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SELNEC MAKE'S Britain's biggest fares revision

30th January 1970
Page 26
Page 26, 30th January 1970 — SELNEC MAKE'S Britain's biggest fares revision
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• An application by SELNEC PTE to revise its fares would realize an additional £2,773,500, it was stated at the beginning of the public sitting in Manchester on Wednesday. The application was objected to by 17 local authorities with representation being made by a further 65 bodies, and eight MPs. The chairman of the North Western Traffic Commissioners, Mr. C. R. Hodgson, said in opening that the application before him was the biggest fares application ever made in this country.

Mr. G. A. Harrison, director-general of SELNEC PTE, said that when the Executive was constituted on September 1 1969 it was concluded that there was a very serious financial period ahead. It was decided that urgent action was required and this resulted in the fares increase being submitted. Mr. Harrison said: "The overall position we found was that there would be a deficit in the year 1970/71 on the basis of current operating costs as £2,560,000. The total increased revenue desirable during 1970/71 would be approximately £3,300,000. Our examination of the fares structure in operation indicated, however, that only approximately £2,800,000 could be raised by increased fares without abnormal passenger decline." The Executive had to raise this amount in order to balance its accounts, as was required by the Transport Act 1968.

The director-general said that the revenue reserves at March 31 1969 were £628,099, and the debt was £4,940,994. When the operation was conducted by the local authorities the revenue reserves and debt were, in March 1965, nearly £14-m and £34-m respectively.

Mr. Harrison said that the Executive considered that the present applications were a matter of extreme urgency. It was imperative to the operation of transport services in the area that the additional revenue should be raised. He also said that it was desirable to begin a process of rationalizing fares structures within each division. It would not be practicable to have increases spread evenly across the whole SELNEC area. Regard had to be paid to the likely effect of fare increases causing passenger decline. The central division also had special cost factors as two-thirds of its fleet was needed at peak times only. A differential fares structure for peak and off-peak periods had therefore been sought.

Mr. Harrison said that the intention was to give an off-peak discount of 3d rather than to increase fares at the peak times. An "across the board" increase, he said, would have meant that all passengers would pay neatly as much as the proposed peak level increase, as a large percentage of revenue came from peak traffic.

The case continues.

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Locations: Manchester

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