US PTA expert challenges Mr. Swingler
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• Views expressed by Mr. Stephen Swingler, Minister of State for Transport, were challenged at the weekend by Mr. Thomas Lenthall, the American transport expert who is touring this country to warn of the dangers of setting-up PTAs (CM last week).
At a meeting of North Staffordshire coach operators, Mr. Swingler was asked if Britain's proposed Passenger Transport Authorities were based on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (centred on Boston, USA). He agreed that they were "generally along those lines". Mr. Swingler did not, however, accept that the powers of the policy boards were the same.
Told of Mr. Swingler's statement, Mr. Lenthall insisted that "any differences are in fact minimal—variations in detail which do not affect the overall picture. For example, while in Britain the Authority would appoint the operating Executive, in Boston its equivalent, the Advisory Board, approves the Majority of the Board of Directors, who are nominated by other interested parties."
At a Liverpool meeting on Monday, Mr. Lenthall warned that under a PTA the strike now gripping the city would also paralyse services over the whole area from Southport to the Wirral.
In Manchester on Tuesday, he was questioned by Mr. T. Young, Salford University transport researcher, who felt that PTAs would help to co-ordinate transportation in the greater Manchester area. Mr. Lenthall replied that although a regional planning commission was required, a transport agency was not the body for overall manned use control.
Mr. H. B. Hallsworth, Manchester Consumer Group, said that before the meeting he had felt any change would be an improvement—now he was having second thoughts.