• Operating Aspects of
Page 57
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PASSENGER TRANSPORT
CALL FOR GENERAL INQUIRY INTO TICKET RESTRICTIONS
(IN Monday last, Mr. J. S. Oxley, ka/C.B.E., heard, on behalf of the Minister of Transport, important appeals by Venture Transport (Hendon),. Ltd., against the refusal of period-return and single tickets on services from the coast to London, and Birch Brothers, Ltd., against the refusal of " singles."
Mr. B. M. Cloutman, on behalf of the appellants, stated that, When " the South-Eastern Commissioners heard applications for permission to issue " singles" and " periods " from the coast, they were urged to deal with them as a group, but they failed to do so. They made their decisions on what purported to be the special merits of each case, but on merits which they refrained from disclosing.
Mr. Cloutman drew a parallel between the .restriction of coaches in Central London and the present cases, the Minister having caused to be held, in the former case, a comprehensive
inquiry on the whole matter. Mr. Cloutman pointed out that, if the Minister, by reason of .a desire to support the .Commissioners, felt that he could not move finge'r in any particular ease, he Would discourage apoeaLs in the future and:would shake all confidence in them. Some operators felt that their rights were being unfairly, interfered with, and, the only.
Counsel asked that the Minister should defer his decision upon the remaining appeals of this class and deal with them in such a way that the operators could feel that they had had a square deal. If, he declared, it was intended that every London service to the coast operating once daily in each direction should be deprived of single and period bookings from the coast, it would be simple to say so.
If that be the intention, he continued, it is difficult to see why a company is allowed to book " singles " from certain resorts, but not from others. To refuse to allow coach operators to carry single-fare passengers from the coast because the numbers were negligible, remarked Mr. Cloutman, was not logical.
How could it be right to• allow an operator to carry a certain number of passengers from London to a coastal town if he could not bring them back?
In the case of the Venture service to Bournemouth, there was, at the Cornnaissioners' sitting, no opposition from coach operators to the issue of single and period-return tickets, whilst the Southern Railway Co. withdrew its objection last year. Nevertheless, the Commissioners imposed the restriction.
The appeals were opposed by the Southern Railway Co. and Southdown Motor Services, Ltd.