ASSISTANCE FOR THE RURAL BUS /
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How will Mrs. Castle's proposals apply to a North Devon independent?
ONE of the more constructive parts of the Government's controversial Transport Bill is that relating to rural transport. At long last some positive steps are planned to assist operators in the deep rural areas, whether they be member companies of the proposed National Bus Company or are independent operators.
The problem of rural transport is increasingly difficult, and deserves urgent attention. If positive action is not taken shortly, many more of the remote villages will be without any form of public transport.
Clause 34 of the Transport Bill relates to rural transport, and reads as follows:
Assistance for rural bus or ferry services.
(1) Any of the following councils, namely the council of any county, county borough or county district in England or Wales, any county council or town council in Scotland, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly, or any two or more of those councils acting jointly, may, on such conditions, if any, as they think fit, afford assistance to any other person, by way of grant, loan or both, for the purpose of securing the provision, improvement or continuance of any bus service or ferry service if in the opinion of the council or councils in question that service is or will be for the benefit of persons residing in rural areas.
(2) The Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, make grants in such cases and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, to any of the councils aforesaid in respect of expenditure incurred by that council—
in making grants under subsection (1) of this section; and any grant under this subsection in respect of expenditure in connection with a bus service shall be of an amount equal to half the expenditure in respect of which the grant is made.
(3) In the application of this section to Scotland or Wales, references therein to the Minister shall be construed as references to the Secretary of State.
The aims of clause 34 are more clearly described in paragraphs 96 to 99 of Mrs. Castle's White Paper "Public Transport and Traffic". Here are some extracts:
"The Government proposes to give powers to local authorities to make grants to operators of bus services in rural areas where the essential services could not be provided on a commercial basis. Provided that the terms laid down by the Minister or the Secretary of State concerned are complied with, they will pay the local authorities 50 per cent of the grant paid to the bus operator.
"The National Bus Company and the Scottish Transport Group will continue to maintain many services in country areas which do not cover their full cost of operation. But there are others where the receipts may be so low that neither the NBC, the STG nor private operators can be expected to maintain them without some form of grant or subsidy. In these cases the local community must decide whether the service is so important that it is worth providing a continuing subsidy to keep it going.
"Applications from operators will therefore have to be made to the local authorities concerned, who will have to reach a decision. If the cost of subsidizing the service is small (less than £500 a year) the Minister concerned will give the local authority 50 per cent of the cost of the subsidy without prior approval. In other cases a specific application by the local authority for grant will be considered on its merits. The general criteria to be followed will be worked out in consultation with the local authorities.
"Local authorities will be given powers to make grants not only towards operating costs but also for other suitable purposes, such as buying vehicles. The procedure for applying for grants will be simple and the powers flexible. Grants will not be given for services for which the demand is so limited that the benefits derived from the expenditure are too small; and so it will be necessary to review services after a period to see whether they are worthwhile, "In many cases services to outlying villages can best be provided by private operators, who may well run a bus service in conjunction with other activities; and the service may best be provided with a relatively small vehicle . . . The procedure for obtaining a licence to run bus services with small vehicles will be simplified so that such operators will find it easier to undertake the job."
Encouragement for independents It would appear from the above that, at last, there is to be some incentive for the independent struggling on in the deep rural areas. The depth of the problem should not be underestimated, however. For example, by what criteria will it be decided that the demand for a service is so limited that it will not qualify for a grant? Many rural services operate only one day a week, or even, in some cases, once a fortnight. They do meet a public need, but would they be considered worthwhile in the terms of the Transport Bill?
The problem is particularly acute in North Devon, inside the triangle formed by linking Okehampton, on the northern edge of Dartmoor, with Holsworthy to the north west and Launceston to the south west. There are many small villages within this area, but none with a substantial population. The area is devoted to farming and there is an almost total absence of industry. Although the area was once served by rail, the railways have now been closed; trains terminate at Okehampton, and the 19-mile journey to Launceston has to be completed by bus.
The main towns themselves are comparatively small—Okehamp ton has a population of about 3,500, Holsworthy 1,500 and Launceston about 4,000. All are market towns and Okehampton and Launceston are muncipal boroughs. Of these towns, Launceston is probably the biggest draw, with quite a good shopping centre.
