Dereg 'safe': DTp
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Mr Palmer, Department of Transport Deputy Secretary for transport industries, was giving evidence with five other DTp officials. He denied that the Government's new bus policy was founded on the experience of the trial areas, although this was "relevant".
Conservative MP Peter Fry described the Hereford experience as "an enormous red her ring" and another MP felt that the Government was basing an entire policy on very poor results and an unstable situation, with the level of fares not covering costs.
DTp senior economic adviser Geoffrey Searle told the MPs that the costs of the National Bus Company's Bristol Omnibus Company were £1.30 per mile, whereas those of the PTEs ranged from £1.74 to E1.99. The County of Avon population density was similar to much of the PTE's territory.
Even in the City of Bristol, NBC costs were only £1.60 per mile.
Mr Searle saw the opportunity for saving, as claimed in the White Paper, as conning from "a whole variety of areas", but as buses were a labour-intensive industry one should look particularly to productivity, although significant savings had been achieved under NBC's market analysis project by reducing peak fleelt size.
He also pointed to the scope for greater scheduling efficiency with more flexible labour agreements.
The MPs have recalled the civil servants to give more evidence in the New Year.