Minister forces fare increases
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IREATENED cuts in pastiger transport support cash mi the Government will do rm to public transport in • ndon. That is the view of n Daly, chairman of the -eater London Council import committee.
But the GLC has until Nomber 2 to send a firm reply out its decision on the cuts Transport Minister Wilim Rodgers. A transport mmittee meeting on that y will put a seal on the reply. Metropolitan authorities aside London were told by e Minister to reply by ztober 22 (see CM last week). El except South Yorkshire we already back down. West idlands have cut at least 3m from their budget and ill put up fares by over 20 per tnt in December.
Greater Manchester is tle effected as its fares are ready much higher than her metropolitan county bus rvices. Tyne and Wear have it £9m from their support Idget but will not touch fares !cause some unspent cash for mstruction work on the Me o rapid transit will be leased.
The only way South Yorklire or London Transport )uld keep fares down will be a uge rate increase or densive cuts in highways )ending to make up the cash ithdrawn by the Governlent. This is said to be the iuivalent of a 12p rate 'crease in South Yorkshire.
Jim Daly put the GLC view st week. He said: "The Se-etary of State for Transport as asked us to slash between 19m and £64m from our pro.-amme. Even if we mortgage ondon Transport's future by iping out its entire non-cornLifted capital budget – with 1 its implications for jobs and !rvices – and cut yet more ioney from sorely needed ighways maintenance and ondon borough programmes, fares increase well beyond at justified by inflation ould be required."
The Secretary of State has )1d the GLC to assume that cceptable expenditure is likely to be £64m less than budgeted for 1977-8.
"If we are forced to reduce our subsidy and if the Government should go to the extreme of cutting or withdrawing theirs, fares could rise to a level which could result in a significant loss of passengers and which could damage the system for all time," he said.
"It is not possible for a transport system in a big city to be self-supporting. All the world's main transport systems are heavily subsidised and it is futile to suppose that London's can be an exception.
"We have already drastically pruned our transport plans. Our roads progamme and that of the London boroughs. is virtually confined to necessary maintenance and schemes to assist road safety and housing."