In the heart of this rural area, at Halwill (population less than 300) is an independent bus business which was established nearly 40 years ago. Formerly run by a Mr. N. H. Ashton, it was acquired in 1962 by Mr. Daniel Perrie and his wife Margaret who moved down from Cambuslang, in Scotland, to set up their own business. Mr. Ferric was formerly a driver with the Scottish Bus Group.
The services operated by D. and M. Perrie (trading as Perries Coaches) make interesting study. One runs from Ha!will to HoIsworthy on the first and third Wednesday of the month and a second from Halwill to Okehampton every second Saturday. The former service used to operate three times each Wednesday and was the first to be cut as demand fell (before Perries took over the business) and the latter service was cut in June 1966.
At the same time Perries cut a once weekly service to Plymouth to operate on the second Friday of each month only. A typical passenger loading on this service on a bad winter Friday is four passengers. As Mr. Perrie told me, in bad weather in winter people are naturally reluctant to travel into town.
The remaining long-standing service operated by Perries is one to Launceston, which operates via a roundabout route to take in a number of villages on the way. This service operates on the first and third Saturday and the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Saturday loadings on this service have now deteriorated despite the attraction of Launceston as a good shopping centre.
In rural bus parlance, these irregular services make Ferries the "established operator" in the area, a fact confirmed by the Traffic Commissioner for the Western Traffic area, Mr. J. R. C. SamuelGibbon, at a Traffic Court hearing in Exeter last year, (COM MERCIAL MOTOR, July 21, 1967). '
Obviously, however, the above services are unremunerative, and when it became known that British Railways intended to close the Okehampton-Bude and Okehampton-Launceston passenger services, Perries applied to run the replacement bus services. Although operating from a point along the Bude railway line, Perries' application for the Okehampton-Bude subventive service was refused.
Perries' application for the Halwill to Launceston subventive service was granted, however. This service runs via Ashwater and Tower Hill, Mondays to Saturdays, with two journeys daily, the outward journeys leaving Halwill at 7.50 a.m. and 5.20 p.m. Journey time is 50 minutes and passenger loadings are very poor. A through load of nine passengers is considered exceptionally good, and there are often as few as four passengers. The service operates as a stage service, and there is some local traffic, mainly farm workers.
Average receipts from the stage services are ls Od per mile, and running costs 2s 6d per mile. Like so many rural operators. Perries have to balance their accounts with private hire work, excursions and tours. The company have 48 licensed tours, with plenty of variety, and have applied to add Launceston to their list of authorized picking-up points. But the public is no longer interested in short trips down to the nearest seaside resorts. Longer tours to places such as Longleat, Bristol Zoo, Barry Island via the Severn Bridge (a trip new to the West Country) and Beaulieu are sought after. Last September Perries ran a successful seven-day trip to Great Yarmouth.
The problems This is where the idea of operating mini-buses on rural bus services, which might look all right on paper, falls down. The same vehicles which run the stage services are required for the summer excursions. Perries have a fleet of four coaches, one a 3 7-seater and the others all 4I-seaters. These seating capacities are needed for the summer excursions, particularly on Bank Holidays, even if the vehicles are half-empty when on stage services.
Mr. Perrie tells me that he is operating in a locality made up largely of retired people and farmers, the latter with their own transport. "Young people are leaving the area all the time", he says. Meanwhile the older people are dying off. Such is the measure of the problems in a typical "deep rural area".
What action can operators such as Perries take in the meantime, while the Transport Bill is going through? And will the local councils be interested in subsidizing bus services of this sought? Mr. Peale claims that the local council and the Devon County Council showed no interest when he appealed for support in connection with his application for the Okehampton-Bude rail replacement service. "Services are being withdrawn all the time, and noone seems to worry", Mr. Petrie says. gowever, this might not be entirely true. Perries allowed the licences for their stage services to lapse towards the end of last year. They were soon approached in person by an official from the Traffic Commissioners. As a result they asked the Traffic Commissioners to give them some assistance with their stage services and applied for a short-term extension for their licences. Thii expires at the end of this month, and at the time of writing Perries are still waiting for advice.
Mr. Perrie claims to be a stage operator with the "public at heart". It will be interesting to see what transpires at the end of this month and to conjecture on what lessons can be learned from this particular example of rural bus operation.