LAST WEEK I wrote about the inconvenience caused to people
in some parts of wildest Surrey by the cuts London Transport has been making in the country bus services. Something of course had to be done about the most unprofitable services, but I fail to understand why the policy should be one of such rigid standardisation as to rule out putting small twelve-seaters, with a driver-conductor, on roads such as the one I mentioned, nor can I see why, together with this, they shouldn't increase the fares slightly on the most unprofitable services—there would always be a few to object loudly, I suppose, but the majority would be only too glad to have the transport. No doubt it is the existence of the independent Transport Tribunal, before which anyone affected can make representation, which makes the common-sense solution impossible. But it strikes me as a very odd thing that while London Transport cannot increase its fares by so much as a farthing, without the approval of the Tribunal, it can withdraw facilities without any prior notice or possibility of appeal against the decision.
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