Goodish news for Bennett
Page 16
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BENNETTS of Kilwinning has been granted authority to operate a new service between Largs and Glasgow, but the Scottish Traffic Commissioners have turned down its plans for a Kilwinning to Dairy service (CM January 22).
Refusing the Kilwinning to Dairy service, the Commissioners said the existing Western SMT service clearly fulfilled a need and required financial support, and runs one minute ahead of the proposed Bennett service. There was a price advantage in favour of Bennetts and it was clearly competition which should not be encouraged.
Granting the Largs to Glasgow service, the Commissioners said that prospective passengers on the new service would benefit while others might lose because of financial damage to existing services.
However, there was no positive indication that the proposed service would put the Largs rail spur at any greater risk than it was at present, and the Commissioners concluded that they should not stand in the way of improvements to bus services until decisions on the future of the rail services had been made and implemented. They could not accept as a general rule that limited-stop bus services competing with subsidised rail services should not be allowed.