OXFORD bus tour operators will lose out if moves to end fuel tax subsidies go ahead.

MPs are to vote on whether to amend the Government's Transport Bill to stop the concession and limit the number of buses clogging up roads in tourist cities such as Oxford.

Guide Fridays and Tappins Coaches, which both run tours in the city, will suffer if MPs vote to axe the huge fuel-tax subsides they currently receive.

They benefit from claiming to be running a public service, and pay only 15p a litre in fuel tax - just one third of the duty paid by private vehicles.

Liberal Democrat Jean Fooks, of Oxford City Council's highways and traffic committee, is welcomed the idea of refusing subsidies to tour operators and suggestions that the Government should give councils the power to curb the number of buses on city streets.

She said: "I think it's a splendid idea and hope these things will be voted in. "Lots of residents have complained to me both from the Canterbury Road ward and the Central ward which includes St Giles where the tour buses run.

"They are the worst affected by pollution and congestion which these buses add to."

"These buses are nearly always largely empty. I was appalled to learn tour operators get such high subsidies when we are fighting to find cash to keep funding more vital services to the city centre.

"Last autumn we had a terrific fight to save the Jericho service. If there is cash to spare for subsidies then it should be used on keeping regular local services running."

Ms Fooks added: "If you get stuck behind one of these buses you really see how much they contribute to holding up traffic. We really don't need so many of them. In fact I was told by someone from Oxford Classic Tours that they had to keep the buses running in winter just to give the drivers something to do." But Carol Cambridge, branch manager for Guide Friday, defended the subsidies, saying the firm was running a registered public service and was not being subsidised to run empty buses.

She said: "These buses are registered as a public service, each bus can issue staged tickets, so if someone just wanted to travel one stop, we would still take them, they don't have to do the whole tour.

"We do run even if there is only one passenger, but that is rarely the case. We are rarely totally empty. Obviously in winter we are not as busy as in the summer."

Ms Cambridge said she could not comment on whether the subsidies were justified.

Mr Paul Tappins, who owns Tappins Coaches, a Didcot company which runs the rival Classic Oxford Tours service was unavailable for comment.

Story date: Monday 07 February

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