§ 9. Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of bus deregulation outside London; and if he will make a statement. [30609]
§ Mr. NorrisBus deregulation continues to be a success, with more operators running more bus miles at lower cost and with significantly less public subsidy than 12 previously. There are also encouraging signs that the long-term decline in bus patronage is beginning to flatten out.
§ Mr. BennettDoes the Minister realise that my constituents were able to enjoy good public transport on bank holidays for well over 100 years—since bank holidays were introduced—and to get to the many events that are organised on such occasions? Can he imagine their horror when the bus operators that supply many of the routes in Denton West under the deregulated bus service chose not to put on any services over Easter and the spring bank holiday?
§ Mr. NorrisWhat the operators do is a matter for them. However, on the face of it, that seems to be an extraordinary decision. The operators might like to take note of the fact that there is a large untapped market on a bank holiday. To suggest that deregulation results in fewer services is absurd. There are currently 29 per cent. more bus miles being run outside London because private and deregulated operators are going to where people want to be taken from and taking them where they want to go. That is the key advantage.
I cannot think of a single action that would damage the bus network in this country more than to do what, by implication, the hon. Gentleman and his fellow travellers want—that is, to re-regulate an industry that has at last managed to break free from the appalling bureaucratic stranglehold under which it languished for several decades.