Call for" Wage "Freeze" in Bus Industry
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A CALL, by-implication, for a " freer ing" of wages in the passengertransport industry was made by Mr. T. Robert Williams, chairman of Aldershot and District Traction Co., Ltd., at the company's annual meeting last week.
He said it was essential in the public interest -that there should be a stabilization of costs, and one of the major factors in the cost of bus operation was labour.
Revenue, in the past year, at £1,223,953, was a record, but because of the railway strike and the exceptionally fine summer a large number of additional passengers were carried. Since the beginning of the current financial year, however, the bad weather had resulted' in receipts being materially lower than last year.
Despite the higher revenue last year, the number of passengers had declined by about 1 per cent. The reasons were partly television, an increase in private transport and passenger resistance to A further increase in fares.
Mr. Williams said that 46 per cent. of their stage services, representing 36 per cent. of mileage, was run below cost. "The financial position of the company would be materially improved if we were to curtail these unremuneraLive services," he said. But the board held that they had a duty to the public. to provide those facilities so long as they could operate overall on a sound economical basis_
The company expected to have in service, probably early in 1958, 34 30-ft.long, 8-ft.-wide Dennis double-deck buses. Orders had also been placed for a further 30 single-deckers, with seats for 41 passengers, and those were due for delivery early next year.