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What is the P ublie Interest ?
Page 57
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-pm,: Metropolitan Traffic Commis' sioner. Mr. D. I. R. Muir, cannot have found it easy to refuse three recent applications by the Eattern National Omnibus Co. Ltd. for a picking-up point at Roinford on express services to Victoria Coach Station. The applicants wished to vary three express services, two between Southend and Victoria, and one between Basildon and Victoria. The journey between Romford and Victoria lies wholly within the London Transport Board Snecial Area and the LTB's refusal of consent for the service proposed initiated Mr. Muir's Inquiry. In addition to the LTB, eight coaching firms objected.
Eastern National provide linking services with Southern and Western National (Royal Blue) from Basildon and points to the east. Because Roinford area travellers and holiday makers to the West Country, who are travelling by Royal Blue from Victoria, find difficulty in using public transport fer the first leg of the journey, the Eastern National direct service was proposed. This would " indisputably be more convenient and more comfortable ", and it would save intending Royal Blue passengers the natural anxiety they DOW feel about losing their -connection at the coach station, should there be traffic congestion between Romford and London. The Royal Blue coach would not leave until
the Eastern National coach arrived.
In his lengthy and closely argued . written decision, Mr. Muir concedes that the proposed service would be a " godsend " to some intending passengers, though public transport .would notpresent any insuperable difficulty to "the able bodied and indigent But the Commissioner clearly foresaw the wider consequences of a grant for, as he points out, the original aMilication was for a Rornford-Victoria fare for .passengers pre-booked " with any of the express services using the coach station". A less ambitious application was submitted to reduce the number of likely objectors. Mr. Muir writes: "There is, however, no logical reason why if this application is granted in its present form another application much wider in its scope should not also be granted if it is sufficiently supported. I fully appreciate' the danger of departing from the 'each case on its merits' formula. but in this case it would be naive in the extreme to shut one's eyes to the probabilities."' Mr. Muir continues: "This is of course not to say that even if a case is made out a grant should not be made because of likely further abstraction from existing operators. It does seem, however, that great care should be exercised before the, facilities of existing operators are condemned as inadequate or unsuitable."