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Although closed to traffic in 1966, with most of its infrastructure swiftly destroyed by British Railways, this unique railway line still lives in the minds of many, some too young to remember it in its heyday. For more then a hundred years it courted disaster and could on a number of occasions have succumbed to overpowering financial pressures, but it survived with the help of partnerships with larger, more secure companies, namely the Midland Railway and the London & South Western Railway. Later on, after the grouping in 1923, the line came under the control of the L M S and the Southern Railway. It was unfortunate that the line suffered in later years, from inter regional rivalry between ...
Buses are a key local service, but usage has been in decline since the 1950s. The Transport Act 1985 introduced deregulation, but that has failed to reverse that decline. The report examines the particular problems local authorities face in developing and implementing effective bus strategies. It is clear to the Committee that, for many areas, including all major metropolitan areas outside London, the current regime is not working. The Committee recommends more flexibility, and is particularly attracted by Quality Contracts. These would replace open competition with a licensed regime. Operators bid for exclusive rights to run bus services on a route or group of routes, on the basis of a local authority service specification. Independent Traffic Commissioners are another development that the Committee welcomes, and would like to see them have a higher profile and more resources and powers, especially to enforce Quality Contracts and penalise operators who do not meet their obligations. Others areas covered in the report are: securing socially necessary services outside the PTAs; congestion and bus priority; concessionary fares; and the image of the bus.
Incorporating HCP 564-i, session 2006-07
Transport in the South West : First report of session 2009-10, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence