FARE GRANTS FOR MIDLANDS WORKS SERVICES
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I N a written decision the West Midland
Traffic Commissioners have granted in part applications by 19 p.s.v.. operators to increase return fares on 26 express carriage services taking employees to the Austin Motor Company works. The Commissioners also gave permission to three operators, including Coaches (Bromsgrove) Ltd. to vary the return fares on three services to the Austin works. An application by Coaches (Brorrisgrove) Ltd., to increase return fares on their services to the Austin works above the level proposed in the application by above-mentioned 19 operators was refused, but higher single fares were
granted.
The applications were considered on April 29 and 30, and June 23 and 24.
Referring to the applications by the 19 operators, the Commissioners stressed the anomalies and evert absurdities that existed with regard to the fares as between the applicants -themselves and between
them and other licensed operators. The responsibility for this regrettable state of affairs, said the Commissioners, rested with the operators, who until now had never made any concerted effort to achieve a common fare structure but had sought varying and unequal increases in fares at irregular intervals over the years either individually or in small groups.
.Whilst the Commissioners did not believe that the fare structure proposed would produce fares or revenue which would be unreasonable for the applicants, they did not feel justified in accepting it for two reasons: first, the increased cost to some of the passengers would be noteworthy, whatever their ability to pay, and accordingly it could be said that some fares were unreasonable to the passengers; and, second, the Commissioners would like the opportunity of seeing the practical effect of a common fare structure on the traffic and revenue of the operators.
Accordingly, the Commissioners granted the applicants a lower fare scale than that applied for, providing that none of the existing fares would be increased by more than 50 per cent and that no existing fare would be lowered.