Unfair fares in Yorks?
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• The Office of Fair Trading has announced that it is investigating alleged anti-competitive practices by two northern bus companies.
South Yorkshire Transport and former National Bus Company subsidiary, West Yorkshire Road Car, have been accused of using their market power, since deregulation, to squeeze out new operators.
SYT in particular is alleged to have run at reduced fares in order to dispose of competition on route 74 between Sheffield and High Green.
A spokesman for SYT told Commercial Motor that it was no longer running on that route and denied the "anticompetitive practices", adding that the lower fares were charged because the route was more direct than that operated by its competitor.
"We have written to the Department of Trade and Industry to get the investigation quashed under section three of the 1980 Competition Act," says SYT.
West Yorkshire Road Car was reported to the OFT by local firm, Pinnacle Coaches, on the basis that VVYRC's fares were so low, on the route between Crosshills and Skipton, that competition was virtually impossible.
"This is only a small proportion of the company's trunk service between Bradford and Skipton," says WYRC, "and our pricing policy is not uncompetitive or uneconomically low. We introduced day-return tick ets over this section of route early in 1987 to increase patronage levels on that section of a major trunk service," the company adds.
El This is the second OFT investigation into the deregulated bus wars now raging.
The first involved Southern Vectis and whether or not it should share its Newport bus garage on the Isle of Wight with fellow operator Gange Taxis.
Southern Vectis is expected to sell its Newport bus garage on the Isle of Wight within the next four weeks to property developers.
The company was told by the Office of Fair Trading earlier this year to share the garage with its competitor Gange in order to promote effective competition, otherwise it would be forced to face the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
Southern Vectis says: "This OFT decision prompted us to look seriously at the future of the site.
We have three property developers interested, as we are based in the centre of town, so the station will probably be used for shopping redevelopment."
Southern Vectis plans to base itself on the street after the garage is sold.