Three Bills to Legalize Travel Concessions being Promoted
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APRIVATE member's Bill which will authorize all municipalities to grant concession fares or free travel to certain persons is to be promoted in Parliament by Mr. E. W. Short (Soc:, Newcastle Central). It will receive a second reading in the House of Commons on February 18, and is entitled the Public Service Vehicles (Contract Carriages and Special Travel Facilities) Bill.
It will obviate the need for individual municipalities to promote private Bills to grant travel privileges, but Birmingham Corporation are still to go forward with their proposal to promote a local Bill for this purpose.
Birmingham's Bill was approved by 915 votes to 78 at a town's meeting last Friday. Opponents were shouted down.
Afterwards, Mr. C. Prescott, who was successful in the courts in establishing that the corporation's scheme of free travel was illegal, said that he planned to obtain the names of 100 electors who would demand .a town poll. If the poll were unsuccessful, he would exercise the right to object to Parliament by January 29.
Leeds Corporation are also shortly to promote a Bill to deal, amqng other things, with cheap fares for old-age pensioners.
Newcastle upon Tyne Transport Committee have decided to continue their system of concession fares for unemployed old-age pensioners until counsel's opinion has been obtained as to whether the High Court judgment against Birmingham Corporation's free travel scheme for pensioners, applies to Newcastle. The Committee have rejected a suggestion that Newcastle should seek Parliamentary powers to grant concessions.
Mr. Short's Bill will authorize concession or free travel for old-age pensioners, the blind, war pensioners, others who are seriously crippled, and children who are receiving full-time education. It will empower municipalities to levy a rate to cover the cost to the transport undertakings of the concessions, The Bill will also authorize municipalities to run contract carriages, and resterc some of the powers to engage in private hire which the London Transport Executive lost in the 1953 Act.
30-M.P.H. LIMIT INQUIRY
/It SUB-COMMITTEE has been set up I-1 by the London and Home Counties Advisory Committee to review the incidence of the 30 m.p.h, limit on the main traffic routes in London, with a view to the removal of inconsistencies. . The Minister of Transport has asked the committee to examine the case for introducing different speed limits on niain routes, whether or not restricted at present.