Conference reminds us 'We'd all miss the bus'
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The Bus and Coach Council unveiled details of its forthcoming national publicity campaign at its get together last week. It also threw Reginald Eyre and ALbert Booth into the lions' den. Noel Millier was there to report on the proceedings
THE CONFEDERATION of British Road Passenger Transport is no more. It passed away last weekend at its eighth annual conference at Bowness. Tears are not required, however, for the mortality is in name only, and under its new title of the Bus and Coach Council the organisation is as alive as ever, as its conference demonstrated.
Without exception the new name was welcomed by delegates who heard from both sides of the political spectrum that Parliament shared their concern for the future of the bus.
The Under-Secretary of State for Transport Reginald Eyre emphasised that the Goverment is committed to subsidising public transport. Unsubsidised public transport could survive in London but the Government recognises that this is not the best solution. Subsidy levels must be realistic, worthwhile and affordable within our economy. Public transport cannot be insulated from the recession.
Mr Eyre acknowledged the effects of the recession and the periods of uncertainty on British bus manufacturers and the damaging effect of a number of about-turns in political policy on transport. David Howell's proposed legislation will set guidelines to show what level of subsidy for bus operators is lawful. He felt that the advantages of cheap fares were outweighed by other factors, mainly the confusion they caused.
He commended the operating industry on its attempts to control the level of new bus orders so as to avoid the worst affects of a likely "trough" in new orders for double-deckers. He thinks that the long-term future of the bus industry is linked to the economy of the country as a whole.
British bus manufacturers have had their export successes but they need to recoup coach business lost to Continental manufacturers.
Mr Eyre congratulated the bus industry on the way it coped with the rail strike and National Express for its success which he said had enabled the Govern merit to bring in legislation to allow for an influx of private capital into the organisation.
The Government wants to do what it can to help operators develop Continental traffic, he said, announcing that the number of shuttle permits granted rose from 22 in 1979 to 170 in 1982.
He said that the Government wants operators in difficulties in Europe to be helped by the DTp but operators should be aware of, and their drivers should obey, Continental speed limits.
The recent in-depth reports on the bus industry (including the Monopoly and Mergers Commission Report and a consult a nts' report on the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive) are, in his opinion, very welcome. On the privatisation of psv testing, he stressed that safety standards must be maintained. The involvement of Lloyd's will ensure that one body looks after the arrangements.
Mr Eyre was then questioned closely by delegates. The National Bus Company's Chief Executive Robert Brook asserted that any subsidy should be an industry subsidy rather than an institutional subsidy.
South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council Councillor Alex Waugh likened Tory plans for stability within the bus industry to the Ayatollah's stability in Iran. He stressed the need for freedom of local government to formulate its own policies and suggested that the decline of the industry was due to Government policies such as high interest rates.
Mr Eyre asked delegates not to prejudge the proposed new legislation. It is intended to bring about a new stability. He said that local authorities would still have power, provided that their policy was in line with the economic points.
London Buses managing director Dr David Quarmby noted that the Minister had not mentioned the problems that traffic congestion created for bus operators. This problem was, he said, so daunting that it should be a national consideration. Congestion cost London Transport £40 million per year.
Mr Eyre accepted that this is a real problem and said that the Government would give close attention to the problem, anc would have discussions with transport managers.
Southampton City Transport's General Manager Bill Lewis savi the proposed stability as leading only to a reduction in services, uneconomic fare levels, redun• dancies and fewer new bus orders. He wants a tax incentive tc encourage the use of public transport and said that 42 pei cent of the people of Southampton had no access to private transport.
In reply, Mr Eyres remindec delegates that the Chancelloi had changed the tax rules gov, erning company cars to chargs for private usage.
After the morning coffeebreak, Mr Eyre joined delegates hear university lecturer Bill (son present a paper stating e case for investment in the is industry. NBC's George Carthers commented that the inistry must look at cross-subsisation of services and show miv necessary it is to service gworks.
Senior Civil Servant Peter Lairus of the Department of .ansport stressed the need for )erators to show the advanges of their networks. The easurement of benefit he said crucial and it should not be a Jestion of the gap between ists and revenue — there lould be benefits for evalua)n.
Tyne and Wear Passenger ransport Executive Directoreneral Desmond Fletcher desibed how the effects of all facirs of inflation had pushed up )erational costs.
Keith Orford of Derbyshire punty Council was very imressed by the significance of le Tyson paper; it gives Derators an affirmative answer ■ the question of whether they .e value for money. The paper muld be used by operators as a eapon in competing for funds. The technical content of the (st day's business was eroded by Leyland Bus Chief Engiaer Chris Cernes and National us Company Development Enneer Barry Fox.
Chris Cernes described the imortance of micro-electronics id how innovations in this field 'ere of use to bus operators and lanufacturers. He said that the iodern bus contains a surpris ing number of timers and interlocks, including door controls, flashers, interrupter units and engine coolant level sensors. All can be replaced with simple micro-processors which can be programmed to suit each individual applications.
Barry Fox looked at the operational aspect of vehicle diagnostic systems and the concept of predictability. Or, more simply, transfering some items that traiditonally have fallen in the expensive unscheduled maintainance or breakdown category to the more organised world of routine maintenance. Barry described an NBC Leyland shoulderheld vehicle diagnostic system consisting of a hand-held programmer and shoulder-carried processor.
