from Labour Voice (Janucry,1968)
The state-owned Transport Holding Company is offering £35m. for British Electri Traction's interests in 24 provincial bus companies operating 11,300 buses. included in the deal are such well-kmown lines as Midland Red, Ribble and Southdwon, IV BET's accounts the bus interests are valued at®@Om. Most of the companies are already jointly owned with Transport Holdings but there are @& number of outstanding minority interests and these will be bought out also by Transport Holdings to give the state group an iron grip on the nation's bus services outside the municipalities, with 75% or so of the stace tus services. As The Times pointed out, BET appears to be quite happy about being taken over. After all the compensation terms are so generous: "The market was quick to grasp the implications of the news that British Electric Traction may sell its bus interests to the Transport Holding Company. The shares were marked up 4s 6d. to 64s 6d. To BET its bis interests are like an old war wound. a disadvantage in which pride of achievement has come to out—-weigh discomfort. Well—managed as the bus companies have been, they are already less profitable than BET's other interests, =nd even before Mrs. Castle's proposals for comurbanion transport authorities their future was beginning to look uncertain, with demand falling steadily and labour in chronically short supply." The East Yorkshire busmen went on strike against the company in November, 1966. They produced an excellent pamphlet "No Bus Today" which is very relevant to the present situation (1/6a from TGWU, George Strest, Hull). The TGWU and company busmen should campaign for a new democratic bus industry to implement: (1) Higher wages. Company busmen should get the same as municipal busmen. (2) The Transport Holding Company is an undemocratic state board mm by businessmen. It should be abolished and replaced by a democratic structure with strong representation from rank and file tusmén. This will involve 2 campaign for workers’ control.