Examination of Witnesses (Questions 160-162)
MR DAVID
ROWLANDS, CB, MR
BOB LINNARD
23 JANUARY 2006
Q160 Mr Mitchell: Do we not need
that from a national point of view as well rather than just a
local authority?
Mr Rowlands: I am not sure why
we need it at a national level.
Q161 Mr Mitchell: To know which companies
are giving value for money and which are performing well. An Office
of Fair Trading inquiry would have to collect that kind of information,
why should you not have it?
Mr Rowlands: I guess we will.
I am not sure what we could quite do with it since we are not
directly disbursing the subsidy which is going in through that
local authority route, but when we have got it we will certainly
be able to think through, as I say, how we use that information
both locally and perhaps nationally.
Mr Mitchell: Also, you could beat them
around the head with it.
Q162 Chairman: Let me try and sum
up. You are famed for the reverse of 40 years of declining bus
use in almost every part of the country, Mr Rowlands. The national
increase in bus passenger numbers is almost entirely down to extremely
strong growth in London, which accounts for nearly half of all
English bus travel. That is due to a combination of increased
central investment and Transport for London's commitment to improve
the bus services, and I congratulated Ken Livingstone on this.
Outside London the unregulated market is not delivering growth.
The local authorities cannot directly influence most commercial
operators. You have got extremely limited tools in your hand.
The very fact that we had a discussion about the Transport Innovation
Fund, which initially is a relatively small amount of money involved,
shows that. You have obviously got to take more concerted action
if you are going to get people out of their cars and on to buses.
Local authorities outside London need to learn from the Capital's
success. There is also scope for local authorities to save money
and improve efficiency by working better together. The bus operators
should provide the bus service that people want.
Mr Rowlands: Yes.
Chairman: Thank you very much, Mr Rowlands.
| 
