Road Transport Activities
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IN PARLIAMENT
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent London Transport Bill.
THE Government motion to carry over the London Passenger Transport Bill to next session of Parliament was agreed to in the House of Commons after a prolonged discussion. Mr. Pybus said that if the motion were not passed they would sacrifice the work of 35 days in the Joint Select Committee, along with a great measure of agreement which had been achieved by the undertakers in the areas concerned, besides /40,000 spent on the inquiry.
Under the motion the Bill could be brought up next session before a Committee of the whole House and discussed clause by clause. The Government proposed modifications which were set out in the White Paper circulated before the summer recess, and he would suggest modifications on the present Bill to meet reasonable objections.
Objections to the Bill.
WITH regard to the powers of the Minister, he felt that that matter was causing grave concern, and there were objections regarding the provisions for compulsory acquisition of undertakings in the event of failure to arrive at an agreement. Under the Government proposals they met these objections. The powers were to be taken from the Minister and placed in the hands of a body of appointing trustees, who would have the important duty of electing the board. As to powers concerning facilities to which the travelling public were entitled, it bad been possible to arrange that these should be transferred from the Minister to the Railway Rates Tribunal, as specially constituted for the purposes of the Bill. This would give the local authorities and others much more power in representing the interests of the travelling public than they ever possessed before.
CompulSory Acquisition.
WITH regard to compulsory acquisition of undertakings, be pointed out that, subject to the approval of the House, the agreement cOneluded with the Metropolitan Railway Co. with the co-operation of the main-line railways would result in the new position that none of the parties affected by the Bill would be deprived of property without compensation in cash, except such as agreed to take stock.
He corrected the impression among some members that there would be no opportunity next session to put down and propose amendments and that the Bill must he accepted as it stood. Sir Kenyon Vaughan-Morgan moved an amendment in these terms : "That the House declines to proceed with the consideration of a highly controversial measure introduced 17 months ago by an administration which no longer enjoys the confidence of the country or of this House, and resolves that, in view of the many urgent problems of
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national importance requiring the attention of this House, His Majesty's Government should withdraw a Bill for which it received no mandate from the electorate, and as to which no sufficient information has been furnished and no satisfactory amendment submitted to this House since the committee stage, and further declares that the precedent which it is sought to establish of carrying over a public Bill for a second time to a subsequent session is contrary to the best interests of Parliament."
He suggested that the Bill ought to be sent once more to a Select Committee for further study. Sir Philip Dawson seconded the amendment.
Advisory Committee's Work.
0 IR HENRY JACKSON, in support
ing the carrying over of the Bill, said that as a member of the London Traffic Advisory Committee he had taken part in all its work, and was one of a small group that was responsiWa for the Blue Report. He was sincerely of the opinion that this Bill, which had been so much changed and had received so many amendments since it was last before the House for second reading, carried out the great principles of the Blue Report, which had the unanimous approval of the Advisory Committee with the exception of the representatives of a small group of independent buses.
Hurry Deprecated.
SIR W. RAY regarded the request that the Bill go back to a Select Committee as quite fair. It should have greater consideration than was possible in a committee of the whole House during a couple of days or so. He did not see why five State officials, whoever selected them, should control the policy of this great London area. Sir P. Cunliffe-Lister gave an assurance, on behalf of the Government, that full opportunity for discussion would be given when the Bill came next session before a committee of the whole House. Sit K. Vaughan-Morgan then asked to withdraw his amendment, in view of the assurance just given, but there was objection and the amendment was negatived without a division. The motion to carry over the Bill was agreed to without a division.
Taxicab Loitering.
MR. PYBUS states that he hopes to receive in the near future a further report from the London Traffic Advisory Committee regarding loitering of taxicabs. Regulations prohibiting loitering are already in force in certain congested London streets. Signals on Tramcars.
LORD APSLEY having called attention to the danger due to the absence of signals indicating that tramcars were stopping to pick up or put down passengers, Mr. Pybus said that illuminated Warning signals were already in use on certain tramcars in London and elsewhere. He did not consider that the use of such signals should at present be made compulsory, and he would not favour the use of a green light when a tram was about to start.
Speedometers on Coaches.
MR. GROVES asked the Minister, of Transport whether his attention had been called to the fact that when a Green Line coach driver was fined by the Hendon Court on August 22 for exceeding the 30 m.p.h. speed limit, it -was stated that drivers of Green Line coaches were under a disability through not having speedometers.
Mr. Pybus stated that the vehicles referred to fell, for purposes of licensing, in the .same category as the London short-stage bus. He had not, up to the present, thought it necessary to require vehicles of this general class to carry speedometers. As a first step, however, he had made a regulation which required that as from January 1 every vehicle, when used as an express carriage, should have a speedometer.
Reduction of Bus Services.
UPON a suggestion by Col. Ropner that compensation should be given to persons who had conducted an efficient and profitable bus service, but who were now being deprived of their livelihood and financially ruined through the refusal of licences or curtailment of their bus services, Mr. Pybus said he did not consider that such provisions would be in the public interest.
The Salter Report.
ANUMBER of members requested the Minister of Transport to come to a decision so soon as possible regarding action an the Salter Report. Mr. Pybus said no time would be lost.
Mr. Hutchison asked what steps were taken to ensure that, in the appointment of the Salter Committee, the representatives of the road-transport industry were satisfactory to the various organizations representing road transport interests. Mr. Pybus said that the representatives of the roadtransport industry were nominated by the Standing Joint Committee of Mechanical Road Trinsport Associations, a body whose representative character could not seriously be challenged.
Sir J. Sandeman Allen asked whether the heavy-transport hauliers were properly represented, and Mr. Pybus replied, "Oh, yes; there were two or three representatives of heavy road haulage."