BATTLE IS JOINED
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• in the North
The Scheme Proposed for Co-ordinating Passenger Transport in the North has Produced Violent Reaction : for Municipal and Independent Operators the Fight is on !
NORTH and south, the reactions to the initial scheme for co-ordinating motor passenger services in Northumberland and Durham, and most of the North Riding of Yorkshire, are definitely hostile. The plan has caused no surprise, partly because the consultations which took place in December, last year, gave an indication of the direction in which the British Transport Commission would move.
The resident coriespondent of "The Commercial Motor" reports the opinion of Mr. R. Erskine-Hill, organizing secretary of the Omnibus Passengers' Protection Association, who said that the plan was seen to be exactly as "The Commercial Motor" had described it on December 10, 1948—unwanted, unnecessary and undesirable. Both the public and the private 'operators were opposed to the schen*, he said, which, if it came into being, would introduce only more expensive officials and an inevitable increase in fares.
Fight to the Last Ditch
Aid. James Blumer, of Darlington, said people have had only unpleasant experiences with nationalization so far, and road travel is also likely to be uneconomic should it be nationalized. Personally, he intended to resist the proposals to the utmost. The whole thing was entirely political; he felt that many Socialists who did not want to lose their municipal transport systems were in many cases afraid to come out with their objections.
The northern area secretary of the Passenger Vehicle Operators' Association, Mr. Frank Milton, was even more outspoken, and said that his organization would oppose the proposals at a public inquiry. Every means for resisting the scheme would be tried. In the interests of road transport operators generally, The Association would fight to the last ditch, because the plan for the North-East, if it came into being, would establish a precedent for the rest of the country.
A prominent member of one of the operating companies said that the terms relating to the setting up of Area Boards suggested marvellous opportunities of "jobs for the boys," and other operators' representatives strongly criticized the scheme, saying that no justification could be found for it. .
South Shields' Mild Approval
The other point of view was .expressed by the town clerk of South Shields; who said, in a letter to the Omnibus Passengers' Protection Association, that the corporation did not oppose the principle that its transport undertaking, with its assets, should be taken over. However, the corporation . insists that all liabilities, including any outstanding capital debt, must also be passed to any new body. Capt. T. B. Storey, chairman of the local branch of 0.P.P.A., made a cogent point in urging the council to reconsider its policy, when he said that road passengers would have limited safeguards regarding fares and services as the question was a national and not a local. one. .
The most searching criticism came from Mr. Peter Yorke, director of the B.O.C. Public Relations Committee. Viewing the scheme in its entirety, he said that the pr6cis is an apparently complex document, using many words to express a simple proposition, that is, to acquire the buses. Behind the verbiage are to be found contradictions, which negative the value of the whole scheme.
Decentralize—But Retain Control In the first place, much is made of the decentralization proposals. On examination, however, it becomes clear from the provisions that in fact the Area Board will have no powers; it will be unable to control such matters as finance, policy or even the purchasing of new vehicles. All executive functions, in other words, are to be performed by the Area Board under the direction of the Commission.
The question of compensation, too, came in for criticism from Mr. Yorke. Each of the municipalities will receive a share of the total of £2,500,000 which the
Minister may eventually divide among them. It is -obvious that the total figure will barely cover Newcastle's
capital loss. It can, • therefore, be understood why Newcastle would be reluctant to hand over its undertakings, for its assets are valued at £3,000,000.
About 880 -municipally owned vehicles are implicated in this scheme; together with the vehicles of 130 independent operators and a joint board.
Will It Come to Nought ?
It has also been pointed out, that after the public inquiries have been held, objections heard, the draft Order drawn up and Parliamentary procedure contended with, 1950 will be Well advanced before the transfer date can be reached. By that time the whole picture of transport organization as it is being painted to-day may be altered.
There will undoubtedly be a large and growing volume of criticism, apart from that we hate given. The points made are merely initial reactions, anrd the scheme requires analytical study. There are, for instance, important interests which have not been consulted. One of them is the Municipal Passenger Transport Association, to which the form of the plan was not unexpected although the Association had not been asked to assist with it. This body will be holding a council meeting on September 16, and, in view of suggestions which have been put forward by some of its members in the past, the opinions that are expressed there may be of considerable interest.
We shall continue to deal with views on this matter that are publicly expressed and will consider any others that we receive. It should be remembered that objections to the scheme must be entered by October 31.