LABOUR HAULAGE PLEDGE IN LORDS DEBATE
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From Our Parliamentary Correspondent THE Disposals Bill had a quiet passage through the Lords for its Second Reading on Tuesday. A feature of the short debate was the appeal of Lord Hurcomb for a final settlement of the parcels service's future. "Take transport out of 'politic," he said.
In the debate, Lord Lucas said he thought Party politics should be taken. out of road transport. "But the very people who are keeping politics in transport are the present Government," he added.
Munieipal. Bus Plan for Stoke?
dok . the invitation of Stoke on Trent r3. City Council, 23 local councils met in private at Stoke on Trent on Tuesday to consider the question of setting up a municipal bus service.
The Lord Mayor of Stoke, ,Cllr. H. Naylor, said the decision to call the conference had been taken by his council in order to combat the monopoly exercised by the Potteries Motor Traction Co., Ltd. Stoke City Council were concerned with the efficiency of the bus services, particularly with their frequency and regularity.
For some time his council had been concerned at the high level of bus fares in the district, and with the frequent applications by the company for increased charges and the cancellation of certain concessions.
A statement issued after the meeting said that the discussions were adjourned until September to enable the representatives to ascertain the views of their authorities, MINISTER DISAGREES WITH INSPECTOR
A .L.THOUGH his inspector suggested ra that -limited modifications be allowed, the Minister of Transport has rejected in tato an appeal by Mr. J. T. Rogers (Rogers Motor Coaches) against the refusal of the Yorkshire Licensing Authority to grant him certain modifications to a road service licence authorizing him to operate excursions and tours from the municipal bus station, Leeds, and Round.hay, Leeds.
The Minister agreed with the main conclusion of his inspector, Mr. J. M. Glen, that no case had been made for granting the modifications in full, and he was not satisfied that the evidence warranted the limited modifications suggested.
Mr. Rogers was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.
The Minister has also refused the appeals. of Premier Travel, Ltd., and the railways against the Eastern Licensing Authority's grant of permission to the Trent Motor Traction Co., Ltd., and Barton Transport, Ltd., to vary the conditions attached to backings of licences for a joint express setvice between Derby and Clacton-on-Sea.
The appellants were ordered to pay e costs.
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The competition of the future was riot going to be between British Road Services and the independent hauliers, but .between both of them and industry which wished to run its own transport. " Let us bury the differences between us. We on this side a the House have the honest intention to do that," Lord Lucas declared.
Lord Teynham said there was no doubt that the little man had been given the opportunity to get back into the industry. "I am not by any means convinced that the larger purchaser who wants 30 to 50 vehicles has really been given the proper opportunity except at the disturbed period of the General Election." Private enterprise had never had a favourable opportunity to buy the long-distance units, he asserted.
B.T.C. Monopoly •
The real effect of the Government's decision was to put the British Transport Commission in the place of a monopoly in long-distance haulage, contrary to the intentions of the 1953 Act.
Lord Hurcomb said that it would have been easy to have sold 12,000 to 15,000 lorries, as units without properties attached, in 12 or 18 months. He appreciated the realism that the Minister and the Government had shown.
It would be a godsend if the transport problem could be taken out of
politics. "In my view it is a fundamental problem. It will go on nagging whatever Government sits on those benches for a long time to come."
Acute Controversy The underlying difficulty was that a public service must have all sorts of obligations and restrictions imposed on it from which the smaller individual concerns were free. But at least the problem could be taken out of the acute political controversy from which it had suffered for years.
"I ask the Government, late though the stage may be, to consider once more whether they cannot now deal finally with the parcels service," Lord Hurcomb said,
"I feel if this transaction of selling it off ever in fact succeeds," he said, " and it is generally agreed that it is not going to succeed just yet, it would invite reversal. It would keep alive the very controversy we would all like to see finally buried."
The Bill was given a second reading.
Decision Dferred on Oxford Fares
THE East Midland Licensing Authority on Tuesday deferred decision on an application for higher fares by City of -Oxford Motor Services, Ltd., until the South Eastern Authority • had been consulted. On Friday, the South Eastern Authority. granted this company's application subject to the East Midland Authority's decision.
The application, which sought among other things a 2d. minimum fare ,and a new mileage scale, was designed to yield an extra £25,800 a year. Of this, it was estimated that £12,400 would come from the city services and the remainder from country routes.
Announcing his decision on Friday, the chairman of the South Eastern Authority, Mr. H. I. Thom, said the company needed the additional revenue, which was much less than what they had asked for a year ago. , It would have been better if they had implemented the mileage systemat one swoop, and the Authority considered that this should be delayed no longer.
Among the objectors at Tuesday's hearing were the Oxfordshire and Berkshire County Councils and all the local authorities in Oxfordshire. • They contended that the company were in a healthy condition and could use reserves to absorb increases, The • company's general reserve account at the end of last year was £235,000, said Mr. G. F. Harvey, for the company. Last year's dividends totalled £36,725. He argued that dividends should be compared with the capital employed, but since 1949 they had declined from 4.06 per cent, net to 3.47 per cent, net last year.
BRITISH ENGINEERS AT WORLD CONGRESS
APARTY of 15 British automobile engineers, led by the president of the Institute of the Motor Industry, Mr. Stanley S. Dawes, M.I.Mech.E., are taking part in tile 6th International Technical Congress of the Motor Industry, which is being held in Rome from May 3-10.
The general theme of the Congress is "Research into Increased Safety and Economy in Automobile Transportation," and it is hoped also that progress will be made in standardizing internationally the technical vocabulary of the motor industry.
Four members of the British group are presenting papers. Dr. N. Carpenter, engineering research manager, Ferodo, Ltd., will address the Congress on "Automobile brake usage under practical conditions "; Mr. H. I. F. Evernden, chief project engineer, RollsRoyce, Ltd., on " Design for Safety Mr. K. B. Hopfinger, consultant, Ford Motor-Co., Ltd., on "Automation means even better brakes "; and Dr. J. H. Nelson, chief research engineer, Joseph Lucas, Ltd., efit Different points of view on lighting and signalling."