"State Services Not Improved"
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THE State-owned Scottish bus coinpanics have made no effort to improve their long-distance services to London because railway revenue has to be maintained.
Mr. F. A. Stockdale made this submission when he spoke for Northern Roadways, Ltd., before Sir Robert Tolcrton last week, at the hearing of appeals by the Railway Executive, Scottish Omnibuses, Ltd., Western S.M.T. Co., Ltd., and Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., and associated operators, against the grant of licences to Northern Roadways, Ltd., to run Scotland'London services. The earlier part of the hearing was reported last week.
Mr. Stockdale said that the Minister of Transport in 1933 had observed that the railways were entitled to protection so long as they offered efficient and suitable services at reasonable prices. He recalled that the Scottish operators had been in competition with the railways before the war and had tried to increase their services on many occasions.
There was a danger, he said, that the nationalized coach services would deteriorate if his client were to lose its licences. No traffic had been abstracted from the State-owned corn
panics by Northern Roadways, Ltd. Six points were made by counsel in support of the dismissal of the appeals : (1) The routes on which services were applied for by the respondent were suitable.
(2) The needs of the routes were not at present adequately served by the railways, because prices charged were unreasonable.
(3) Needs were at present inadequately served by the two nationalized Scottish bus companies, because neither of them offered the public the comprehensive type of facilities provided by Northern Roadways, Ltd., and which had been considered necessary.
(4) The respondent's services, if eliminated, would re-established a concealed road-rail monopoly, (5) Adequate, suitable and efficient services could best be ensured if the railways, State-owned road operators and Northern Roadways, Ltd., were each allowed to make separate contributions.
(6) Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., which provided connecting services, were only on the fringe of the case and it was desirable that the company's long-established services should not be distorted to carry traffic for which they were never authorized.