"My Lords, I have spoken in the House before about the need to increase bus speeds. In discussion, the Minister has come forward with a method of bringing some discipline to local authorities with bad congestion problems that make the running of a proper bus service almost impossible—I note Oxford, …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"My Lords, I would like to ask the Minister a few questions as my contribution. First, will he confirm that the regulator has objectives, but, in fact, all holders of the post have concentrated on the one about promoting competition to the exclusion of other duties?
"I rise at this moment to introduce the subject of traffic congestion. That is the biggest enemy of the bus, and traffic speeds are declining throughout the country. They have now reached a stage where the bus is an unattractive alternative even to walking. This, of course, generates expense, in …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"The noble Lord has spoken as if public ownership is something evil. I remember, when I worked on the west coast main line, that 90% of the trains ran on time. That is a far cry from what is now the case. It was so different from what he is …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"My Lords, on the issue of freight, the intention should be that the freight service is given dedicated paths in the timetable. The timetable is the key to the whole issue. For freight to have a dedicated path, we need to use the paths that are available, or potentially available, …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"My Lords, this Bill was forecast in the Labour Party’s manifesto. We have no quarrel with the need to take drastic action to make the railways work better for passengers, freight business and the taxpayer. State-run organisations can be run efficiently, and we will help to see that they do; …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"My Lords, in the time allowed I will concentrate on transport infrastructure. I completely reject the mantra of the Conservative Party that organisations such as British Rail were inefficient. I ran the west coast main line when over 90% of the trains arrived at the right time and almost without …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"My Lords, perhaps I might add a word for the very large number of people who are not in wheelchairs but who depend, like I do, on a stick. When pavements are so awful in this country, they need a lot of consideration. They walk around at their peril, often …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"My Lords, when I was introduced to your Lordships’ House some 24 years ago, the then Chief Whip of the party, John Harris, gave me some advice: to speak about what you know about and otherwise keep quiet. During my career on the railway, I have managed the west coast …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech
"My Lords, does the Minister agree that one of the major problems with the bus industry is the lack of adequate reimbursement of concessionary fares? The burden of reimbursement has fallen on local authorities, which have virtually no money. This is a very important point, and it undermines the viability …..." Lord Bradshaw - View Speech