• Higher Farea for Bristol: Partial for Midland "Red"
Page 51
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
DRISTOL city bus fares and country I-3 bus fares which were increased on Monday will bring in an extra £66,000 a year. Granting the application, Mr, S. W. Nelson, chairman of the Western Traffic. Commissioners, stressed. the need for staggered working hours in industry to help the company. This would mean reduced operation costs, and more comfortable travelling for the public. "The public must pay ..for their transport,' he said, "as ,the return On the company's buses is almost ridiculously low." The company's application was extremely =iciest in 'view; of the deficiencies which had to be made .up. .
Mr. T: D. Corpe, presenting the application for the Bristol Omnibus Co., Ltd., said that in respect of city services two.; major factors had caused the increase in working costs. First, wages -and National Insurance had gone up £78,300 since the last fare rise in 1957. The ChanCellor's concessions had reduced fuel and tyres • by £48,500 leaving a deficiency of £29,800, Mileage Increased Secondly, services had undergone a major reorganization -which meant an _ increased mileage of 1,176,000 miles, a figure which' economies had reduced to 458,000. Reorganization had resulted in a lowering of fares for 2,567 stages. Traffic had been affected by a 'flu epidemic and • a general tendency for people to use buses less. • The company hoped to recover £36,700 per year from the revised city fares.
Fare revisions on country services would recover £29,900 a year, to offset a net increase in operating costs of • £34,320. Increased costs of operating country services had totalled £100,070 a year, offset by £65,750 representing reductions in the cost of fuel, tyres and • added revenue.
Some fares over 4d. will go up Id. on Bristol city services. On the rural services the increase will be ld. on single fares of Is. Id. and more. Certain'return fares up to 2s. 10d. go up by 2d. and over 2s. 10d. by 3d. Urban and interurban fares go up by Id. over 4d.
200 Buses for Peak Loads Mr. Ian Patcy, general manager of the company, said that the resources of the company had been stretched to the limit especially on wet days in winter. He said that 200 buses had to be kept idle for 22 hours a day so that they could be used for a couple of hours during the traffic peak.
The proposal by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., to bring their stage carriage fares into line with a mileage scale schedule did not gain the wholehearted support of the East and West Midland Traffic Commissioners.
The company who sought to offset an estimated increase in costs of £158,000 per year (The Commercial Motor, May 22) were, however, granted certain fare
increases when the Commissioners gave their decision last week. The Commissioners said that the company's financial position did not justify granting the application in full.
Fares to be increased are single and scholars' retnrns between 94d. and is. 114d., by Id.; fares of 2s. and over, by 2d.; workmen's returns of 104d. to ls. 11d., by 2d. and fares of and over by 3d. The cheaper fares in the 4d. to 8+d. range will not be 'affected. .
The new fares are expected, after allowing for 'a certain degree of passenger resistance, to bring the company an increased revenue of £83,340 per year— little more than half the figure it had to offset against increased operating costs.
The Commissioners also excluded from their grant the services operated by the company on behalf of Dudley Borough Council, which were included in the application.
Subject to the consent of the Eastern Traffic Commissioners, the Eastern Counties Omnibus Co., Ltd., have agreed to bring their, fares for adults travelling in Yarmouth and Gorleston into line with those charged on Yarmouth Corporation buses.
• Yarmouth Corporation transport manager, Mr. R. F. Bennett, said last Week that the matter arose because of the recent alterations in the Corporation's fares and adjustments of stages.
The company has agreed to raise adult fares where they were Iesi, and lower them when above corporation fares.
South Shields Corporation propose to increase bus fares in the town. The effect would be to increase the fares on two services by Id.
Bath Tramways Motor Co., Ltd., have applied to the Western Traffic Commissioners to increase bus. fares on all their services in the Devizes district.
Glasgow Increase Increased fares on Glasgow municipal transport came into operation on Sunday. The minimum fare on buses, trolleybuses, and tramcars, is now 3d, for adults and 1-id. for juveniles for two stages, and the maximum scale is 10d.' and 5d. for adults and children respectively for 11 stages and over.
Twenty-four journey, tickets on the motorbus services are discontinued, but 12-journey weekly tickets are available from certain termini to the city centre at 8s.
Newcastle-on-Tyne transport committee are persisting in their efforts to get concessionary fares for old-age pensioners travelling on corporation buses. At present, pensioners are allowed cheap travel on the city's trolleybuses under an Act of Parliament which controlled the city's former tram system, but this concession is not allowed on buses.
The chairman of the transport committee, air. Simm, said it would take another Act of Parliament to bring buses into line with trolley vehicles.