ung threatens PTEs
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DAY of the biggest bus undertakings may soon be over, Transt Secretary Tom King warned this week. He also put the future of : coaches in the industry's hands, reports DAVID WILCOX.
e told the Bus and Coach incil's Southampton confere on Tuesday that local goyment subsidies for bus sers had risen from £71m in 2 to £897m in 1982 — and .ned : "That scale of increase le future is simply unsustain
nd he was even more conned to find that during that iod not a single bus undertakhad proposed a reduction in I terms in unit costs of opera 'The industry must strive better value for money from limited funds available."
living delegates an insight to hcoming legislation, Mr King
his Department is currently -king on the creation of Lon' Regional Transport to re-2e London Transport and is ting a "useful response" to y's White Paper on the ject. "We want to see compein and we are looking to ak down the current mono? of buses in London," he
lr King also hinted at a doubt tut future for the passenger transport executives when the Government "very shortly" publishes its White Paper on the abolition of the six metropolitan authorities. "All the evidence I have suggests that advantages of scale for bus operations are limited," he declared, favouring what he called "smaller units".
On coach safety, Mr King said that public concern about safety — publicised and often taken out of context by the media to add to a growing campaign was — a a growing campaign — was a of the coach." He congratulated the BCC on its efforts in this field but added, "I am concerned to find in checking the figures that one in four psv that come in for their annual inspection failed. That figure is far too high."
Mr King said he is convinced that coaches can be driven safely at 70 mph on motorways, but that drivers who flouted this limit are creating public concern that "could become an unstoppable demand for action."
He added: "The future of the industry is at stake .. . The age of the swift, inter-city coach could be rather more short-lived than some would wish."