CORPORATION AND COMPANY VIE FOR POOLE TRANSPORT RIGHTS
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Details of Proposed Financial Agreements Revealed IMPORTANT new developments have !taken place in the transport situation at Poole and Bournemouth. At a meeting of Bournemouth Town Council, last week, it was stated that the agreement between Poole Corporation and Hants and Dorset Motor Services, Ltd., which the Ministry of Transport refused to approve, would have prevented Bournemouth Corporation from running any form of transport into Poole. At a meeting of the last-named authority,
c46 it was disclosed that, in the early stages of negotiations, the question of a threeparty agreement was considered, but was not practicable.
The terms of the agreement with the Hants and Dorset concern were also revealed. They provided for the sale of the light-railway undertaking to the company at £75,000, and the operation of buses on five specified routes, in re
spect of which the company would pay the corporation 10 per cent, of the net profits per annum.
The company would also make a contribution to the corporation in connection with fares taken on another route. The agreement was for a minimum period of 22 years and a maximum of 40 years.
Under a 21-year agreement, Bournemouth Corporation offered to pay id. per passenger travelling on the pro. posed trolleybus services into Poole and to run feeder services.
Bournemouth Corporation has now decided to apply for powers to run trolleybuses into Poole, and has reiterated its previous offer to the latter authority, but with an omission. The feeder services would, if required, be operated by motorbuses, and Poole would receive half theprofits, or pay 50 per cent. of the losses upon them. The capitation fee of id per trolleybus passenger was estimated to amount
to a sum approaching £4,000 a year.
On the other hand, Hants and Dorset Motor Services, Ltd., now wishes to submit fresh proposals, and intends to seek licences to run motorbuses on certain routes when Bournemouth Corporation's lease of the tramways expires next June. The company will also oppose Bournemouth Corporation's application for trolleybus powers.
The company, it was stated at Poole Borough Council's meeting, suggested that the local authority should support the application to the Commissioners. The -agreement would be for 40 years, with an option to terminate it at 21 years or any period thereafter, and the company would pay the corporation £75,000 in equal annual instalments, with interest at 3i per cent, per annum. In addition to this contribution, the concern would pay annually 10 per cent. of any profit on the specified services. This arrangement, over a period of 20 years, :s estimated to bring the Poole authority 46,500 a year.