A Conservative communist?
Page 30
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BY ALL means privatise the old units of National Bus, and forbid them help in the way of subsidies. Make them stand on their own feet. When they are then unable or willing to operate, let your car, taxi, and mini bus take over.
The Conservative Minister appears to have been indoctrinated by Chairman Mao, a communist. Deliberately smash and make trouble on a big enough scale, and the masses will be easily led. Just because he doesn't know what he is doing, but the voters will at the end.
So the bus industry has increased its operating costs by 30 per cent. When he was telling us inflation was supposed to be 20 per cent, our audited inflation was 75 per cent. Fares are too dear, don't look back. The price of one tyre valve cap today would have bought two gallons of petrol in 1930. Bus fares are good value for money in real terms.
"Fares which are too low must rise by withdrawing subsidy, and fares which are too high must come down by removing cross subsidisation". But the OAP must have cheap travel, and that subsidy will be social need. Some problem.
The old and the young are the majority who use the service, there is no cheap way out.
While rural services struggle during the day (there are only so many who want to travel in a rural area), how many taxis and mini buses and one man operators will you need at the tea time rush to move 500 people? Those few passengers during the day make the difference between profit and loss. A regular reliable service to the community, or chaos. Competition must be all day and every day. Not one or two trips Monday to Friday at peak times.
We operate a rural service half a million miles a year in the Yorkshire Dales. Almost 60 years without operating subsidy, and the same hourly service. Must we abandon those people with their loyalty to us, after all these years? Must we steal the service of another operator on a more profitable urban route? Must dog eat dog? For if any operator with mini bus or coach steals from us, this will surely happen. Is this what the Minister wants?
N. D. SIMPSON Pennine Motor Services N Yorkshire