HIGHER FARES FOB
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U.A.S., Northern General, Salford, Eastbourne Wigan, South Wales Transport, J. James— I N the face of opposition by some 30 local authorities, United Automobile Services. Ltd.. were last week granted permission to increase their fares. A similar application by the. Northern General Transport Co., Ltd., and their associated companies, to which 22 councils objected, was also granted. The hearings were reported in' The Commercial Motor last week.
The municipal undertakings of Salford, Eastbourne and Wigan, as well as three Welsh bus companies, Maidstone and District Motor Services, Ltd., Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., and the Hastings Tramways Co., were also given permission to revise their rates.
Granting permission last week to three South Wales bus companies to raise fares. the South Wales Licensing Authority, Mr. C. R. Hodges, commented that if the fuel tax were substantially lowered in the Budget he would expect applications for reductions.
The companies were the South Wales Transport Co., Ltd., J. James and Sons, Ltd.. and United Welsh Services, Ltd. Nine local authorities opposed the applications.
In the case of J. James and Sons. Mr. Hodges 'said they had a number of closely interwoven and co-ordinated services with other companies. They did not ask for outrageous returns. It was impossible to run a co-ordinated bus service by several companies, one of which had an entirely different set of fares from the others, Mr. Maurice Holmes, for United Welsh Services, said that increased costs would rise in a full year to about £714,000.
Mr. F. A. Stockdale, for South Wales Transport, said his clients estimated extra costs of £65,000 during the year.
"Keeping Up With S.W.T."
An allegation that J. James and Sons had come before the Authority" merely to keep up with the South Wales Transport Company," was made by Mr, B. Rees, for the objecting local authorities. "Their financial affairs are exceedingly healthy, and there is no doubt the company could well do without these increases," he said.
" It is unfair, unjust and unreasonable that the company, who can operate their services without an increase, should get increases in fares for the very reason that their competitors cannot provide fares as cheaply as theirs. ki the public interest, this sort of thing should not be allowed to happen."
Salford Transport Department was last week granted permission to add to the majority of ordinary fares over 21d. It was stated that the undertaking was losing £1,000 a week.
When a letter criticizing -the council for turning aside revenue of between £10,000 and £20,000 a year from advertisements on the corporation buses was read, the North-Western
Licensing Authority, Mr. F. Williamson, said that was a matter for internal policy of the undertaking.
"I certainly would not be prepared to insist on advertisements on buses if you have good reason for not doing so." he said.
The North-Western Authority also granted Wigan Transport Department's application for fare increases designed to bring in another £56,338 a year.
Big Step Forward The proposed mileage basis for single fares was described as "an important step forward and in the public interest," by the South-Eastern Licensing Authority, Mr. H. J. Thom, when he granted permission, last week, to Maidstone and District Motor Services, Ltd.. to revise their fares.
Every increase in fares meant a loss of traffic for bus companies, he said. The Government were faced with a major problem of preserving bus services in the face of rising costs and fares.
During the hearing, the earlier part of which was reported in The Commercial Motor last week, Mr. S. W. Hill, a financial adviser to local authorities, said, on behalf of local authorities who objected to the proposals, that fractions under id. should be disregarded by a bus company and the benefit given to passengers. The. fractions rule was unreasonable. he submitted, It would distort the mileage scale.
Mr. Hill estimated that since last July. chiefly because of higher wages. the company's position had deteriorated by about £80,000 net. The revised fares would not only cover that loss. but would increase the company's profits by between -E50,000 and £54,000.
Permission was also given to the Maidstone concern's trolleybus subsidiary, Hastings Tramways Co.. to introduce revised fares on their services.
When the South-Eastern Licensing Authority last week granted permission to Eastbourne Corporatitin to increase ordinary single fares by Id., and ordinary and workers' returns by Id., he said he would grant no more increases unless they changed from cheap early-morning tickets to season tickets.