§ Mr. Harrisonasked the Minister of transport if he will indicate the policy of his Department towards the plea that 264W rates and tares of road undertakings should be raised to bring them into line with rail charges, in view of the fact that this will sacrifice the important advantages to industrial and private individuals of an essential cheap form of transport.
§ Mr. BarnesIt is not the practice to proceed upon the basis that rates and fares of road transport undertakings should be increased automatically on the ground that they are lower than corresponding charges for rail transport. The relationship between charges by different forms of transport is a question which will no doubt be fully investigated in due course if the machinery proposed for dealing with these matters in the Transport Bill comes into operation.