Get Rid of the Halfpennies, Say Midland "Red"
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THE decision on an application by the Midland " Red " company to increase .ares was reserved at a joint sitting of he East and West Midland Traffic Coranissioners at Birmingham on Tuesday.
The company had asked for a new nileage scale 'to increase single and ;cholars' return fares; to eliminate the ialfpenny in children's fares; to increase vorkmen's ieturns; and to impose " stirlarge" on the M1 services between Birmingham and London.
Mr. E. S. Fay. presenting the cornlany's case, said that in a full year the :ost to Midland "Red" of a _recent wage iward, together with other increased :osts, would be £.578,000: If all the aroposecl increases were granted the company would get back £613,000 in a full ear's working.
He said that one aim of the company was the end eventually of the Id. coin which was too small to fiddle with in present-day commercial life.
Extra Costs of £120,000 Mr. Richard Brandon, traffic manager of Midland Red." said that even if the increases were granted and soon put into operation, the company would have had to sustain extra costs of £120,000 in the meantime.
He said that in a comparable eightmonth period before and after the last fares increase, nearly 101 million passengers had given up using the service. Mr. Brandon said the present application made allowances for this " consitiner resistance" tobe continued. Mr. Brandon said that for the first 'time in the company's history, more than half its mileage, about 51 per cent., was unremunerative.
Not less than half of this was rural mileage and Mr. Brandon said that a proportion of urban services were also unremunerative..