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Transport groups warn of Beeching-style bus cuts
Fears of a return to the Beeching era in the 1960s have prompted pro-public transport groups to write to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond urging him not to scrap the Bus Service Operators Grant.
Local authorities, bus operators, transport campaigners and unions warn of big fare rises, services cuts and job losses if the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) is scrapped.
They fear a decision could be made in the coming weeks to cut BSOG, formerly known as the Fuel Duty Rebate (FDR), which rebates bus operators for the fuel duty they pay in running local registered bus services throughout the country.
It also covers many rural, school and socially important services, including some vital routes in Lancashire.
Letters have been sent to all 533 MPs in England, while an Early Day Motion supporting retention of BSOG has also been laid down in the Houses of Parliament.
Neil Scales, the Chairman of Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG), said:
“Outside London the bus is the main form of public transport – and is also relied upon the most by low-income households.
“Yet, despite this, levels of Government support are a very small proportion of those the rail industry receives and even these relatively modest BSOG subsidies are now under threat.
Stephen Joseph, Executive Director, Campaign for Better Transport, said:
“Scrapping BSOG could do for Britain’s buses today what Beeching did for the UK rail network in the 1960s.”
A recent sudy found that every £1 invested in BSOG provided between £3 and £5 of wider benefits, campaigners have claimed.
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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Temperature: -4 C to 2 C
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Wind direction: South east
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Frenchwoody
Monday, July 12, 2010 at 01:26 PMIf BSOG is cut or abolished what will happen to the business plans of any co-operative management of Preston Bus if it's sold off by Stagecoach?
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