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SBG fares up despite 62 objections
Page 38
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• The Scottish Traffic Commissioners have granted fares increases to the Scottish Bus Group to commence on June 24.
During the course of a two-day hearing last week evidence was given for the Group that the increases sought would give a 6.33 per cent increase — less than the 7.5 pc it was allowed to recover under the Government's counter-inflation legislation.
Mr A. B. Birnic, chairman of the Commissioners, said they had decided the new fares should come into force from the morning on June 24 instead of midnight on June 16. They realized that this would cost the group more than £50,000 for the week.
Mr Birnie said the Commissioners had concluded that what the Group asked was not unreasonable.
Mr I. D. Macphail, advocate, for the 10 county councils and 52 town councils who objected to the increases, said that the public interest had to be considered, and today the UK faced a period of severe wage restraint.
He claimed that the Group had not supported its application by sufficient information of how it made its calculations of passenger trends.
Mr R. A. Bennett, QC, for the Group said that big wage increases had taken place since February 1971, when it had last been granted fares increases. Replying to the claim that the Group's forecasts of passenger trends were unreliable, he said estimating was an inexact science, but over many years its estimates had been remarkably accurate.
Mr Bennett said that if the increases were not granted the Group would be in a position where its services would deteriorate and it would be in breach of its statutory obligation to balance accounts one year with another, and its obligation to pay interest on its capital debt to the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Single fares are to go up in a range from 1 p for fares from 4p to 9p to a 10 pc increase for fares of 51p and over.
The new fares will come into force on routes operated by the eight companies in the Group — Scottish Omnibuses Edinburgh; three of W. Alexander & Sons Ltd, Falkirk, Aberdeen, and Kirkcaldy; Western SMT, Kilmarnock: Central SMT, Motherwell; and Highland Omnibuses and Peter Burr (Omnibuses), both of Inverness,