Miss Gunn fights State-owned firm's bid to raise her fares
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BY DEREK MOSES
A, interesting test case is likely to be fought next month when H. R. and V. Gunn, South Petherton, Somerset, trading as Safeway Services, applies for the renewal of its licences for stage services from South Petherton to Yeovil, via Merriott and Crewkerne.
The application has been opposed by Southern National Omnibus Co. Ltd. on the grounds that the fares charged by Safeway Services are lower than those charged by the State-owned company.
For the past three years Safeway has maintained its fares at the same level while successive increases have raised Southern National's fares. Now a further increase of Id. on most single fares is to be introduced by Southern National on July 2.
Southern National maintains that when its fares were raised, Safeway should have increased its fares to fall in line. A Southern National spokesman told me that it had suffered a considerable abstraction of traffic by Safeway buses on services common to 80 per cent of the Safeway route.
I visited Miss Veronica Gunn, who is responsible for the operating side of the Safeway business. And she told me that she had no intention of raising her fares unless compelled to do so. If Southern National felt that common fares should be charged over common routes, then it was up to that company to keep its fares down, she said. This is the same line she took in an exclusive COMMERCIAL MOTOR report (November 19 1965) when she described how her company was able to remain competitive without raising its fares. Miss Gunn explained that she does mit over-run her services while some of the larger companies tended to "overbus" stage services. There was also a preference among local inhabitants for a "local" service. Miss Gunn, incidentally, has not claimed rebate for the extra fuel taxation.
An example of the differential in fares is the stage from Yeovil to Pitmans' Stores on the outskirts of that town. For the past three years Safeway has maintained a 5d. fare for the journey of about one and a half miles, while the Southern National fare is now 7d. and will be 8d. from July 2. Not unnaturally, some passengers prefer to wait for Safeway vehicles.
In view of the Prices and Incomes policy, it will be interesting to see what decision is reached by the Traffic Commissioners when the case is heard. The Southern National spokesman told me it would be an "interesting test case" in view of the economic climate.