Protective Fares Still Sometimes Justified, says Minister
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MHILST protection by differential VV fares should be avoided whenever possible, it is sometimes justified to secure fair competition between operators. The Minister of Transport makes this observation in upholding the grant made last year by the East Midland Licensing Authority to Nottingham Corporation, West Bridgford Urban District Council and South Notts Bus Co. of licences to operate jointly new stage services between Nottingham and the new estate at Clifton.
The undertakings mentioned, together with Barton Transport, Ltd., were appealing against the Authority's decision to allow the municipalities to provide 75 per cent. of the services to the estate and the South Notts company to operate 25 per cent., with certain protective fares for existing company services.
Nottingham Corporation felt that they had the exclusive rights to run the new services.
Mr. J. M. Glen, Ministry of Transport inspector, said that whilst he sympathized with the contentions of all the parties, they were incompatible with one another. The questions at issue were: who should run the new service, and what protection, if any, should be given to the companies who were existing operators over almost the whole of the route?
In seeking a -solution fair to all parties, it was necessary to keep in mind the interests of the travelling public in the matters of fares and convenience.
He considered that the Authority's decision had been carefully thought out, and that it held a fair balance between the parties. He suggested, however, that as the 25 per cent. share allotted to South Notts might be balanced against he advantage of effective protection on the intermediate section of the route, hey should not be granted protection either by prohibition or by differential fares.
Disagreeing with Mr. Glen on this point, the Minister said that it would not be equitable to exclude the South Notts company from a share in the new service.
In giving protection by way of fares rather than by prohibiting the picking up and setting down of passengers on the intermediate sections, the Authority had chosen a course which gave reasonable protection to the existing operators without denying to the public the use of the new service if they chose to pay the higher fares.