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Friendship helps IoW bus operation

3rd June 1977, Page 63
3rd June 1977
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 63, 3rd June 1977 — Friendship helps IoW bus operation
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

DESPITE the financial constraints imposed by Central Government, particularly in relation to transport support grant, sensible co-operation between county councils exercising their duties under Section 203 of the Local Government Act 1972 and bus operators is overcoming difficulties in many areas.

That co-operation is not made easy when one operator has to deal with more than one county council, each with its own ideas, or when one county council has to deal with more than one operator.

However, even under these conditions, compromise is achieving acceptable results.

As a community, the Isle of Wight is fortunate because the county council concerned is able to look at its bus services unbedevilled by those penetrating from neighbouring counties and because there is only one principal bus company operating there, this has advantages for both. Nevertheless, Southern Vectis, a National Bus Company subsidiary, faces the usual problems of falling revenue and looks to the council for financial support and encouragement in order to maintain a good public passenger transport service. This task is made more arduous by the demands made on staff and vehicles during the summer months when the island's residents are augmented by up to 90.000 resident holidaymakers plus many day trippers.

Vehicles, staff and establishment stretched to capacity during the holiday season might well be under utilised in the winter yet must be maintained against the peak demand.

To minimise the revenue support grant required, Southern Vectis in collaboration with the council has devised an annual package scheme of shaping fares on the peak usage and reducing these in the winter to encourage use of the service by residents.

In this way, it makes the maximum use of its assets during the off-peak to enable it to maintain these against the summer need.

The island's resident population numbers 112,000 of which 80 per cent live in urban areas. The bus routes. radiate mainly from Newport in the centre but.with some peripheral routes linking the coastal towns largely in the east of the island. There are no major industrial areas to bring special congestion problems encountered in mainland cities but the nature of the urban settlement and the road network gives rise to rush hour traffic problems especially in the summer. Despite these, the Isle of Wight is well served by conventional bus services in comparison with other similar rural holiday areas.

Over recent years summer and winter fares coincided, but despite all efforts, Southern Vectis made a loss in 1976 for the first time in its history.

It was at this point that the two-tier bus fare package for the island was devised. For the 1976 period, despite revenue support of £120,000, a loss of £153,000 was envisaged which called for a recasting of the fares structure for this year.

The loss during 1976 came about by a passenger shortfall of 8 per cent against the 51/2 per cent forecast. During 1977, revenue is expected to rise by 9 per cent while expenditure will be controlled by extensive economies planned and is expected to rise by only 6 per cent.

The gap to be bridged if the network of services is to be maintained at the present level has resulted in a revenue support figure for 1977 of £214,000.

This is not to suggest that the loss causing problems have not been examined and alternatives suggested. These

problems are common to road passenger transport providers everywhere and the suggested solutions have often proved impracticable for similar reasons.

For instance, the use of minibuses for off-peak periods has been rejected because it would take five 14-seat minibuses to carry a similar load to one double-deck

vehicle at peak periods. While the double-decker might be three-quarters empty at off-peak times, it is still far cheaper to employ these all the time rather than have minibuses for off-peak operation only.

There are, however, two deep rural routes operated by Royal Mail 11-seat postbuses but these carried 132 passengers a week in the 1975 summer peak while the Southern Vectis was carrying well over 35,000 passengers on its 49 routes.

The postbus service is acknowledged as complementary to the main bus network, and this would apply to community minibuses such as have been introduced in Norfolk, East Sussex and Clwyd, but there would be no financial advantage to the bus users if the main bus operator used minibuses for off-peak travel.

There is another bus operator — Seaview Services Ltd — which provides a stage carriage service on the island, but to disperse routes among a number of independent operators, as had been suggested, would add to the county council's difficulties by proliferating the number of operators whichit would have to deal with in implementing the 1972 Act. More serious from the point of view of Southern Vectis, it would. reduce the earning capacity of the undertaking with the result that its overheads would fall more heavily on surviving services. If the NBC company was

required to maintain loss-making services on social grounds, the savings from the transfer of some services elsewhere would be insignificant, The Southern Vectis organisation regards itself as very much the "local bus operator" despite what has been said in Parliament and elsewhere about the NBC being too remote from local conditions. General manager Michael Wadsworth, told me that the close working between a joint council/bus company working party has been able to influence Southern Vectis policy. It has also been a useful mechanism for considering suggestions put' forward by local councils and community associations.

The county council gets the best of two worlds benefiting from the bulk purchase policies, research and experience sharing of the large organisation as well as the co-operation of what is virtually a local bus operator.

In support of his contention Mr Wadsworth drew my attention to the answer given by Transport Minister William Rodgers in the House of Commons three months ago in which it was said that the NBC had devolved power throughout the country and while developing as a single company had allowed for local opinion and control. This, said Mr Wadsworth, referring to the Southern Vectis operation, is a prime example of NBC policy of delegation in action. There was no doubt about the usefulness of the joint working party among represenatives of the loW county council to whom I spoke. They appreciated the problems ot the bus operator in providing an acceptable service both in winter as well as in the summer peak and acknowledged that mutual consultation had gone a long way to iron out difficulties to the benefit of resident and holidaymaker alike.

With the co-operation of the county council, the Southern Vectis fares increase application for the 1977 period was endorsed by the SE Area Traffic Commissioners in April and it is expected that, given a reasonable financial period with no unforeseen factors arising, the operating results will be as predicted. '

Though the Island might be described as an enclosed community in the field of bus operation, the enthusiastic and friendly spirit which permeates, the relationship between the county council and the bus operator might well be envied by other less fortunate areas.


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