A HINT that the Transport and General
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. Workers' Union may press for a national inquiry into the bus industry was given at the Union's conference at Brighton this week. 11 came from Mr. Arthur Townsend, the retiring national secretary of the passenger service group.
He was replying to criticism that there had been no success so far in getting an investigation into the service provided by the London Transport Executive.
Discussing nationalization, Mr, Frank Cousins, the Union's general secretary, attacked the Government for its lack of a coherent transport policy. The need for integration, looking at the transport industry as a whole, was obvious. But the latest Government White Paper divided the industry still further.
"Everyone must accept that integration and a planned use of transport services is vital to us," Mr. Cousins declared. "But the need to make a profit is accepted by the Government as a much more important feature.
Mr. Tom Fitzpatrick, a leading London busman, was a lone voice against further nationalization. He thought they should make existing nationalization work before taking over any more industries. He said that wages and conditions were still bad, and services to the public unsatisfactory.