Little enthusiasm for Glasgow leasing details
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PTA defiance
• The draft agreement prepared by the Scottish Bus Group for leasing Glasgow's municipal transport was not received favourably by a special transport committee of the Corporation which considered it on February 27 (CM last week). The committee is meeting representatives of the bus group this week to discuss possible amendments and alterations.
Cllr. William Lee, convener of the committee, said: "The difficulties are not insurmountable. One of the major differences is over the £14m assets of the undertaking The draft lease proposes that the group should take over the assets, and if they want to dispose of them, the first offer would be given to the Corporation but with only 14 days to consider it."
According to another member of the committee, this could amount to a takeover of the transport undertaking by the bus group, whereas the Corporation was thinking of a 30-year lease at the end of which the assets would still belong to the Corporation. O Salford City Council on Wednesday passed a resolution objecting "in the strongest possible terms" to proposed legislation setting up Public Transport Authorities on the grounds that it would be detrimental to the interests of the city's transport undertaking and ratepayers. A similar resolution was defeated last month by the chairman's casting vote (CM Feb. 16).
A further resolution, moved by the transport committee chairman, Aid. R. Evans, and seconded by IoTA ex-national chairman, Cllr. J. B roster, further directed that Salford's MPs and the Municipal Passenger Transport Association be requested to oppose all clauses in the new Bill relating to PTAs so as to allow the control and operation of municipal transport undertakings to be left in the hands of local authorities.