TRANSPORT (AMENDMENT) (Hansard, 16 March 1976)

§ Mr. Richard Luce (Shoreham)
I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend the law relating to the licensing of public service vehicles. I had not anticipated such an enormously packed House to hear the start of my speech, not such a rapid exodus the moment that I got under way—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. Will hon. Members leave the Chamber quietly, to enable the hon. Member for Shoreham (Mr. Luce) to present his Bill?

§ Mr. Luce
I am grateful, Mr. Speaker.
The purpose of this Bill is to improve transport services specifically in rural areas. Over the past few years rural transport has become a growing problem. In these areas, the number of services is being reduced, fares are escalating, many routes are becoming more unprofitable, and there are increasing requests from the bus companies for higher subsidies in the form of taxpayers' and ratepayers' money. For example, West Sussex County Council's estimated expenditure for public transport will increase from £317,000 in 1975–76 to £607,000 in 1976–77.
The end result of all this is a growing social problem. People in villages are becoming increasingly isolated and very often find it difficult to visit their doctor, a hospital, a community centre or a neighbouring town for shopping purposes.
Many people, especially the elderly and disabled, who cannot afford a car or cannot drive, very often find public transport services non-existent or at least inadequate for their needs. Moreover, many parents living within the three-mile limit have considerable difficulty in getting their children to school.
Since the problem is getting rapidly worse, I believe that urgent action is required. This Bill is designed to amend the existing law on the licensing of public service vehicles in order to ensure that all the transport needs of people living in rural areas are adequately met. In many respects this Bill is building on the admirable proposals contained in the 1974 Road Transport Bill introduced by my 1130 right hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Mr. Peyton).
I must make one point absolutely clear. This Bill is intended to supplement and complement the routes operated by the National Bus Company. Its purpose is to fill in the many existing gaps in the services without in any way affecting the operations of the National Bus Company. Indeed, by enhancing the feeder services to main bus routes, it could even increase the number of passengers using existing services. The question of the future of the National Bus Company is therefore a separate issue and was most ably dealt with by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Gow) when he asked leave to introduce his Transport (Amendment) Bill a fortnight ago.
I will outline briefly the main proposals contained in this Bill which I seek leave to introduce.
First, I propose to exempt all private cars carrying fewer than nine passengers from the licensing system. This will enable drivers to give lifts in return for contributions towards running costs. Such operations as the "Social Car Scheme" can therefore be expanded with passengers making a financial contribution rather than just relying on subventions from local authorities. Of course, the position of taxi drivers will have to be taken fully into account. Such relaxations in the law were made temporarily under the Emergency Regulations recently and there appeared to be no major obstacles.
One point needs to be stressed here about insurance for private car owners. In July 1975 the British Insurance Association and Lloyds Motor Underwriters Association jointly announced that contributions by passengers towards the cost of petrol will not be considered to infringe the "hiring" exclusion clause of normal private car policies, although contributions to costs other than petrol would require insurance under the "use for hire" category.
Secondly, I propose to amend the licensing laws—more specifically Section 30 of the Transport Act 1968 and Section 118 of the Road Traffic Act 1960—so that minibuses seating fewer than 16 passengers can be more widely operated. Under Section 203 of the 1972 Local 1131 Government Act, county councils have the responsibility for co-ordinating transport services whilst the Traffic Commissioners, under separate legislation, operate the licensing system. My Bill will enable county councils to sanction the operation of minibuses under the relaxed licensing laws incorporating criteria laid down about safety, the size of vehicles and the need for routes to be complementary to the National Bus Company network.
Thirdly, I propose a further amendment to Section 118 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 to provide exemption from the normal licensing regulations, subject to certain safeguards, to established voluntary organisations, youth clubs, education authorities and other charitable bodies which wish to charge for their transport costs. Under the present regulations, the provision of minibuses for such purposes comes under the cumbersome licensing regulations for the purposes of "hire and reward". This amendment should help many voluntary organisations in rural areas and especially those bodies which have purchased minibuses to transport handicapped and elderly people.
This Bill is designed to fulfil an urgent social need in rural areas. For this reason, my hon. Friends and I hope that it will command the support of the whole House, for action is urgently needed.