Clause 2
Local Transport Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Norman Baker (Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Transport; Lewes, Liberal Democrat)
There is an issue running through the Bill about balance in its effects on urban and rural areas. It is easy when designing transport systems and administrative arrangements for transport to construct something that works well for urban areas, where it fits much more easily. Passenger transport executives, for example, fit more easily in urban areas. It is more difficult to factor in rural areas, which, if we are not careful, can be forgotten about. We need to be careful not to construct a system whereby rural areas are further disadvantaged in transport terms than at present. That is my concern about the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion.
In conclusion, I hope that the Minister will recognise that there is an issue about the accountability of traffic commissioners. If we are to give them even more powers than they already have, we need to make sure that they become known in the public radar and that there is some way of holding them to account. Having a minimum number and some sort of geographical location is a way of achieving that.