overnment happy with commercial registrations
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IOUT 15,000 bus services 7c been registered as cornrcial under the Governnt's plans to deregulate the lustry.
fransport Minister 1)avid tchell said the number of subsidised services that the Justry thought it could crate was "highly enaraging'.
But he assured passengers it it does not mean that no -vice would run if it has not en registered so far. Although the Government has a global figure of registrations, it appears that as yet it does not have a geographical breakdown.
He told the annual transportation conference of the Association of County Councils that the initial figure does not in itself give much to go on.
"Only when actual registrations have been analysed carefully shall we know what they mean for the subsidising authorities and only when we have had the second stage for securing services by tender shall we know what it means for the passenger."
He urged County Councils not to discourage new operators and to remember the potential of taxis.
In the Commons this week, Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley denied that the number of registrations was way below even the pessimistic forecasts. Shadow Transport Secretary Bob Hughes said in sonic areas the number of registrations is only 20 per cent of what was anticipated.
"Does that not mean that the policy will reduce vast swathes of the country to nothing more than open prisons?"
Ridley says that about 80 per cent of existing routes would be registered, compared with a NBC forecast of about 70 per cent.