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Non-paying Services Compulsory
Page 50
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A SUGGESTION that bus companies PI, should be compelled to run uneconomic services in remote areas was made by a group of Conservative Members of Parliament at a private meeting with the Minister of Transport, last week.
The M.P.s expressed concern at the drift of population from districts where unremunerative bus and rail services were being withdrawn.
Mr. Rupert Speir, M.P. for Hexham, urged the Minister to set up a departmental committee to inquire into the problem from which speedy action would result.
The Minister made it clear that he was impressed with the M.P.s' case, and said he had only recently made representations about reducing the fuel tax to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
A resolution proposing that district councils be given powers to operate buses in rural areas where such facilities did not exist at the present time was carried by a large Majority at the annual conference of the District Councils' Association for Scotland at Oban, last week.
It was also suggested that any financial aid towards the capital expenditure which would be involved might be given by the Secretary of State for Scotland, whose approval of such services should be necessary.
Stating that the problem could only be tackled on a national scale, Mr. Savage (Irvine) moved an amendment calling for the immediate restoration of the Transport Act, 1947. The amendment was defeated.
SERVICES TAKEN OUT OF AUTHORITIES' HANDS?
:THE running of long-distance ser
vices vices was being taken out of the hands of the Licensing Authorities by Yorkshire Pool Services, it was stated before the Yorkshire Licensing Authority in Leeds last week. Wallace Arnold Tours, Ltd., Hanson's Buses, Ltd., 0. and C. Holdsworth, Ltd., and Messrs. J. W. Kitchin and Sons applied to operate a joint express West YorksPaignton service via Torquay. Objections were made by Hebble Motor Services, Ltd., Yelloway Motor Services, Ltd., Yorkshire Pool Services and the railways.
Representing Mr. C. G. Littlewood, who was recently allowed to run a Sheffield-Torquay service, Mr. A. Goss said that the Yorkshire Pool proved need for a service to Birmingham, but, in effect, extended it by linking with services to Torquay. For the Yorkshire Pool, Mr. W. R. Hargrave said that the linking was perfectly legal and in the public interest.
The Yorkshire Pool applied to increase vehicles to Birmingham to take advantage of Associated Motorways' expanded services to Torquay. Hebble sought to run vehicles from Bradford 924 and Halifax to Rochdale, from where Yelloway operated to Torquay. Yelloway wished to link Huddersfield with their Manchester—Torquay route, and claimed that if the joint application were granted they would suffer abstraction of traffic.
This had risen substantially, it was stated, but Mr. H. B. Dyson, Hanson's general manager, said that, as agents for Yelloway, they had created much of it and were entitled to carry it themselves.
Decision was reserved. Earlier proceedings were reported on May 14.
77% VEHICLES WITHOUT PREMISES IN LIST 5 SOLD SEVENTY-SEVEN per cent. of the units and 70% of the vehicles offered without premises in List 5 were sold to the highest bidders. The British Transport Commission and the Road Haulage Disposal Board this week issued a progress report on List 5. It listed separately the sales of units with premises, of which only one (four vehicles) had been sold, and contracthire units, of which 56 per cent. (representing 37% of the contract vehicles) found buyers.
' Of the units without premises, the highest tenders were accepted for 462 units (1,158 vehicles). All bids were refused for 88 units (303 vehicles), there were no bids for 44 units (187 vehicles) and decisions on two cases (7 vehicles) were pending. Altogether 596 units (1,655 vehicles) were offered.
All tenders were rejected for five units with premises (173 vehicles) out of the 13 units (311 vehicles) offered. No bids were received for five units (83 vehicles), and decisions were still to be made on two units (51 vehicles).
Twenty-one contract-hire units (42 vehicles), out of a total of 37 (113 vehicles) were sold, and all offers for four (34 vehicles) were rejected. There were no bids for 12 lots (37 vehicles).
"URGENT ACTION—OR NO SERVICE"
UNLESS urgent action is taken. neither British Road Services nor private operators will have an adequate service to offer trade and industry. This view on denationalization has been put forward by Coventry Chamber of Commerce, who have had correspondence on the matter with the British Transport Commission. There was no satisfaction with the reply received and the Chamber are to place the subject before the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and the Road Haulage Disposal Board.
Mr. J. Delicate, vice-chairman of the Chamber's transport committee, has stated that the few sales of vehicles in Coventry had not resulted in the reinstatement of private hauliers. "There has been a shrinkage of available carrying capacity and approaches to the Commission have failed to get the required indication of the carrying capacity which the city's traders could expect to have at their disposal," he 'said.
We are not worried about who owns the vehicles," he added.