Doubt over the future of frequency allocation and the need for a Home Office decision on radio frequencies could prove expensive for the bus operators that rely on radio control for organising their routes. This was the concern of Chris Longley, the passenger transport executive operating systems officer for South Yorkshire.
James Isaacs, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive director-general, contended in his paper that, to a certain extent, innovation has previously led to unreliability. Effective management and control of a passenger fleet is only a means to an end, and this end is to provide vehicles that are safe, attractive and economical so that an effective service can be provided to the passengers.
Operators should decide whether they want or need innovation, and if so whether they can afford it and have the staff to handle it. Those who urge change must demonstrate how all developments are to pay for themselves in economy, performance or increased earning power.
Bill Kirkland of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive commented that not every innovation had led to unreliability — retarders have proved great savers of money.
On Labour transport policy, Shadow Transport Minister Albert Booth declared that Labour policy was being formulated to meet the situation that now exists. Labour would be looking to eliminate waste. He said that the party wants to subsidise people moving about — not empty seats moving about. He suggested combining shire counties into areas large enough to become passenger transport authorites. There would be a clear responsibility for these bodies to provide the necessary transport supplementary grants to the districts.
Mr Booth said that he thought cheap fares were an essential element for making better use of resources, and emphasised his commitment to public transport. He proposed a national transport authority to examine all requests for transport including road transport, road building and rail, with the power to decide finance allocation and time scale.
George Carruthers of the National Bus Company questioned how to make the best use of resources. He was sceptical of Mr Booths plan. Just how do you get a national transport policy, he asked?
Hubert Allen of Yelloway Motor Services asked Mr Booth to clarify Labour policy for public transport investment. Was it public transport or just publical ly owned transport? Mr Allen was worried about future Labour plans for legislation and complained of the amount of recent legislation and its effects on transport.
Mr Booth's answer was that he defined public transport as public people carriers, whether privately or publicly owned, and said that TSG agreements can apply to all types of operators. He said that he thought new legislation was essential to ensure investment in public transport.
Dr Quarmby pleaded for the "rules of the game" not to be changed so that the courts are left to interpret transport policy. He was also apprehensive of the proposal for an overall passenger transport authority which could become another quango. However, he would welcome it if it brought the opportunity for presenting rational argument.
He hoped that the Labour concept of investment would recognise revenue expenditure as well as capital expenditure. Bus and Coach Council Director-General Denis Quin asked for consultation and hoped that the proposed passenger transport authority would, if it came into being, remain experimental until it had proved itself.
The next session looked at the safety of public service vehicles in Britain.
Dr Hunt of Cambridge University presented statistics that showed the creditable safety record of psvs, yet although psv casualties are insignificant in number, they lead, he said, to emotive reactions in the media. He suggested that the bus industry should respond to its critics and act as its own watch dog.
From the discussion generated by the presentation came a suggestion that crew-operated buses were no safer than oneperson buses and that part-time drivers were safer than fulltimers.
Sandy Glennie of Volvo asked if Dr Hunt knew any reason why articulated coaches should be banned from the third lane of motorways.
Dr Hunt thought that the recent legislation banning artics from the fast lane could be an example of subjective legislation and suggested that the industry should present data if it wishes to influence Government. He did not think articulated coaches would frighten the public.
The final business session of the conference consisted of a summing-up of the work of the bus operators liason group (LOB!) with the manufacturing industry and the presentation of the long-awaited industry publicity campaign. David Quarmby reported on the work of LOBI and the state of the bus manufacturing industry. He described how the group was monitoring new bus orders and the number of new registrations this year. During the first six months of 1982 he reported that 815 new double-deck buses were registered and 103 singledeck buses. The figure was improved by the luxury coach market, where 1500 vehicles were registered in the same period.
The problems for manufacturers were worsened by the number of secondhand buses for diposal. Dr Quarmby told delegates that thanks to the Law Lords' decision, LT would need to dispose of over 1,000 doubledeckers during 1983, and this was in addition to a pool of NBC buses. LOBI was looking at the possibility of organising an export sales drive for some of these vehicles, possibly capitalising on the recent tour of Southeast Asia by the Prime Minister.
Finally, members heard details of the Bus and Coach Council's publicity campaign due to be launched in November. The £500,000 campaign is to be split between advertising and public relations and will be handled by PR company Good Relations and advertising firm Ogilvy and Mather. £300,000 is to be spent on advertising and the remainder on public relations so as to ensure that "decisionmakers" are aware of the case for investment in the bus industry.
The campaign will include i gional presentations and t publication of a series of repo on the bus industry which e intended to win a firm place 1 the industry in future Govel ment transport policies as w as to secure public sympathy 1 the cause.
The slogan for the campaign "We'd all miss the bus." It h been displayed, in a sne preview, on the Bus and Coa Council advertising bus. A WE Midlands MCW Ivietrobus, it h been used to provide free trar port to delegates at the Libel Party Conference in Bourr mouth and the BCC hopes provide the same service at t forthcoming Labour, Consen tive and Social Democratic Pal Conferences.
It is hoped that othi operators up and down ti country will have buses in th fleets painted in the campai livery.
The campaign was genera well received by the delegat although there were worni about it being seen as an atta on the railways. These fei were allayed by Maureen Sm of Good Relations who assur all that this would be handl sensitively.