Right of Entry to Buses
It is good to find that, amidst thd press of varied problems com- peting for Parliamentary attention, an M.P. has seen fit to ask for elucidation as to the respective rights of conductor and intending passenger when the latter seeks to board a bus. The position, he was informed by the Minister of Transport, is that the regulation allows carriage of a limited number of standing passengers at certain times ; but it is permissive and it is for the operators to decide how far they will take advantage of it. This is scarcely good enough, since the tendency is obviously for conductors to play for safety, and to insure themselves against infringement of the regulations laying down a maximum of standing passengers by carrying an incomplete load and leaving some unfortunates in the queues at the bus-stops. Jt may be that the remedy is, as suggested by another M.P., to amend the regulations so as to make it clear that members of the public have a right to board a bus until the permitted number of standing passengers has been reached. In any event, the problem is a real one of which thousands of people have plentiful and painful experience, especially in Londdn and the big cities, where the friendly intimacy of country bus-routes is unfortunately impossible. It is the problem of the unorganised consumer using a public monopoly, and is therefore one to which the Government owes especial attention.
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