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I'll axe services if councils control buses, says Souter

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Published Date: 28 September 2006
THE owner of Scottish bus company Stagecoach has said he would axe his services in British cities if control of public transport is handed over to local councils.
Brian Souter reportedly warned colleagues and politicians that he would rather sell off his bus depots to housing developers or supermarkets than be dictated to by local authorities.

The transport tycoon's comments came after Transport Secretary
Douglas Alexander yesterday said he would give councils power to control aspects of public travel such as bus fares, routes and timetables in a bid to improve passenger numbers and services.

He said he wanted to end the "free for all" that currently exists among private bus operators.

Speaking at Labour's Manchester conference, Mr Alexander said councils and bus operators worked well together in some instances but too many communities suffered from failing bus services.

He said: "In the weeks ahead I will bring forward proposals to change the way buses are run in this country. You know and I know that in too many of our communities we have seen a free for all that has left the needs of the public behind.

"So to ensure the private sector delivers the bus services our communities demand I will act to empower local communities."

In London - the only place in the UK where buses are under public control - passenger numbers are performing well, while elsewhere in the UK they are dropping. But Stagecoach has sold its London bus franchises.



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  • Last Updated: 28 September 2006 8:10 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Stagecoach
 
1

MacCoinnich,

28/09/2006 11:12:07

Empty threat. What are they going to do - exit the bus the market if the structure of it is different?

2

phemie,

28/09/2006 11:31:58

Quite right Brian, these labour politicians are control freaks, they cannot run their own councils efficiently so why should expect to run buses any better, what do they know about transport. Stuff them

3

Miss H,

28/09/2006 11:46:48

If transport operators get a public subsidy the services they provide should be under democratic control. If Stagecoach wants to operate a totally subsusy free operation then fair enough, let them do that, and subsidies will be directed to other operators.

Seems fair enough to me.

4

Green man,

28/09/2006 11:53:42

Quite right Iain.. They will exit the bus market if the structure changes to an extent that other options are more attractive. Stagecoach is a business not a charity

5

Irn-Bruce,

28/09/2006 12:01:34

What's wrong with council control?

Other countries manage to privatise their local transport, without resorting to the "free for all" that we have here.

The councils stipulate the terms of any franchise:

- The routes that must be run (as a bundle)
- The minumum frequency of each route
- The times of day the routes should operate
- The fare structure
- ... etc.

This is then put up to tender, for private operators to bid for.

Which ever wins, if they fail to meet their SLA, get the boot and other operators are invited in instead.

Seems simple enough to me.

6

Ronjock,

Edinburgh 28/09/2006 12:14:43

Let Brian Souter do it, he hasn't done such a good job for the traveller.
Mind you other companies haven't given much thought for thier customers,an example being Lothian Buses.which about every 2 months, change the routes,timetables and fares structure changed ,they say, to make fares simpler, but in fact just a ploy to increase fares ,without calling them increases & hoping people don't notice!
Mr Alexander should make it compulsory for all bus companies to keep the routes,timetables etc for a minimum of 1 year, allowing for seasonal routes to be cancelled or amended ,due lack of demand because of colder/wetter weather.
The continual changes made , get travellers confused and often frustated with the changes .
Lothian Buses, take little or no consideration of travellers , they just go ahead make the changes including aggreeing to moving bus stops, and it seems other companies are just as bad.
When it was a council run bus service, Edinburgh had probably the best bus service in the UK. now it is poor, thanks to the people who run it.

7

neil f,

28/09/2006 12:39:07

Edinburgh's problem is that there are too many buses. Remember following the end of the bus strike? Lothian Buses operated a Saturday service during the the rush hour and things flowed far more smoothly. The main hold ups on a bus journey are caused by other buses. If there was better regulation, costs could be cut as fewer buses and fewer drivers would be required. And we'd get a better service. This could be done by tendering as with railways.

8

MadScot,

28/09/2006 12:39:57

Why do the council think that they have the professional expertise to run everything? Running buses is what Stagecoach do - let's let them get on with it. If they fail - they go bust. If they do a good job, brilliant.

There's a bigger issue here too. Micro-management of an economy by the state is a disaster that it ultimately paid for by the taxpayer. Instead, lets encourage innovation. This results in true sustainable job and wealth creation, not job creation paid for by an increased (anti-business) tax burden.

Self-promotion by politicians is a real problem. Edinburgh is doing well - despite the "work" being done by the politicians.

9

lac,

rural 28/09/2006 12:52:24

This is a typical bit of political posturing by Douglas Alexander. To equate local authority control of buses to improvement is risible. As a frequent visitor to Edinburgh it is evident that service improvement has greatly improved over the years as a result of 'privatisation'. What would be much more interesting would be a politician who had half a clue about good quality provision of integrated public transport systems . . . . but that would be too hard.

10

Alexander,

Edinburgh 28/09/2006 16:50:08

Now that the government has destroyed private pensions and the dental service they need to find something else to interfere with, bus services will do just fine!

11

shona,

Tranent 28/09/2006 18:07:19

I'm not sure that handing over the running of public transport to the councils is the right idea but definitely routes/frequency/fares should go out to tender and be held without change for a set period. I have no quibble with Lothian Buses but they stop at Tranent and we're left with First Bus to go beyond there. Haddington, the main town in East Lothian, has a ridiculous service - during the rush hour period there's a 50 minute gap and that's if the bus turns up on time or at all. They run buses directly to Dunbar down the A1 missing out the villages that need served. Weekend buses beyond Tranent are a joke but I've always found Lothian Buses to be regular when I need to travel towards Edinburgh. For a trial period a couple of years ago Lothian Buses ran to Haddington and charged their normal fare of £1 when First Bus was nearly £1.70 for the same journey. First Bus brought their fares down to £1 and Lothian Buses gave up. Then First Bus raised their fares back to £1.70 single to Haddington from Tranent. I'm sure tendering would sort out this mess and encourage people to leave their cars at home for the shorter journeys but we need a reliable and regular bus service first of all. I know Stagecoach act in a very similar manner, as my parents who live in Dunfermline, are always complaining about late buses or no buses at all and they used to have an excellent bus service before Stagecoach took it over.

12

JHC,

29/09/2006 09:19:54

#Shona

I live in Dunfermline and have nothing but disgust for Stagecoach. I have made complaints and been promised action - nothing is done! The buses are
filthy, litter strewn all day every day and the worst thing is that the heating is never switched off, even during the hottest day of summer.
Stagecoach reply to the heating problem was that only qualified staff are allowed to turn off the heating.
I have lived many years in other countries where the buses are clean, and surprisingly the temperatures can be adjusted by the drivers.

13

DAVID,

Edinburgh 29/09/2006 10:54:57

My main issue with buses is the filthy fumes that they all churn out. Why can't we be tougher with the operators and force them to upgrade their fleets to be clean running so our towns and cities don't stink as much as they do currently.

Air pollution is not all down to cars. I wish that local and central government would realise that just because buses are quasi-public sector services, that does not mean they can pollute at will and disregard the impact on people's health and on the environment.


 

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