§ Mr. SpellarTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 29 October 1996,Official Report, column 102, on European Commission proposals for a directive on the standards of buses, what proposals his Department has made that the directive should make provision for the construction of new open-platform buses. [13920]
§ Mr. BowisI have been concerned that the current generation of Routemaster buses should be protected and that European directives do not rule out the possibility of similar buses being built and operated in the future.
No specific proposals for the provision of the construction of new open-platform buses have been suggested by my Department. When the Commission's proposals are published, we shall study them to see what the implications will be for the future construction of open-platform buses.