Minister's plea for fares standstill
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THE Minister of Transport has asked bus operators not to apply for fare increases during the next few months and to postpone introducing fare increases approved by the Traffic Commissioners before July 20. At her request a proposal from British Road Services for an average 5 per cent increase in charges for parcels traffic has been withdrawn.
In a letter to the associations representing bus undertakings, Mrs. Castle says that bus fares are always a matter of wide public concern because they affect the budget of nearly every household. Referring to the importance of maintaining the standstill on prices, she points out that under the Prices and Incomes Bill, the Traffic Commissioners will be required to take into account the criteria laid down in the White Paper. But she asks operators to co-operate voluntarily by not pressing applications for fare increases during the next few months.
Mrs. Castle recognizes the special problem of municipal bus undertakings operating at a loss. "As the Minister of Housing has already made it clear to local authorities in connection with rent of houses owned by them, it is most important in the national interest that local authorities should be seen to be giving a lead in preventing rises in prices over the coming months. This consideration applies equally in the case of bus fares."
In asking for the withdrawal of a proposed increase of an average 5 per cent in parcel charges of BRS, Mrs. Castle says she appreciates that a strong commercial case can be made out for an increase. But in present economic circumstances the Government feels that the overriding consideration is to hold charges and prices steady for the period of the standstill.