London Banter - View Single Post - A London PTE - was Metrolink Matters

[email protected] · March 21st 12, 03:43 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In article , (Mizter T) wrote:

On 21/03/2012 14:02, wrote:

(Mizter T) wrote:

There's a whole long history as to why the arrangements in London
turned out as it have - it's a legacy of many things. What I'm less
clear on is how much of a debate there was, if any, about a
comprehensive 'London PTE' that would include rail back in the late
60's when the PTA/PTE concept was devised and the empowering
legislation, the 1968 Transport Act, was formulated.

At the time of the 1968 Transport Act which first created PTAs/PTEs
London Transport was still Government-owned but had been separated from
British Rail when the London Transport Board was created and the BTC
abolished in 1963 or thereabouts. In 1970 municipal control of public
transport was returned for the first time since 1933 but only of parts
of the LTB. Country buses were hived off, initially to the National Bus
Company and privatised after 1985.

That's a fair enough interpretation - i.e. in London, the embodiment
of the late 60's PTE-style reforms that were happening elsewhere was
the passing of responsibility for London Transport - or at least the
bulk of LT that sat within Greater London - from central government,
in the form of the London Transport Board, over to the new London
Transport Executive, under the control of the GLC.

The question really is was anything more radical considered or
discussed at the time, in terms of the new (post-1970) LTE having
some powers or influence over heavy rail within Greater London? (i.e.
in the way that PTEs had rail powers & responsibilities elsewhere in
the UK.) It must at least have been mooted.

Apparently not as the idea of any local government influence over British
Rail services was very much at an early stage in 1968. So they decided to
try it out in the PTEs first. The extent was limited at first and only
expanded later, IIRC.

--
Colin Rosenstiel