RMT ATTACKS BUS SUBSIDIES JUST FOR “BURNING FUEL”

RMTnews :: may 2007 :: www.rmt.org.uk 10 In a recent written parliamentary answer to Labour MP David Drew (Stroud), Bus Minister Gillian Merron provided a yearly breakdown of the staggering £2.5 billion Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) paid to the operators of local bus and community transport services since the Transport Act 2000. The Bus Service Operator Grant is a government payment to bus operators on the basis of how much fuel they use. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that it was scandalous that private bus companies who are already making megaprofits have been receiving billions of pounds of public money just for burning fuel. “At a time when there is a continued fall in passenger numbers outside London, it is astonishing that the most important source of subsidy from central government is used to pay bus companies petrol costs instead of improving services to passengers. “Public transport has a key role to play in reducing carbon emissions but subsidising fuel consumption is hardly a sensible way of meeting the government’s environmental objectives,” Bob said. REVIEW The union has welcomed government proposals to review the subsidy to ensure that it was linked to improving bus services and reducing carbon emissions. “Scrapping the Bus Services Operator Grant and replacing it with payments that encourage local authorities to regulate their bus services would be a step in the right direction. “Ultimately, the only way to ensure that buses play their proper role in an integrated transport network is to bring the industry back into public ownership,” Bob said. CONSULTATION The government’s recently-published “Putting Passengers First” consultation document looking to improve bus services, will form part of the Draft Road Transport Bill to be published shortly. Putting Passengers First, states: “Bus Service Operator Grant payments are currently linked to fuel consumed and therefore poorly targeted on objectives for patronage, punctuality and quality. Furthermore by subsidising fuel consumption they do not fit well with our environmental objectives. There is potentially a case for refocusing subsidy, for example to provide a more direct linkage between subsidy levels and our goals of increasing bus patronage, tackling congestion, improving accessibility, environmental performance, punctuality and quality of passenger experience”. RMT ATTACKS BUS SUBSIDIES JUST FOR “BURNING FUEL” David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State to detail each total annual payment to Bus Operators made under the Bus Service Operators Grant for each year since the grant was introduced? Gillian Merron: Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was introduced under the Transport Act 2000. It replaced the Fuel Duty Rebate scheme which had been in place since 1965.The amount of BSOG paid by the Department to operators of local bus and community transport services since 2000 is as follows: £ million (cash prices) 2000-01 £301 2001-02 £304 2002-03 £317 2003-04 £341 2004-05 £359 2005-06 £369 2006-07 £380? Estimated. RMT expresses astonishment that private bus operators have received almost £2.5 billion pounds government subsidy just for “burning fuel” PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION MARCH 29, 2007