Higher Fares in Scotland: Birmingham to Go Ahead
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THE State-owned Scottish bus group have been granted permission, in principle, to increase their fares. Other undertakings authorized to raise their rates are the Eastern Counties Omnibus Co., Ltd., Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., and Darlington Transport Department.
Birmingham Corporation, who deferred the hearing of their application for higher fares until after the Budget, are now to proceed with it.
Granting permission, in principle, to raise their fares, Mr. W. Quin, chairman of the Scottish Licensing Authority, last week told the Scottish group that in considering the extent of the increases, which would be announced shortly, evidence of hardship and anomalies would be taken into account, Over 2,100 Services Affected
The group, comprising Scottish Omnibuses, Ltd., Western S.M.T., Co., Ltd., Central S.M.T. Co., Ltd., W. Alexander and Sons, Ltd„ and David Lawson, Ltd., applied for permission to raise fares in respect of more than 2,100 stage services in central Scotland to bring in an estimated additional annual revenue of £2,404,000 (The Commercial Motor, April I).
It was proposed to add id. to ordinary singles up to 6d., Id. to 2s. 6d. rates, 2d. to 2s. 7d.-5s. rates, and 3d. to fares of 5s. id. and over There were to be increases of ld. in returns up to 2s. 6d., 2d. from 2s. 7d. to 5s., and 3d, on 5s. Id. and over, with slight rises in scholars' and workers' concession fares.
Mr. G. 0. M. Hunter, Q.C., for the objectors, said that it was the fifth application by the Scottish bus group, whose chairman, Mr. James Amos, had described the increase as modest. Mr. Hunter said that he would describe it as enormous.
39 Councils Objected "It never seems to occur to this group of companies that there might be a stage reached when the companies ought to absorb some of the increases in costs,. even if it meant a reduction in the payment of the company's dividends," he said.
It was a measure of the public disquiet at the proposed increases that 39 local authorities, with a population of 960,000, had objected.
Mr. Hunter added that the reduction in the standard rate of income tax would save the company about £50,000 a year.
Mr. J. C. Emslie, Q.C., for the applicants, said that the only question was whether the fares proposed were reasonable or unreasonable. Scotland had the cheapest bus service in Britain. Not one local authority which operated a bus service had .objected.
ClIr. Matthew Bissett, of Dunharton County Council, who objected, submitted that the people from his area were entirely dependent on buses for work and shopping.
Darlington Corporation have been authorized by the Northern Licensing Authority to raise fares by -Id. It was stated that unless fares were increased, the transport department would be faced with art annual loss of £19,000.
Because the Chancellor of the Exchequer has made no reduction in fuel tax, Birmingham Transport Department is to proceed with the application for higher fares which it had provisionally lodged with the West Midland Licensing Authority.
Announcing this last week, the chairman of Birmingham Transport Committee, Ald. H. Walton, said: "In my view, 6d. off the fuel tax would have done more to reduce the increasingly high cost of living than 6d. off income tax."
More B.T.C. Companies Apply According to the current issue of Notices and Proceedings for the Metropolitan Traffic Area, applications for higher fares have been made by the Eastern National Omnibus Co., Ltd., Hicks Bros., Ltd., and Westcliff-on-Sea Motor Services, Ltd.
Eastern Counties have been given permission to raise the minimum ordinary single fare from Lid. to 2d., and the child's minimum single to I id. Increases in workers' returns, and weekly and season-ticket rates were also authorized. The new scale will take effect from Sunday.
Granting Southdown's application, the chairman of the South-Eastern Licensing Authority, Mr. H. J. Thom. said it was extremely reasonable.
For the company, Mr. S. D. Herington said they had decided to reorganize the whole of the fare system on a mileage basis. The increase in singlelares would not be more than id. on fares up to lid., 2d. up to Is. lid., and 3d. up to 2s. 11d. Return fares would not be more than 11 times the single rate. There would also be a rise of 10 per cent. in the price of season tickets.
Return Fares Abolished
Nottingham Corporation, West Bridgford Urban District Council and the South Notts Bus Co., Ltd., were last week given permission by the East Midland Licensing Authority to abolish return fares on their joint service between Nottingham and the Clifton estate.
• The 'proposal, to which there were no objectors, was that the returns should be replaced by early-morning singles. This would increase revenue for each undertaking by 8.6 per cent., said a spokesman for Nottingham.