§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total cost to public funds of the riverbus service on the River Thames during the period of its operation.
§ Mr. NorrisIn 1989, a grant payment of £500,000 was made to the River Bus partnership by the Departments of Transport and of the Environment towards promotion and improvement of the service, conditional upon private sector investment of up to £2 million from five private sector developers, headed by Olympia and York. No other public funds were awarded and the service continued to operate at a loss, despite heavy subsidy from the private sector, until its demise in August 1993. Further contributions from public funds could not have been justified, as in transport terms the service represented poor value for money.