Bootle Times from Bootle, Merseyside, England • 1

Morgan BOOTLE Pianos Wanted TcpCiftkPMt ESTABLISHED 60 YEARS FULL PACKING SERVICE LOCAL DISTANCE OVERSEAS HEATED CONTAINERISED STORAGE FOR FREE ESTIMATES PHONE: (0151) 928 31542848 AFTER HOURS: (0151) 929 3838 Also Pianos sold exchanged repaired Tuning and polishing service available foil MERSEYSIDE PIANO EXCHANGE (0151)489 7990 (0151)9293838 Unit 7 Brickfield Huyton Industrial Estate V' 30 CROSBY ROAD NOBTH WATERLOO L22 9QF INCORPORATING merseymart Thursday April 27 1995 Ed No 7549 OOTLE FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS Crackdown on cartels See page 1 7 Naval man Colin awaits magic moment See page 13 TRANSPORT Bus company deal closes Derby Road depot Fifty bus jobs move I by Graeme Goundry Feud ends as GMB services are withdrawn from Liverpool Library opens its doors from North Manchester with the loss of around 80 jobs Although GM has guaranteed that no job losses will result from the closure of the garage in Bootle the staff will be forced to re-locate to Wigan Atherton or perhaps with other rival bus operators Commercial Director for GM Buses North Mr Rodney Dickinson said that the company was making every effort to find alternative employment for the existing staff but the general feeling among the workers is one of uncertainty not happy about the situation but they understand why we sustain a loss-making enterprise in Fifty staff at bus depot are being forced to move to other areas following an end to the long-running feud between rival bus companies on Merseyside The 37 Bootle bus drivers and other staff based in Bedford Place off Derby Road are being forced to move following the decision by Greater Manchester Buses to pull all of its services out of Liverpool Services east of Wigan will cease with the result that the GM Buses garage in Bootle which employs 50 people will close In return rival Liverpool company Merseybus will withdraw services Mr Dickinson added: are trying to avoid redundancies at all The decision brings to an end the bitter relationship that existed between GM Buses and Merseybus and both companies now pledge not to compete in each areas Lancashire Travel which is part of MTL Holdings which owns Merseybus will take over the running of services to Liverpool previously operated by GM Buses The competition between Merseybus and GM Buses began when MTL moved into North Manchester GM Buses North has been operating roughly 50 buses from Bootle for the past year The future of the bus depot is currently unknown Orrell Library is now out in front since the installation of new automatic doors Access to the library in Linacre Lane was previously through revolving doors which proved difficult for the disabled The next project is to install a toilet for the disabled at the library The Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton Councillor Nick and Mrs May Fanning visited the library to welcome the new doors They Eire pictured with supervisor Debbie Morton code sj SPECIAL OFFER! Cabbies in protest drive Buy a complete pair of spectacles and get a Prescription pair of Sunglasses Bifocals Varifocals available at a small extra charge ASK FOR DETAILS Hackney Cab drivers in Bootle joined with colleagues from across Merseyside on Tuesday to protest at a Government bill which they believe will ruin their trade As Transport Minister Steven Norris MP prepared to open officially the new bus station in Paradise Street Liverpool cabbies gathered in Litherland to begin their protest drive to the city centre There they joined with hundreds of other drivers from Southport Wirral Liverpool and even Manchester to protest at the proposals to deregulate taxis The protest was part of a growing national campaign aimed at persuading Mr Norris the minister in charge of the bill to discard proposals to take away limits on the number of licensed taxis Trevor Jones a Seaforth-based member of the North West Taxi Association said: Government wants to de-licence the taxi trade which would destroy all the small businesses currently operating and put an end to the 24-hour service we provide have fought for stronger regulations with knowledge and criminal record tests but the government are bringing down the standards as we are trying to raise them The more they open it out the more any Tom Dick and Harry can come into the trade Bill does not say how old a taxi must be to be on the streets and will force all drivers to cover the best times instead of all by Andy Hunter The proposal which Mr Norris says make the industry ready for the 21st will make all cabs wheelchair-accessible and force them to be tested every six months at MoT garages rather than by the licensing authority Mr Jones said cabbies were prepared to go to the European Courts over the matter and that trying to bring taxis in line with the London system is unfair He explained: is unlicensed but is regulated by the three to four year wait to get a licence Here we make a financial commitment to get our plates and if this Bill goes through our livelihoods will be at SAVERS ED OPTICIANS 281 STANLEY ROAD BOOTLE Tel: 0151 933 5466 204663 Covering all Liverpool Newspapers with 9 unique titles EDITORIAL: 932 1000 ADVERTISING: 236 4422 20350Q0Q Jan June 1994 Bootle Times Edition THE LIVERPOOL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER GROUP.