n I have seen it stated by the Minister of
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Transport that four major urban areas in England have been chosen for the first Passenger Transport Authorities to be set up once the Transport Bill has gone through. Is there any chance that Wales or Scotland will have similar PTAs?
A The Bill does not limit the Minister to
these four areas: in fact it seems likely that she would want to introduce some form of area control eventually in any region where there was scope for combining road and rail passenger services. She has chosen the four most obvious areas for her first intended schemes and the only areas in Wales or Scotland which might be appropriate are Cardiff/ Swansea and Glasgow. The former seems unlikely to be suitable for what the Minister has in mind initially, and the Glasgow prospects depend very much on whether the Scottish Bus Group takes over the operation of municipal transport in the city, as planned.
The Minister of State for Scotland, Dr. J. Dickson Mabon, recently said that there was no certainty of a PTA in Scotland and certainly no likelihood of one until the Glasgow situation was settled, the transportation studies M Edinburgh and Glasgow areas completed, and consultations with other local authorities were undertaken. This could take several years.