of Inquiry Report, which suggested that there should be no further reduction in services. But London Transport forecast that the decline in passengers would continue and furthermore suggested that further cuts would be necessary next summer when the 40-hour working week was introduced.
Star Busmen: With the object of improving the public image of the town's bus service. Wolverhampton transport committee is to award sliver stars to conductor's who do good deeds whilst on duty (such as helping old people on and off buses). Do-good drivers will also get stars—if they are nice to passengers; and if both the driver and conductor get stars they will be given a special statussymbol plaque for their bus. But the stars will be lost if there is any report of bad behaviour.
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