THE GOVERNMENT is poised to spread privatisation to the National
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Bus Company, but no one, perhaps Transport Secretary David Howell least of all, is sure of how this might be done, writes ALAN MILLAR.
Last week's Queen's Speech said only that "State involvement in transport will be further reduced," but Junior Transport Minister Kenneth Clarke confirmed in the House of Commons that the Government is investigating the possibility of introducing a degree of private sector involvement to the National coaching activities and to the company's properties.
The forthcoming Transport Bill would contain provisions for enabling powers to be granted to achieve this, but it is by no means clear just to what degree this private sector involvement might be taken.
On one hand, there are suggestions that National Express and National Holidays might be sold completely to private enterprise, and there even is a view in Government circles that individual subsidiaries might be disposed of to any takers, either private companies or municipalities.
The other view is that many more partnerships, such as that with Trathen's reported on p23, will be the order of the day, and it is likely that National Bus itself would fight to pursue such an arrangement.
Immediatlely after the Queen's Speech, NBC chairman Lord Shepherd warned: "What must be accepted is that NBC is an integrated business. Therefore, any changes in one sector will inevitably impact upon another."
Many difficulties would have to be overcome before the company could be privatised, he said.
Indeed, not only has the revitalised National Express business contributed over E3m to company overheads over the last year, but it also is virtually inseparable from the rest of the business.
Most of its vehicles are maintained and staffed by territorial bus companies, and there are many at NBC who still recall with horror the disastrous attempt in the 1970s to form a separate coaching wing within NBC.
Department of Transport studies appear to suggest at present that more private capital could be injected through the development of bus station and depot sites in partnership with private sector companies. This would be to the mutual benefit of both parties.