Transport in London The London Passenger Transport Bill, inherited from
the late Labour Government, puts in the hands of a huge monopoly transport undertakings within a 25-mile radius, of Charing Cross, serving some 9,000,000 people and representing capital of £120,000,000. The trams, 'buses and trains in the London area must be co-ordinated unless they are to go on cutting each other's throats indefinitely, but it by no means follows that the detailed arrangements under this Bill are what they should be. The amount to be paid in compen- sation, based as it is on three prosperous years, 1928, 1929, 1930, is distinctly open to challenge. Objection also may very properly be taken to an amendment carried by the Government on Tuesday, laying it down that the Board of the new undertaking, instead of being appointed by a Minister directly responsible to the House of Commons, was to be selected by a body assembled ad hoc for the purpose, representing the London County Council, the London Traffic Advisory Committee, the London Clearing Bankers, the Law Society and the Institute of Chartered Accountants. In only two of those five selectors is there any relevance at all, and this appointment of a Board by a committee definitely diminishes the authority of Parliament over the new body.
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