Green rewards re uired
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• Bus and coach operators should be given incentives to encourage them to buy cleaner-running vehicles, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Unless operators are rewarded for running Green fleets they will continue to use environmentally unfriendly vehicles up to 40 years old, warns the SMMT.
Last week the society published a report. Public Service Vehicles — Buses and Coaches on the Move in Britain, in which it outlined the action plan which has three major points and will be submitted to the Government.
It says that operators of vehicles meeting stricter emission standards should receive higher fuel tax rebate, and it suggests offering operators a fiscal incentive for investment in new vehicles — such investment declined by 45% between 1979 and 1989.
"We have a new generation of buses being made now that would attract travellers to use them instead of crowded tubes and railways," says SMMT director Simon Foster.
The report says local authorities should be encouraged to recognise vehicle replacement costs in contract prices for tendered services. The SMMT would like local authorities to insist contractors use modem vehicles built to DiPTAC (the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee) speci fication and with low exhaust and emission levels.
"The problem we face is that market forces alone won't lead to the introduction of modern bus systems," says Neil Beresford, chairman of the SMMTs public service vehicle section and the Plaxton Group's managing director of manufacturing companies. For this reason he says, the
SMMT is backing the Bus and Coach Council's call for a £17.5m investment programme including road improvement schemes that was detailed in its Buses Mean Business; report. (CM 8-14 November).
The BCC plan includes the introduction of "green route" busways in congested areas to ensure the free flow of buses. Beresford says that if buses are seen moving through traffic quicker than cars they will attract more passengers.
"Only with the help of the Government and local authorities can we provide the dedicated road transport systems we need to combat urban con
gestion," he says. The SMMT would like the Government to introduce more noise and exhaust emission legislation, backed by stricter checks in the annual test. Veronica Palmer, the BCC's director general, says the Government has replied positively to the BCC's campaign. She believes the BCC "is now pushing against an open door", but adds that the public has to be persuaded that "it is socially responsible to travel by bus, and not just a statement about failure in life". LI Copies of Public Service Vehicles — Buses and Coaches on the Move in Britain are available free from Michael Stedman at the SMMT, phone 071-235 7000.