Optimism from Irwin
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interview by Martin Watkins "TIMES are hard, but I am not despondent," said Ian Irwin, managing director of the Scottish Transport Group, when I interviewed him before the publication of the Group's annual report.
Although 1974 was a bad year for the STG Ian Irwin thought that the problems met then would not be repeated in years to come. He said that both the strike of bus crews and the shipping problems met by the Group were exceptional and •he hoped they had now been completely resolved.
Basically Ian Irwin thought that the Scottish Bus Group was in a far healthier financial position than its English counterpart, the National Bus Company. That is at least one reason for his optimism, a second being that he feels that the SB is better placed than English bus operators to meet the challenge of co-ordinating with the newly formed regional authorities.
The reorganisation of the Scottish counties comes a year later than the similar regrouping in England, and Ian Ii-Win is sure that his regular contacts with the National Bus Company will help SBG avoid most of the pitfalls. He also feels that the close correspondence of the SBG operating company boundaries with the new regional boundaries must make for simpler contact and, of course, coJoperation, One problem for Ian Irwin is that of the low fares charged by British Rail in Scotland, For short journeys the road and rail fares are about the same— and rail special offer fares are very competitive on the AngloScottish services. "With gimmick fares the railways can easily attract people, but not money," said Ian Irwin.
To restore the STG to solvency was certainly one of his foremost aims. The Budget threat to reduce the Section 34 subsidies for rural transport was the major worry he spoke of.
He thought that the new Scottish counties were so involved with other matters that transport planning had rather been pushed into the background. The counties were tending to follow precedent in allocating grant aid, rather than finding out how much the operating companies actually needed. At present 'the total grant aid awarded •by the counties was about Elm, clearly not enough in the present situation.
" Unless the counties are prepared to come up with the money we shall have drastically to reduce services ; hundreds of rural routes will be cut," said Ian Irwin. "The regions must be made to see that a good public transport system is the answer to their problems."
He also thought there was a place for a forum on transport between all concerned in Scotland. He thought a Scottish policy could be better thought out when a Scottish Assembly came into being.
At present Scottish bus fares have more or less kept up with inflation, and the accounting methods employed by the Group have also helped them not 'to go deeper into the red.