3ristol fares battle
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S SERVICES came to a halt in Bristol on Sunday when 1,300 smen working on Bristol City services refused to implement an ht per cent fare increase.
The increase, which is the first posed by the Bristol Omnibus mpany since having its fare iditions removed following Transport Act, was said to be essary to combat rising costs I the policy of Avon County uncil not to increase its £0.6m enue support.
fransport and General irkers Union city branch busn reporting for work from 4
last Sunday were asked ether they would implement fares increases. They refused I were suspended pending ciplinary hearings.
kfte r nine platform staff were missed, the Union then reested a Monday morning eting with the company.
a the meeting, the company )red to recind the disciplinary cedings if the membership Jrned to work and agreed to irge the new fares. The Union Jsed, and all Bristol City nch busmen were suspended hout pay from noon on Mon February 9.
he crews claimed this week that the company's last fares increase cost it nine per cent of its traffic.
TGWU branch secretary Mike Hall said: "There has been an increase roughly every four months for the last seven years. The travelling public cannot afford to pay. We have got a petition from 100,000 of them saying so.
"If we let increases go on, no one will be able to afford to travel and we shall all lose our jobs for good," he added.
The company has replied saying that there have been eight fares increases in the last seven years, but BOC has come in for additonal criticism from Conservative trades unionists who want Transport Secretary Norman Fowler to make an urgent inquiry into its management.