Operators sort out bus grant squabble
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AN agreement designed to end previous squabbles over the allocation of bus grant has been drawn up by the Department of Transport operators' associations and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
If there is a cash surplus in grant available in 1977/78 within any one of the three sectors (nationalised bus fleets, municipal fleets, and independent operators), this can be reallocated within that sector.
If there is a surplus over the whole of one sector then this cash will be redistributed to the other sectors.
The overall bus grant cash available for 1977/8 has not yet been decided, but the CPT is pressing for an amount greater than the £42m allocated last year to be made.
The Transport Department is to mount a survey of all bus operators, apart from independents, to determine fleet size and stage mileage.
These figures Will then be supplied to the CPT bus grant working party, which will allocate the available cash between the three sectors, based on a notional fleet valuation (ie different vehicle types being given a set value, regardless of age).